Chan-Yong Kim holds the 9th-degree black belt in Taekwondo, the 8th-degree black belt in Yu-Do, and the 6th-degree black belt in Hapkido. Grandmaster Kim is one of the best-known and most highly respected individuals in the international martial arts community. People from all walks of life are proud to consider him as their special friend. Grandmaster Kim enjoys a close and loving marriage of more than 40 years, his son Jimmy Young Kim captured the first heavyweight Olympic Gold Medal in Taekwondo, and now Jimmy and his sisters Jenny and Susan hold doctoral degrees, and Grandmaster Kim is immensely proud of his grandsons.

  Grandmaster Kim's story is not that of someone born with special physical ability or family standing. Rather, he represents what one can make of oneself. Chan-Yong Kim began his life in the midst of warfare and privation. Through 1953, savage fighting between world superpowers brutalized the whole Korean peninsula. Families suffered incredibly, and there was no food or shelter or safety.

   On January 4th, 1935, Chan-Yong Kim was born in the village of Kaesong. As an infant and child he was thin, weak, and ill; later as a young man he would have to go for days upon end eating only leaves while performing heavy labor. How did he become the six foot, 190 pound warrior we know today? Chan-Yong Kim began his martial arts training in 1941. He now has been training continuously for more than half a century (his Yu-do teacher was Dr. Lee Je-Hwang, his Taekwondo teacher General Choi Hong-Hi) and except for his time in high school, college, or the military service, he has never had a different occupation. Notably, Chan-Yong Kim received a scholarship to Yong-In University, the Korean Yo-Do College to which only elite-level black belts were admitted. The demanding curriculum mixed university courses with rigorous Yu-Do training. Grandmaster Kim recalls that at the Yu-Do College 'tapping out' to ask to be released from a choke hold or armbar simply was not permitted: Seniors would not allow the junior this escape. Rather, the junior would have to struggle and find a way out, or else. Or else? Grandmaster Kim recalled that at first he might literally be choked into unconsciousness several times in a single workout. Until, over the months and years he learned to find a way out of even seemingly hopeless situations. Clearly more a mental than physical task.

After graduating from Yong-In University in 1960, Grandmaster Kim taught Yu-Do and Taekwondo in Korea, Malaysia, and Brunei, and he coached the Australian Olympic Judo Team. Coming to America in 1971 with his martial arts knowledge and $300, Chan-Yong Kim opened the Oriental Moo-Do School in Artesia, California. Working steadily with his family, Grandmaster Kim has personally instructed more than 5,000 students during the past quarter-century.

He also served as President of the California State Taekwondo Association from 1973 to 1991, and as Chair of The World Taekwondo Association's International Referee Committee from 1989 to 1994 and again from 2003 to present.

Chan-Yong Kim's knowledge of martial arts is encyclopedic. Striking, grappling, weaponry. Strategy, tactics, philosophy. Even now I am convinced that in an actual physical confrontation no one -- and I mean no one-- could actually beat Grandmaster Kim. And underlying all, genuine calm and gentleness that others can really sense. Grandmaster Kim always points out that he likes everyone and everyone likes him, so there is just no need for conflict. What else about Chan-Yong Kim? Intelligent, literate, and broadly educated. Happy, fun-loving. World-class classical Oriental calligraphy. Flawless English. Massive hands. Knowledge of physical healing. And of emotional recovery. Strict teacher. High expectations of his students. Meticulous attention to politeness and manners. A human who sometimes gets irritated, impatient, fatigued. A human who has learned to let go of irritation, to wait out impatience, and to work through fatigue.

In late 1977 Misha and Noreen Thackrey were first-degree black belts traveling the U.S. and Canada to seek out Taekwondo instruction, spending a day or two here, a week or two there, trying to learn the Art. We visited Chan-Yong Kim in November of 1977, formed an immediate attachment, and studied with him day and night through May of 1978 when we wade a most difficult choice to move to Nashville, Tennessee, so that Misha could go to graduate school. Though our actual time with Grandmaster Chan-Yong Kim was brief, the impact has been profound. Many eagerly proclaim themselves martial arts "masters." Yet I really only personally know one individual who in my view clearly merits such a title. However, Chan-Yong Kim has modestly said, "I am not yet a master. I have much to learn."