page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Kimm He-Young teaching Tae Kwon Do, Yudo, and Hapkido to students of Southeast Missouri State College, 1964-1970.

Dr. Kimm went to summer school in 1966 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was there that he met Master Chung Jae-bok who was a disciple of Grandmaster Son Duk-sung, the former Head Master of Chung Do Kwan. In 1967, Master Chung sponsored the Tae Kwon Do Championship and invited Dr. Kimm to attend. It was at this event that he had his first meeting with Grandmaster Son. They later had a chance to meet in Rockford, Illinois. Also at the Tae Kwon Do Championship, Dr. Kimm had his first meeting with Master Lee Hai-ung who is presently (1995) President of the American Tae Kwon Do Association. Following the tournament there was a party. At 2:00 am, the party ended and, since Dr. Kimm was the only person who had not drunk alcohol, he drove the entourage of Masters Lee Hai-ung, Jung Mak young and Son Duk-sung back to Chicago. Upon there arrival in Chicago, they were to stay at a friend's apartment. When they arrived at the apartment, they knocked on the door many times with no answer. A policeman approached the group and inquired as to the situation. After listening to the explanation, the policeman telephoned the apartment for them. A few minutes later, the friend came out and greeted Dr. Kimm and the other Korean masters. This was the first time that Dr. Kimm and his friends appreciated the policemen of the United States.

In 1967, Master Choi Chang-hee was teaching Tae Kwon Do at the Military Arts Institute in Chicago, Illinois. The Institute was owned by Master Shin Kyung-sun who was also a Yudo instructor and also owned a uniform company. Tae Kwon Do classes at the Institute were taught by Master Choi. It was a great pleasure for Dr. Kimm to learn the more advanced Tae Kwon Do forms and free sparring from Master Choi.

In the meantime, the American Tae Kwon Do Association (ATA) was organized and Grandmaster Kang Suh-jong was elected as President and is the current (1994) President of the Kuk Mu Kwan Tae Kwon Do. Master Lee Hai-ung was elected Vice President of the ATA and was considered "the brain" of the Association. Other notable members of the early ATA organization were Kwon Boo-kil, Kim In-mok, Kim Myung-kil, Cho Hee-il, Lee Choon-so, Park Lee-hyun and Dr. Kimm He-young. The most influential person in the formation of Dr. Kimm's Tae Kwon Do education was Grandmaster Kang. Dr. Kimm still maintains a learning relationship with him. Dr. Kimm had an opportunity to learn and review the old Tang Soo Do and Kong Soo Do forms and also learn the new ITF forms and Tae Kwon Do philosophy from him. During this time, he was able to help the ATA organization. The main functions of the ATA in the early period was to hold seminars to teach ITF forms, sponsor tournaments under uniform rules and sponsor business seminars on how to run successful professional Taw Kwon Do schools. ATA tournaments were attended by many masters who officiated and performed demonstrations.

While serving as Chairman of the Promotional Committee of the Southern ATA, Dr. Kimm had two unforgettable memories. The first of these memories was teaching self-defense to ATA Black Belts at a seminar in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Kimm instructed these Black Belts during the day and again in the evening. They attended lectures of business from professional sales experts in between the self-defense sessions. These seminar was very well organized and all of the participants were very proud to be making a living by teaching Tae Kwon Do. Dr. Kimm was surprised that Master Lee brought in professional salesmen to the seminars to give lectures. It was the first time that he had seen a martial art being treated as a sellable product.

Another distinct memory of Dr. Kimm's during this period of time took place in Kansas City, Missouri. Master Lee Choon-soo sponsored a Tae Kwon Do tournament there which was an enormous success. The demonstration by the masters in attendance was widely appreciated by the audience and participants of the tournament. The speed breaking by Master Cho Hee-il and the power breaking by Master Kwon Boo-kil along with his demonstration of defense against knife and defense against two-man attacks were the highlights of the demonstration. After the tournament, all of the masters attended a party at a nice restaurant/bar to eat and drink. The restaurant was very nice with the masters' party reserved for the second floor. As the masters ate and drank, they began to sing together as usual. One person from the first floor came up to the second floor and introduced himself. He stated that he was from New York and had come to the restaurant to have dinner and he would like the masters to be quiet. Master Kwon Boo-kil told him that what was going on At the party was none of his business and that he should return to the first floor. The New Yorker left quietly only to return a few minutes later with a few friends and a pistol. Master Dr. Kimm Myung-kim, a former Korean Intelligence officer, told the man with the gun to come closer to home and shoot him in the head. The man hesitated and Master Kim approached and placed the gun to his own head, telling the man to pull the trigger. The man hesitated, Master Kim slapped the gunman's face and called him a coward. Master Kim's bravery did not stop the fight that ensued moments later. After Master Kim slapped the man, his friends charged toward Master Kim. The other masters and the New Yorkers began to throw punches as well as chairs. Dr. Kimm did not see any of the beautiful kicks or flying kicks that he had seen previously during the demonstration. After a few minutes, they heard police cars approaching the restaurant. One of the masters shouted for all of them to jump to the first floor, go out the window and run to the hotel. In a matter of minutes, all of the masters were gone, leaving the New Yorkers on the second floor for the police. Once they were at the hotel, they found all were accounted for. Master Cho Hee-il said that as he ran toward the hotel, he discovered that he was limping. He felt no pain and his legs were not injured so he could therefore not understand why he had begun to limp. Once at the hotel, he checked again only to find out that the heel of his shoe was missing.

Founder main | Previous | Next