Chang Gedo

Chang Gedo (born 1941), a contemporary of martial art masters Ji Han Jae, Myung Kwang-Sik and Han Bong-Soo, was an early Hapkido practitioner and master of the art, who brought his style of this Korean fighting system to the west in 1973.

Life

Chang Gedo lived until his early twenties in a mountain monastery in Chungnam Province, learning hoshinsul (self-defence techniques) from his father a Buddhist monk. Upon leaving the monastery, Chang Gedo became one of the few men formally recognised as a master of Hapkido in 1964. He then opened his school in Korea and called it Wol Ge Kwan which means The Victor's Laurel. ^[1]

In 1973, Master Chang turned his Hapkido school in Korea over to Choi Yong Sul when the Korean Hapkido Association dispatched him to the United States of America. He has demonstrated and taught throughout the USA, finally settling in Lombard, Illinois where he opened his first U.S. School, Chang's Hapkido Academy. Chang’s Hapkido Academy now has schools across America and England.^[2]

Accomplishments

He was the first to develop Hapkido techniques specifically for police personnel. His teaching abilities so impressed the Korean Government, that they created a special award for Best Martial Arts Instructor, and presented it to Master Chang. Chang Gedo is an 8th degree master of Hapkido and president of the World Hapkido Union; he is also an author of many books and a world renowned speaker on Ki, spirituality and human behaviour.^[3]

Further reading

• Kimm, He-Young. Hapkido (alternately The Hapkido Bible). Andrew Jackson Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1991
  
• Fighters Magazine, September 1995, P.15-16, Article by Sam Plum, Gedo Chang Master of Ki Power.
• TKD & Korean Martial Arts Magazine, June 1996, p26-27, Article by Jean Dobbrey, Hapkido’s Pressure Points.
• Fighters Magazine, June 1998, P.34-36, Article by Sam Plum, Master Gedo Chang and the Korean Art of Hapkido.
• TKD & Korean Martial Arts Magazine, April 1999, p76-79, Article by Tammy Parlour, An Exclusive Interview with Grandmaster Gedo Chang.

Sources

1. ^ Hapkido. Hong Kong Legends, Star TV Filmed Entertainment Limited, 2006.
2. ^ Interviews with Hapkido Masters [1]
3. ^ Fighters Magazine, May 1995, P.21-23, Article by Sam Plum, Master Gedo Chang: The Gentleman of Hapkido.

External links

• Chang’s Hapkido Academy homepage
• Ki Meditation

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Name	Chang, Gedo
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Date of birth	1941
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