Star2.com Exclusive: Taekwondo Supreme Grandmaster Kim Bok Man Returns To KL
- 4 years ago
Supreme grandmaster Kim Bok Man is no stranger to taekwondo practitioners in Malaysia, especially those serious about the martial art as a self-defence skill.
The ex-South Korean military man – now 81 and living in New Jersey, USA – first came here in 1963, brought in as a taekwondo instructor by South Korea’s first ambassador to Malaysia, General Choi Hong Hi, himself hailed as the founder of taekwondo.
Kim performed for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Kim helped set up the Malaysian Taekwondo Association. One of his first Malaysian disciples was Low Koon Lin – now 88, a 9th dan black belt holder, and a grandmaster as well.
Kim’s contribution to taekwondo includes patterns (called tul) now deemed compulsory for students following the International Taekwondo Federation syllabus. Meanwhile, Choi was responsible for nearly 20 tuls that serious martial art practitioners must learn. More than half of those were developed at the South Korean embass
The ex-South Korean military man – now 81 and living in New Jersey, USA – first came here in 1963, brought in as a taekwondo instructor by South Korea’s first ambassador to Malaysia, General Choi Hong Hi, himself hailed as the founder of taekwondo.
Kim performed for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Kim helped set up the Malaysian Taekwondo Association. One of his first Malaysian disciples was Low Koon Lin – now 88, a 9th dan black belt holder, and a grandmaster as well.
Kim’s contribution to taekwondo includes patterns (called tul) now deemed compulsory for students following the International Taekwondo Federation syllabus. Meanwhile, Choi was responsible for nearly 20 tuls that serious martial art practitioners must learn. More than half of those were developed at the South Korean embass