Kang's Pioneer Award

On April 30th, 2016 after I officiated all day at the New Jersey AAU Qualifier, I drove back up to Fort Lee, NJ where the U.S Grandmaster's Society Banquet was being held. This banquet was inducting several phenomenal martial artists who had made great constitutions to the Taekwondo world. One of those inductees as Grandmaster Suh Chong Kang.

In 2014 I had done my very first Master Trento Special on YouTube where I had interviewed Grandmaster Kang. It was one of the few interviews he has ever given in English and even brought some controversy from other Taekwondo practitioners, including General Choi's granddaughter. GM Kang begn learning martial arts under Won Kuk Lee who was the founder of the very first Korean kwan (gym) that began in secret in 1944 called Chung Do Kwan. Back then, Korea was still ruled by Japan and learning martial arts was prohibited except for Yudo. If Koreans learned martial arts they would be executed.

Then after the Korean war ended in the 1950s, GM Kang began his own kwan called Kukmukwan, as his way to sort out the Communist people and teach his own brotherhood of martial artists. GM Kang was good friends with General Hong Hi Choi and they worked together in the Korean Army, and GM Kang as the head of the Korean CIA. When General Choi tried to unite the kwans under the name Taekwondo and formed the ITF, GM Kang was very much involved in those origins, being one of the founding fathers of the ITF and supported his friend General Choi.

GM Kang had moved to Brooklyn, NY and began his own Kukmukwan Taekwondo schools. What many people do not realize is that GM Kang was really the pioneer to bring Taekwondo to this country. Without his presence teaching in the USA, every single person I know in the Taekwondo community, would not be doing what we are doing today. I was at this banquet in Fort Lee where I think 200 plus people were there, and all I could think of was that NONE of these people would be at this event at all if it weren't for GM Kang.

GM Kang also taught some of the most legendary and well known martial artists in the Taekwondo community including Jhoon Rhee, Hee Il Cho, and Haeng Gung Lee, who began the ATA. GM Kang was the first president of the ATA for a decade and was also the Vice President of the ITF with General Choi for many years.

Grandmaster Suh Chong Kang is THE MOST SENIOR person in Taekwondo EVER. This induction and award is long over due for someone of his caliber and service. He is everything a pioneer stands for. It means to be the FIRST. We truly was the FIRST in all respects of Taekwondo, and involved  in all the firsts, and spear headed any new firsts to come. But without him, all my friends in the AAU or USAT or GTF or ATA, NONE of us would be doing Taekwondo if it were not for this man.

 It was an honor and great privilege to being there for Grandmaster Kang for his well deserved induction into the U.S Grandmaster's Society Hall of Fame and Pioneer Award. It is with much gratitude and respect that I thank Grandmaster Kang for his contribution and service to an art that means a great deal to me and all I know teaching and training in it today. (BOWS)
                            

Yours in service,
MASTER A TRENTO