Hapkido grand master Bong Soo Han died on January 8, 2007 at 6:00 PM at his home in Santa Monica surrounded by his family and friends.
I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit with GM Bong Soo Han in his California office and then return to attend a black belt class he was teaching. It saddens me to learn of his passing. He was a great Hapkidoin and the entire martial art community will miss him. It is all of our loss that he is no longer teaching or with us.
His role is the Billy Jack films helped introduce Hapkido to many people, myself included. It was a contributing factor to me seeking out Hapkido as a martial art to pursue.
You can learn more at GM Bong Soo Han's webite:
http://www.bongsoohanhapkido.com/
Additionally, here is an article that has been posted on the internet:
Hollywood's Martial Arts Teacher Dies - By DANNY POLLOCK, Associated Press
WriterMonday, January 8, 2007 (01-08) 20:22 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP)
-- Korean martial arts master Bong Soo Han, who helped revolutionize Hollywood's understanding of martial arts by creating fight sequences for modern American films, died on Monday. He was 73. Han died at his home in Santa Monica, said John Davis, director of operations for the International Hapkido Federation, which Han founded.
The cause of death was not disclosed. Han, who held a 9th-degree black belt and the title of grand master in Hapkido, dedicated his life to spreading the martial art, which combines the kicking and punching of Taekwondo and the joint locks and graceful throws of Judo. Often called the father of Hapkido in the Western world, Han was careful about whom he promoted, awarding only slightly more than 100 black belts in more than 35 years of teaching in the United States. Many martial artists in Hollywood trained with him. "Grand Master Han is one of the finest men I have ever met, and it has beenan honor to call him a friend for over 30 years," action star and martial arts expert Chuck Norris once told The Associated Press.
Legendary Kung Fu Grand Master Eric Lee described Han as a true gentleman. "Everybody says he's a grand master-this or grand master-that, but they don't act like it," Lee said of other martial arts experts. "He does. He has a lot of quiet inside and peace that we can all learn from."
Han was discovered by Hollywood in 1969, shortly after he arrived in theUnited States, while giving a Hapkido demonstration at a park near Malibu. Actor Tom Laughlin saw him perform and asked for help with his action film "Billy Jack." Up to that time, most martial arts scenes in movies were portrayed by actors with little martial arts training. Han choreographed fight scenesfor the film, now a cult classic, and served as a stunt man, demonstrating a level of martial arts skill rarely seen before. Han also worked on the 1988 thriller "The Presidio," as well as other action films, and was featured in Wesley Snipes' 1998 documentary "Masters of the Martial Arts."
He began studying martial arts as a boy in his native Seoul and trained under the founder of Hapkido, Young Sul Choi. He opened his first school in Seoul in 1959 and later taught self-defense to U.S. forces in Korea and Vietnam before coming to Los Angeles, where he set up his own school and frequently offered seminars for FBI agents. He wrote the 1974 classic "Hapkido, The Korean Art of Self-Defense" and produced a series of instructional videotapes. He was also the founder and president of the International HapkidoFederation, which has affiliate schools in California, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Indiana.
