Kim Bok-man (Korean: 김복만; Hanja: 金福萬,[1] (December 3, 1934 – August 14, 2021), 11th dan, was an early pioneer of taekwondo in the 1950s and 1960s in South East Asia, particularly Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. He started martial arts training in the Korean art of taekyun in 1941 at the age of 7. While he was a Sergeant Major in the South Korean army, he was called to Malaysia by General Choi Hong-hi Korea's ambassador, to teach taekwondo to members of the government party in Malaysia[2] and subsequently to develop taekwondo, particularly some of the forms created by General Choi, and another martial art called Chun Kuhn taekwondo.[3][4]
Bok Man-Kim | |
|---|---|
김복만 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 December 1934 |
| Died | 14 August 2021 (aged 86) West Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김복만 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Bok(-)man |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Pokman |
Bok-Man Kim died on August 14, 2021, at the age of 86.[5]
Ch'ang Hon Patterns
Kim Bok-man and Woo Jae-lim helped General Choi develop 15 tuls, or patterns, between 1962 and 1964 while Gen. Choi served as the Korean Ambassador to Malaysia. In no particular order, these tuls are:[6] Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun, Do-San, Won-Hyo, Yul-Gok, Joong-Gun, Toi-Gye, Kwang-Gae, Po-Eun, Choon-Jang, Ko-Dang, Yoo-Sin, Choi-Yong, Se-Jong, and Tong-Il. In addition, Kim Bok-man has said that he additionally had some but considerably less input on five additional tuls – Hwa-Rang, Eui-Am, Se-Jong, Chung-Mu and Gye-Baek – bringing the total to 20.[7] The only Ch'ang Hon patterns that Kim did not have any input or influence are Juche, Sam-Il, Yeon-Gae, Eul-Ji, Mun-Mu and Seo-San.[7]
Books
Kim Bok-man is the author of several books on martial arts.
Practical Taekwon-Do: Weapon Techniques. 1979: Sunlight Publishing.
Chun Kuhn Do: The Complete Wellness Art. 2002: World Chun Kuhn Do Federation. ISBN 9780971788503.
Taekwondo: Defense Against Weapons. 2012: YMAA Publication Center. ISBN 978-1594392276. Selected as a Best Books Award finalist by USA Book News in 2012.[8] This book reprints Practical Taekwon-Do: Weapon Techniques from 1979 with small changes in layout.
Taekwon-Do: Origins of the Art: Bok-man Kim's Historic Photospective (1955-2015). 2015: Moosul Publishing, LLC. ISBN 0996264000. Selected as a Best Book Award finalist by USA Book News in June 2015, and a finalist in the International Book Awards in May 2016[9]