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Grand Master Tae Zee Park 9th Degree Black Belt

- 9th dan – World Tae Kwon Do Federation
- The 15th person to be promoted to 9th dan (WTF)
- National Tae Kwon Do Champion – Korea 1963 – 1968 (12 medals)
- Captain of Korean Army Tae Kwon Do Team
- Instructor of National Teachers College – Korea
- Member of Korean National Tae Kwon Do Demonstration Team
- Captain of Sung Kyun Kwan University Tae Kwon Do Team
- Founded Tae Park Tae Kwon Do 1974
- Vice Chairman of the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan Association
- General Secretary of the Sung Kyung Kwan University Tae Kwon Do Alumni Association
- Resides in Michigan

The Life of Grand Master Park

Many years ago, in South Korea, a shy boy named Tae Zee Park watched helplessly as a bully hit the young boy’s mother. Even though the community rallied together to run the bully out of town, Grand Master Park decided, then and there that he would be ready the next time someone tried to hurt his family. So, the young Grand Master Park learned a little soccer and a little boxing, but he learned to love Tae Kwon Do.

The Early Years

Grand Master Park started Tae Kwon Do lessons when he was twelve years old. Five days each week for at least two hours a day, young Grand Master Park would practice basic patterns, kicks, and forms. He wanted to be strong and responsible and to hold his own among his six brothers and sisters. Very few of the other students in his class worked as hard as he did.

When Grand Master Park was sixteen, he became one of the youngest first-degree black belts in Korea. At his first-degree test, he was rewarded the highest points in forms and free fighting, but his goal was to become even better. He left home and went to the central studio to practice and study. After earning his second degree, Grand Master Park entered his first tournament.

Tournament Fighting

Korean martial art tournaments were very dangerous. Participants risked serious accidents- even death- to win because winning meant great honor for the fighter’s school and it’s reputation. Everyone knew who the tournament winners were, and they were greened many special privileges.

Each Tae Kwon Do school sent their top one or two fighters to compete. Each fight consisted of three three-minute rounds. As long as a competitor won, he could progress to the next round. If he lost, he went back home. In addition to being very good, tournament fighters had to be very strong and in excellent shape. Sometimes a competitor would have fought for five days in a row to qualify for the final rounds.

Grand Master Park completed his formal education at Sung Kyun University, where he majored in Government. In addition to his scholastic pursuits, this very special school allowed him to study Tae Kwon Do up to five hours a day. All 350 people in his freshman class were black belts. Grand Master Park was one of the only two or three students picked for special training as part of the university team. He and the other team members worked very hard and received many high honors. In 1964 and 1965, Grand Master Park was the top tournament fighter in all of Korea.

The once shy boy had grown into a strong and brave young man.

Professional Tae Kwon Do

After graduating from the university, Grand Master Park was recruited for the Korean Army’s Tae Kwon Do. For the next three years, his full-time job was to represent Korea in international tournaments. He had become the equivalent of a professional athlete. Everyone knew his face and he was very well respected.

After army service, Grand Master Park taught for one year at the Korean National Teachers College, where he earned his sixth dan. He had loved practicing Tae Kwon Do and now he loved teaching it to others.

On To America

When, Grand Master Park first came to America, he taught martial arts at Kent State University in Ohio. He later moved to Michigan and began teaching Tae Kwon Do at the YMCA in Jackson. It was there that he learned about America from his students. Grand Master Park would teach them martial art – and his students would teach him English language and American customs. He learned what Americans believed and how they made decisions. This co-dependence on his students helped form life-long bonds.

Founding the Tae Park Institute

Grand Master Park had proven in Korea that he was an excellent fighter and teacher. But now he was in America where the people’s wants and customs were very different. He started his first Tae Kwon Do class in 1974. But it closed after only two months. Grand Master Park believes that the advanced techniques he taught were too difficult for beginning students, who quickly became frustrated and stopped coming to class.

Grand Master Park changed his style and concentrated on the basics when he reopened his school. He continues to teach in Jackson and expanded to Hillsdale College. As the Tae Park Institute grew, Grand Master Park focused on building a strong supportive organization that would produce black belts with solid leadership skills. As the years passed, Grand Master Park opened schools in Springport, Grand Rapids, Hillsdale, Jackson, and Ypsilanti.

Tae Park Institute Today

Twenty years have passed since Grand Master Park came to America to teach Tae Kwon Do. Today, Tae Park Institute has schools in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Wyoming, Ohio, Texas, New Mexico, Alaska, and many Michigan school locations. There are over 1,500 black belts with 30 Master Instructors.

Grand Master Park’s students speak of him with great pride and respect and view him as a father figure and mentor. As one of Grand Master Park’s master instructors has said, “The Tae Park Institute will survive a long time because of Grand Master Park’s high caliber physical ability, intelligence, compassion, and family-like loyalty toward his pupils.”

Grand Master Park and his wife, Mrs. Hwy Park, currently live in the Ann Arbor area. His daughter Na Lee attends the University of Michigan, and daughter Na Na, a Wellesley College graduate, works at a law firm in New York City. Grand Master Park’s son, Won Hee, a graduate of Harvard University, is employed at IBM.

Written by Valerie Lucas, 5th dan with contributions from Lynn Bernard, 6th dan. Edited by Mary Peteryf, blue belt. (Retyped for this web page from the 2002 Tae Park Tae Kwon Do World Class Championships Brochure, by Jessica Bennett 1st Dan)