List of taekwondo grandmasters
List of everyone who has achieved the highest level in taekwondo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list of taekwondo grandmasters includes notable persons who have been recognized as grandmasters of the Korean martial art of taekwondo. There is no single, universally-recognized set of criteria to define a taekwondo grandmaster; different organizations and different styles have their own rules. Those listed below are grouped by system: Kukkiwon (widely known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters), International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), and other systems (which includes some persons receiving ranks from taekwondo organizations that predate the other two systems, e.g., the original Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA)) and United Taekwondo Association UWTA. World Alliance Taekwon-do Federation GM Francesc Campanya
Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters)
This list includes persons who:
- are ranked at least 8th -10th depending school dan by Kukkiwon (the highest rank normally awarded to living persons within that system);
- are notable as individuals; and
- are notable for their contribution to taekwondo.
| Name Frank Massar | Rank 9th Dan | Life 1958 | Residence United Kingdom | Prominence Founder Massar Taekwondo | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Sung-chon | 9th dan | 1945– | Philippines | Kukkiwon Chairman of the Board (2016–). CEO and Chief Instructor of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (1975–) | [1] |
| Ahn, Kyongwon | 9th dan | 1937– | United States of America | Founded United Taekwondo Association; former president of the United States Taekwondo Union | See main article |
| Choi, Tae-hong | 9th dan | 1935–2009 | United States of America | Founded first taekwondo school in Oregon, United States; former vice-president of the United States Taekwondo Union | See main article |
| Chung, Sun-hwan | 9th dan | 1940– | United States of America | Founder of Moo Sool Do and President of World Academy of Martial Arts Association. Korean National Champion (1963–1965). Kukkiwon Advisory Council (2008). Hall of Fame - U.S. Taekwondo Grandmasters Society. Former President, U.S.T.U. Michigan Tae Kwon Do Association. | [2][3][4] |
| Kim, Ki-whang | 10th dan | 1920–1993 | United States of America | Promoted to 9th dan by the KTA, Chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team 1988, awarded 10th dan while in hospital with cancer in 1993. Inducted into Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2009. | See main article |
| Kim Pyung-soo | 10th dan | 1939– | United States of America | Promoted to 10th dan by Senior Grandmaster Hong Jong-Pyo, Taekwon Kwon Bop, in the Central YMCA, Seoul. Founded the Chayon-Ryu system of Taekwondo. | See main article |
| Samer Kamal | 9th dan | 1966– | Canada | President of the Arab Canadian Sports Association, 1988 Seoul Olympics medalist, 1st Class International referee since 1999, 1st Class Kukkiwon Examiner, the President of Champions Martial Arts Taekwondo in Canada and Jordan | www.SamerKamal.info |
| Chong, Jun | 10th dan | 1944– | United States of America | Founder of World United Martial Arts Organization, est 1973. His system combines Taekwondo and Hapkido. | [5][6] |
| Min, Kyung-Ho (Dr. Ken Min) | 9th dan | 1935– | United States of America | Founder of the UC Martial Arts Program at UC Berkeley in 1969, which then hosted the first UC Open in 1970. | [7][8][9] |
| Sell, Edward B | 10th dan | 1942–2014 | United States of America | Highest ranked non-Asian Taekwondo black belt in the world. Only non-Korean honored at the Taekwondo Park in Seoul, Korea. Founder of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association. | [10][11] |
| Paik, Sang-kee | 9th dan | 1929–2009 | United States of America | Early student of B. I. Yoon and first Black Belt of Grand Master Ki Whang Kim; created Sa-Sang Kwan system. Inducted into Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2013 | See main article |
| Park, Dong-keun | 9th dan | c. 1941– | United States of America | Father of Thai taekwondo; Head Coach of US Olympic taekwondo team in 1988 and 1992 | See main article |
| Park, Young-Ghil | 10th dan | 1941– 2024 | Italy | One of Founders of Italian Taekwondo (three Park Brothers - Sun-jae Park, Young-Ghil Park, Chung-un Park); Honorary President of FITA - Italian Taekwondo Federation 2016 - 2024; Technical Director of WTF Poomsae Committee 2018 | [12][13][14][15] |
| Lee, Hyeon-kon | 9th dan | c. 1947– | United States of America | Chairman of Board of Education of Kukkiwon; former Vice Chairman of Education of the WTF; author of taekwondo textbook. Became an M.D. in 2000. | [16][17][18] |
| Cho, Byung-kon | 9th dan | 1947– | United States of America | Student of Grand Master Pong-ki Kim and Grand Master Kop-soo Kwon
|
[19][20]
TaeKwonDo Times Magazine Issue March 1991 |
| Sell, Brenda Jean (Brenda Sell) | 9th dan | January 1955– | Lakeland, Florida (USA) |
|
See Wikipedia page for all sources |
| Wyllie, Gregory | 9th dan | c. 1955 – | Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) | Introduced Taekwondo into the New South Wales school system, initiated the All Schools tournament. He became a ninth dan in April 2016.[21] | |
| Mario, Hung Wai Wing | 9th dan | Port-Louis (Mauritius) | Introduced Taekwondo in Mauritius since the 1970s and was induced to the World Taekwondo Hall of fame. | ||
| Sylvestre, Yan Too Sang | 8th dan | Rose-Hill (Mauritius) | A competitive Grandmaster who participated in several local, regional and international competitions. At the peak of his competitive career, Grandmaster Sylvestre Yan Too Sang ranked 5th (Poomsae) at the World tournament held in 2012. | ||
| Won, In Hui | 9th dan | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (USA) | President of the Hanmookwan, one of the original 9 kwans that helped shape modern Taekwondo. President of the Central US Taekwondo Association. District director of the Oklahoma State Taekwondo Association. Served as an instructor while in the Korean armed forces and trained the US armed forces in Korea. | https://www.worldhanmookwan.org/history/inhuiwon/ |
| Hassan Iskandar | 9th dan Kukkiwon | 1962- | Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) | Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2025
Awarded Australian Sports Medal (2000) Awarded Tasmanian Star of Sport Award (1986) Inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame (2011) World World Taekwondo (WT) Executive Council member (2021–2025) President of Australian Taekwondo from 2017 to 2021. Chairman Taekwondo Australia 2010 Secretary General Australian Taekwondo |
https://pinnaclemartialarts.com.au/ |
| Jean Kfoury | 9th dan | 1965– | Adelaide South Australia (Australia) | Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2026
President of Australian Taekwondo Inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2013 Awarded international best selling Co -Author 2025 Elite Martial Artists World Wide Volume III Former Vice President Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (Oceania) Secretary General Australian Taekwondo 2017 to 2021 |
https://austkd.com.au/2026/05/enews/australian-taekwondo-celebrates-prestigious-honour-for-president-jean-kfoury-oam/ |
International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITFs)
This list includes persons who:
- are ranked 9th dan by the ITF (and thus officially recognised as 'Grand Masters' within that system);[24]
- are notable as individuals; and
- are notable for their contribution to taekwondo.
| Name | Rank | Life | Residence | Prominence | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kim, Jong-Chan | 9th dan | 1936- | Canada | Grandmaster Jong Chan Kim (JC Kim) was born in 1936. | |
| Choi, Chang-keun | 9th dan | c. 1940– | Canada | Leading campaign to reunite the ITF; one of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Choi, Hong-hi | 9th dan | 1918–2002 | Canada | Played major role in establishing Taekwon-Do in 1955; Founder of International Taekwon-Do Federation-ITF in 1966, inaugural president of the KTA; co-led the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Choi, Jung-hwa | 9th dan | 1951- | Canada | President of one of the three ITF organisations; son of H. H. Choi | [25][26][27][28] |
| Howard, Robert | 9th dan | c. 1938– | Ireland | President of the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association; helped establish taekwondo in Ireland; first European man promoted to 9th dan | [29][30][31][32] |
| Kong, Young-il | 9th dan | 1943– | United States of America | One of the few promoted to 9th dan by H. H. Choi; one of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Nam, Tae Hi | 9th dan | 1929–2013 | United States of America | Father of Vietnamese taekwondo; pivotal performance in martial arts demonstration 1954; co-led the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Nguyen, Van Binh | 9th dan | 1936– | United States of America | Chairman of ITF Masters Promotion Committee; President of ITF-USA; pioneer of taekwondo in Vietnam | [33][34][35] |
| Park, Jong-soo | 9th dan | 1941–2021 | Canada | One of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Rhee, Ki-ha | 9th dan | 1938– | United Kingdom | Father of British and Irish taekwondo; one of the few promoted to 9th dan by H. H. Choi; one of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Sereff, Charles | 9th dan | 1933–2022 | United States of America | One of the few promoted to 9th dan by H. H. Choi; founded the United States Taekwon-Do Federation | [36][37][38] |
| Trajtenberg, Pablo | 9th dan | c. 1955–2022 | Argentina | President of one of the three ITF organisations after T. Q. Tran's death in 2010 | [39][40][41][42] |
| Tran, Trieu Quan | 9th dan | 1952–2010 | Canada | President of one of the three ITF organisations from 2003 to 2010 | See main article |
Other taekwondo systems
This list includes persons who:
- have been widely recognized masters of taekwondo for at least 30 years;
- are notable as individuals; and
- are notable for their contribution to taekwondo.
| Name | Rank | Life | Residence | Prominence | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cho, Hee-il | 9th dan | 1940- | United States of America | Founded Action International Martial Arts Association; wrote several taekwondo books | See main article |
| Cho, Sihak Henry | 9th dan | 1934–2012 | United States of America | Pioneer of taekwondo in the United States of America; wrote several books; contributed karate article in World Book Encyclopedia (1976) | See main article |
| Choi, Kwang-jo | 9th dan | 1942– | United States of America | Founded Choi Kwang-Do; one of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Han, Cha-kyo | 9th dan | 1934–1996 | United States of America | One of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Hwang, Kwang-sung | 9th dan | c. 1942– | United States of America | One of the few promoted to 9th dan by H. H. Choi | [38][43] |
| Hwang, Jang-lee | 9th dan | 1944– | Korea | Hwang took Taekwondo lessons from age 14 and achieved his 7th dan (rank) black belt. | See main article |
| Kim, Bok man | 11th Dan founder Rank as Founder Of World Chun Kuhn Taekwon-Do Federation-WCTF.
10th Dan in Traditional Taekwon-Do, Founding Member of ITF |
c. 1934–2021 | USA | Kim Bok-man (Korean: 김복만; Hanja: 金福萬,[1] (3 December 1934 – 14 August 2021), Father of South East Asia Taekwon-Do. | See main article |
| Kim, Pyung-soo | 10th dan | 1939– | United States of America | One of only two students that tested and promoted to 5th Dan at the first Korean Tae Soo Do Association exam in 1962. First correspondent from South Korea to Black Belt Magazine(1964–68). Founder of The International Chayon-Ryu Martial Arts Association. Author of three Taekwondo Books (Ohara Publications): Palgue 1-2-3 of Taekwondo Hyung, Palgue 4-5-6 of Taekwondo Hyung, Palgue 7-8 of Taekwondo Hyung, and one Taekwondo book published in Russia. | See main article |
| Lee, Haeng-ung | 10th dan | 20 July 1936 – 5 October 2000 | United States of America | Founded American Taekwondo Association; first grandmaster of the ATA; author of The Way of Traditional Taekwondo | [44] |
| Park, Jung-tae | 9th dan | c. 1943–2002 | Canada | One of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Rhee, Chong-chul | 9th dan | c. 1935–2023 | Australia | Considered as the Father of Australian taekwondo; founded Rhee Taekwon-Do; one of the KTA's 12 original masters | See main article |
| Rhee, Jhoon-goo | 10th dan | 1932–2018 | United States of America | Father of American taekwondo | [citation needed] |
| Vega, Orlando | 9th dan International Taekwon-Do Federation | 1952- | United States/Puerto Rico | He began learning Kempo Karate with Sensei Felix Vega from New York. He studied under Sensei Vega for two years. | |
| Yun Dukan | 9th dan | 1942- | United States of America | Taekwondo Pioneer and Taekwondo Grandmaster originally from the Moo Duk Kwan. Yun Dukan, with the encouragement of Choi Hong Hi, began instructing Taekwon-Do in the United States of America in 1968. | See main article |
| Kang, Suh Chong | 10th dan | 1929-2022 | Korea/United States of America | An original & notable student of the Chung Do Kwan under founder Won Kuk Lee. Founded Kuk Mu Kwan, and was a central figure in the migration of Taekwondo to the West. Kang was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame. | See main article |
| Kang, Tae Sun | 10th dan | c.1962- | Korea/United States of America | One of Suh Chong Kang's first students, established many Taekwondo schools and programs since the 1970s, has personally trained tens of thousands of students along with holding notable leadership roles within many Taekwondo organizations. Kang was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame. | See main article |