grandmaster
Hwang
THE LEGACY OF
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLACK BELT STATUS IS DEFINED BY HOW OTHERS VALUE THE LEGACYAND REPUTATION OF THE ONE WHO AWARDED IT.“Grandmaster Hwang was more important to me than any superhero!”
I first met Grandmaster Hwang in 1973 when I was 4 years old. To me he was far and away more important than any superhero I’d ever seen or heard about. He was real!
He was one of the most prominently revered martial art promoters in the US and beyond. Grandmaster Hwang literally crushed feet of cement cinder blocks with his bare hand and feet to prove his art’s effectiveness at the largest martial art platform gatherings on earth.
By 13 years old, I was his youngest student ever promoted to Adult Dan Status. By 14-15 years old, I consistently won Grand Champion (all weight brackets) in men’s divisions, both Hyung (kata) and Fighting.
To me, there’s no doubt, I owe this to his mentorship influence in and over my life. Without his direction, I would not have finished my bachelor’s degree along with hundreds of other goals. He taught me patience and wisdom which are essential qualities in becoming a man. He was a selfless mentor. After having thousands of hours of one on one time together, Grandmaster Hwang not only was my instructor, but he became a second father.
-Master Brett L. Jackson
Grand Master Jack Hwang, born in South Korea with the family name Hwang Sae Jin, was a prominent figure in martial arts in the United States and worldwide. He began his martial arts training in Korea at a very young age, achieving proficiency in Kendo, Judo, Karate, Hapkido, and eventually reaching 9th dan in TaeKwonDo. Hwang served as a guerrilla fighter during the Korean War and later came to the United States as a foreign exchange student in 1957. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wisconsin State College and completed graduate studies at Sam Houston State University in Texas and the Southwest Police Institute at the University of Oklahoma.Hwang opened his first school in Oklahoma City in 1960 and established the school officially in 1964. He gained a reputation as a fighter on the karate competitive circuit and hosted the All American Open, the longest-running martial arts tournament in the United States, which was held for the 53rd year in April 2017. Hwang was certified as an International Master Instructor by the World TaeKwonDo Federation in 1972 and selected, directed, and coached the first U.S. TaeKwonDo team for the World TaeKwonDo Championship in Seoul, South Korea in 1973.Grand Master Hwang passed away in 2017, leaving behind a legacy of 53 years of teaching traditional TaeKwonDo in Oklahoma City.
“Grandmaster Hwang taught me everything I know. Not only was he my mentor for 45 years, but he was also my second father. ”