Grandmaster Kyungwon Ahn
Born in Seoul, Korea, Grandmaster Kyongwon Ahn began his martial arts training when he was twelve years old. He served an internship with his instructor, Master Chang Bok Lee, as the Master Instructor for the Korean and American armies from 1955 through 1967. Considered one of the best competitors in Korea in the early 1960s, Grandmaster Ahn was winner of many Taekwondo championships and honors throughout Korea.
Grandmaster Ahn came to the United States in 1967 at the request of the University of Cincinnati, and he began teaching Tang Soo Do Taekwondo there in August of 1967, where he still serves as an advisor. He has also taught at Miami University of Ohio and Xavier University.
In 1971, Grandmaster Ahn founded the United Taekwondo Association (UTA) to help bring uniformity and standardization to United States martial arts instruction. He has served as a member of the founding Board of Directors of the National AAU Taekwondo Committee, which later became the United States Taekwondo Union (USTU), as President of the USTU, leading the United States Olympic Taekwondo teams in 1988 in Seoul, Korea and in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, as Chairman of the Ohio AAU Taekwondo Committee, Acting Chairman of the National AAU Taekwondo Promotion Committee, and head of the United States team at the 3rd World Taekwondo Championships in 1977.
Today, 9th Dan Grandmaster Instructor Kyongwon Ahn is known and respected both nationally and internationally as a tireless organizer and a dedicated master teacher. Licensed and accredited by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) as a Class 2 International Referee and Master Instructor, Grandmaster Ahn has trained more than 1000 black belts, including some to the level of Master, and more than 50,000 students, many of whom have received national and international recognition as competitors, instructors and referees. At the recent 30th Anniversary celebration of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) in Seoul, Korea, Grandmaster Ahn was presented with the National Sport Merit Award from the Republic of Korea in recognition of his work in helping to make Taekwondo a universal sport. He was inducted into the US Taekwondo Grandmasters Hall of Fame in 2008.
Grandmaster Ahn still lives in the Cincinnati area today, and has 14 affiliated schools.
