Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways

Early Taekwondo Years and First Promotion

Grandmaster Kim was born in Nowari (P’yŏngt’aek-si), South Korea on January 11, 1949. His training in martial arts began at the age of 12 under Grandmaster Ahn at the Yangju Taekwondo Mu Dŏk Kwan School.

He and his friends had one, common goal at the time: to be “Top Boy”. With superior fighting skills, Grandmaster Kim reasoned, his troop of friends could triumph over the other packs of boys who roamed his home village looking for a fight. Together, they enrolled in the local Taekwondo school and trained hard. His first master was very tough and demanded complete concentration, Grandmaster Kim explained. If a boy’s mind wandered, a WHACK with a bamboo bat inspired focus. The master expected his students to train every day, with punishment for misbehavior or missing class. Grandmaster Kim vividly remembers his first Black Belt test which took place in the city of Seoul. “I was scared to death,” he said. It was a large event with many people coming from across Korea to watch their families and friends. If a practitioner didn’t perform well during the test, they were “released” immediately and had to return home. Those who completed the test sometimes waited months to discover if they’d passed or not.

A Giant Step Abroad

Grandmaster Kim moved to Tongduch’ŏn-si as an assistant instructor at the US Army 2^nd Infantry Base stationed there, where he spent several years training soldiers.  From his native Korea, Grandmaster Kim came to this country in 1975 at the invitation of Grandmaster Choon Hwa Han who, two years earlier, had opened Han’s Taekwondo School in Wichita. Grandmaster Kim had been assistant instructor to Grandmaster Han in Korea, and now he was to assume the same position on the other side of the globe.

By this time Grandmaster Kim had achieved the ran of 5th Dan Kukkiwon Instructor.  When Grandmaster Han moved and Master J.B. Kim relocated to Oklahoma, Grandmaster Kim remained in Wichita and the Park Lane School became his own. In 1982, Grandmaster Han left for California and at Master Han’s insistence, Grandmaster Kim changed the name to Kim’s Academy of Taekwondo.

Wichita, Kansas

Master Kim has awarded more than 230 black belts over the years, and there are currently hundreds of men, women, and children training with him, or at the 17 branch schools throughout Kansas. When Master Kim first began teaching in Kansas, most of his new students wanted to learn Taekwondo for the same reason he had, Master Kim said, to be the best fighter. But over the years, that emphasis changed. “Now people want confidence,” he said, “‘Top boy’ is second.” Under his guidance, Kim’s Academy has flourished, growing larger and expanding outward with affiliated schools in every direction.

In the spring of 1989 Kim’s Academy moved to its present location on South Longfellow, and in 1993 it underwent a major expansion. In 1994, after travelling to the World Taekwondo Headquarters in the Gangnam-gu district of Seoul, Grandmaster Kim received his 8th Dan Kukkiwon certificate. Just as at Kim’s Academy today, those young students of Taekwondo learned more than just fighting techniques. They acquired a sense of loyalty to their school and absorbed good morals and the virtues of sincerity. Their master taught them that “there is no excuse to fight.” “Lots of troublemakers came to class, but as time passed, they changed,” Master Kim said.

October 24th, 2024 marked a memorable milestone at Kim’s Academy as Grandmaster Kim celebrated the school’s 300th Belt Promotion Test. In honor of this remarkable accomplishment Grandmaster Kim received several special tokens of appreciation:

• A US flag flown over the US Capital
• A congratulatory letter from Kansas Senator Jerry Moran, recognizing his dedication and achievements
• A letter from President Joseph Biden, also applauding his exceptional contributions to the martial arts community