Great-Grandmaster Chull Hee Park Awards
Ninth Dan to Taekwondo/Ju-Jitsu Legend
George E. Anderson

By Patrick Hickey

February 16, 2007, at the Kwanmukan International Symposium, George E. Anderson from Akron, Ohio, received his ninth Dan certification from the Kukkiwon. Great-Grandmaster Chull Hee Park, founder of the Kang Duk Won in Korea, was in attendance and personally presented the certification to Grandmaster Anderson. The certification is believed to be the first ninth Dan issued to anyone outside of Korea.

This historic occasion took place at the Kwanmukan International Banquet held annually in Akron, Ohio. In attendance this year were over 250 guests, mostly martial artists, from more than four countries and ten states. World-class instruction at the seminar was provided by those recognized as Shihan ("Grandmaster") under Grandmaster Anderson's Kwanmukan organization.

Grandmaster Anderson, who is now 75 years old, has a martial arts resume that spans over 55 years. First involved with Taekwondo in the early 60's, he has been active in the international sports arena, serving as Referee Council Chairman and as the first Vice-President of the World Union of Karate-Do Organizations (now known as the World Karate Federation, a member of the United States Olympic Committee), and also as an International Representative for the Ju-Jitsu International Federation.

The Kukkiwon, also known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters, serves as the issuing body for Taekwondo Dan (black belt degrees) promotion and certification. The Kukkiwon is the only Taekwondo institute's Dan that is recognized by World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) which governs the competition aspects of Taekwondo as the International Federation of Taekwondo with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).