In Remembrance: Bong Soo Han

     Bong Soo Han, the Korean martial arts master who helped to revolutionize how martial arts were portrayed in Hollywood films, has passed away on January 8, 2007 in Santa Monica, CA. He was 73.

     Born August 25, 1931 in Seoul, Korea, Han began studying the martial arts discipline of hapkido, which combines the kicking and punching of Taekwondo and the joint locks and throwing styles of Judo, with the discipline’s creator Young Sul Choi. In 1959, he opened his first martial arts school in Seoul and would later teach self-defense to US forces stationed in Korea and Vietnam. Often called the father of Hapkido in the Western world, Han immigrated to Los Angeles in 1967. He held a 9^th-degree black belt and the title of grand master.

     In 1969, Han was giving a hapkido demonstration which was seen by actor Tom Laughlin. Impressed, Laughlin approached him about working on his action film Billy Jack (1971). At that time most martial arts scenes in Hollywood films were played by actors with little training. Han served on the film as fight choreographer and as Laughlin’s stunt double. The fighting moves he used for the film’s choreography had been previously unseen in American films and helped to catapult it to cult classic status.

     In gratitude, Laughlin offered Han a screen role in the sequel The Trial Of Billy Jack (1974). Although Han never actively pursued an acting career, he showed a flair for comedy in 1977’s Kentucky Fried Movie. In the sketch film, Han appeared as the villainous Dr. Klahn in the “Fistful Of Yen” segment, a parody of the Bruce Lee film Enter The Dragon (1973).

     Other films that Han worked on include The Little Dragons (1980), Force: Five (1981) and The Presidio (1988). Han would also train many Hollywood martial artists, most notably Chuck Norris.

     In addition to his film work, Han wrote the book Hapkido, The Korean Art Of Self-Defense and produced a series of instructional videotapes. He also founded and served as president of the International Hapkido Federation which has schools in California, Hawaii, Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.