sixth dan is the highest rank of black belt in taekwondo.
sixth dan is the highest rank of black belt in taekwondo.
what is the highest rank of black belt in taekwondo?
sixth dan
a student of the legendary grand master dong keun park (undefeated korean champion and head coach of the usa olympic taekwondo team at the barcelona olympics in 1992), he founded the nyu sport taekwondo club, which he has coached and managed for three decades. mark was the usa taekwondo forms champion for 4th degree black belts and higher in 1996 after winning the silver medal in 1995. at different times he has served as the northeast regional director for the national collegiate taekwondo association, as vice president of the national association of state taekwondo organizations and as vice president of the nj state taekwondo association. he was a member of the board of the east coast taekwondo conference (formerly known as the ivy/northeast collegiate taekwondo league) from its founding in 1991 until he retired from the position in 2004. he is currently an 8th degree black belt, certified by the world taekwondo headquarters (kukkiwon) in south korea, and recently received his 9th dan from the jidokwan, one of the original kwans of taekwondo. he has trained over one hundred students to the rank of black belt and beyond, including master albert lee (6th degree), who coached the nyu team for 8 years and continues to run mark's old taekwondo school in new york city, the ny jidokwan center, and master andre chi (5th degree).
mark lesly
the foundation for shaw's writings on the martial arts began when he was six years old. this is the point when he began the study of the korean martial art of hapkido. shaw studied and taught hapkido and taekwondo until in 1987 he was the first american to be awarded the 7th degree black belt in moo duk kwan taekwondo. in 1988 he earned the rank of 7th degree black belt in kumdo. in 1996 he was the first non-korean to be promoted to the rank of 7th degree black belt by the korea hapkido federation. previous to this he had been certified a hapkido 7th degree black belt in hapkido moo hak kwan. since that time he has been promoted to 8th degree black belt in both hapkido and taekwondo.
scott shaw