Grandmaster Ken MacKenzie - Taekwondo Times

Hapkido in New Jersey and LaVoice’s Lion’s Den in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is nice to know that we
have so positively impacted the lives of thousands,
with most Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido schools in
southern New Jersey able to trace their lineage back
to my organization.
Do you feel that children can really learn the martial
arts?
Yes, of course. My first school was only open to
youth. It was the first martial arts school in the
United States dedicated specifically to children.
Of course since then, we have expanded to all age
groups. Even as a teen, I recognized the benefits
to youth: focus, goal setting, self-discipline, selfcontrol
and self-confidence. Over 10,000 children
have gone through my program since 1983, many
of which have gone on to great achievements in life.
I now have black belts who have graduated from
every Ivy league university, and several from the
likes of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, etc….all
a true testament to the benefits of Hapkido training
for youth. I have always approached my youth
programs much as I imagine the ancient Hwa-Rang
(flowering youth) of the Silla Dynasty must have. I
believe in building the whole person, with patience,
one step at a time.
My own son and daughters have also studied
the martial arts. My son Dustin, now 17, has been
training since the age of two under my top student,
Chief Master Scott Yates. This relationship allowed
for Dustin to enjoy a normal student-teacher relationship
with Master Yates while sharing his joy of
training with me, simply as ‘the dad.’
Years ago, Hapkido was deemed appropriate
only for students age 13 and older. In 1994, based
on the recognized success of my youth programs,
DoJuNim put me in charge of developing a viable
Sin Moo Hapkido program for kids. An ongoing
experiment and always evolving, the all new World
Sin Moo Hapkido Federation children’s curriculum
takes into account the need for extra safety
measures, spotting, tumbling, and age-appropriate
training. The evolution of this curriculum was
completed by Masters Yates, Zmugg and myself,
in Graz, Austria in June 2009. Today’s generation
of Sin Moo Hapkido kids represent the future. I
expect them to take the art to the next level.
How do you feel that success and being a professional
martial artist makes you a better martial
artist?
Living the life of the full time martial arts professional
has enabled me to spend all of my time
perfecting my craft while sharing it with others.
I have enjoyed the freedom and time to dedicate
to reading, writing, research, curriculum development,
meditation, and practice. Financial freedom
has allowed me to travel, help others, give generous
donations, grant scholarships, and provide my family
with a life of dignity and opportunity. Success
is often the result of the combination of hard work
and working smart. As the popular martial artist,
businessman and motivational speaker Chief Master
Robert Ott (www.CertainVictory.com) says,
“You must first learn to take care of yourself before
you can effectively take care of others.” This is good
advice.
Have you trained in Korea?
Yes, indeed I have. My first trip to South Korea was
in 1997. I was invited and most honored to join
Dr. He-Young Kimm’s Hapkido and Han Mu Do
group in touring, training and competing in Korea.
I returned with Dr. Kimm in 1999 and again in
2002 with DoJuNim, each year winning the gold
medal at the World Hapkido Championships. I
recall DoJuNim telling me at the World Championships
that “Lions make lions, and rabbits make
rabbits.” What he was telling me was that I could
not allow myself to be defeated and still claim to be
among his top students. Losing was not an option.
At TaeKyun Headquarters in South Korea
56 November 2009 / taekwondotimes.com