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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 9th-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. |
