taekkyeon: korea’s 1500 year old fighting art, dance, game and sport

Len trained in martial arts since his first Tae Kwon Do class after graduating from college the first time. He began publishing martial arts related articles around 1990. Len began teaching martial arts after earning a Cho Dan (1st/lesser level) Black Belt in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do and Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do almost simultaneously. Len’s Grandmaster in Tang Soo Do martial arts was Mariano Estioko, he is popularly known as the second American to earn a Black Belt in Tang Soo Do while in Korea and one of his first students when he returned home, Master Francis Meyer at the Livermore Tang Soo Do. Eventually, Len earned 5th Dan Black Belts in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do, teaching and testing and then Len earned a 3rd Dan Black Belt at the International Soo Bahk. As a Journalist, his articles were published in martial arts magazines such world of Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do Times, Black Belt and Mudo Dojang and others. Len’s martial arts related articles were once, the only source of a defined lost history of Korean martial arts that had been erased by the Japanese occupation and colonial occupation from 1876 to 1945 to just a few oral traditions. Len’s articles and books have been translated and republished in countries around the world. Len has published more than 40 books on Korean martial arts. Len’s books focus on the academic aspects of the styles of Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk Do, Tae Kwon Do and Kong Soo Do and the Korean Kwans and the Kwan founders that made Korean martial arts popular. Len currently has more than 35 years of martial arts experience as a student and Instructor, training and teaching in three different styles. Len has also studied Shotokan Karate and the Chinese Wing Chun fighting style extensively. Academically, Len has earned four degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and a graduate degrees and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering and a graduate degree in Education.