History of the NIH Taekwondo Club

Martial arts instruction and practice is in its second decade of history at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH Taekwondo Club and the NIH Judo Club had their origins in the fall of 1978. Dr. Thomas E. Malone and Dr. W. French Anderson developed the concept for a combined Judo and Karate introductory course and announced the meeting of the charter class in the December 12, 1978 NIH Recreation and Welfare Association "Smoke Signals". The course was planned as a service to the NIH staff and to the neighboring communities. Seventy-eight people arrived for the first session, and as a result of this large evidence of interest, the two separate clubs, Judo and Taekwondo were created. The Clubs have operated since their inception as members of the NIH Recreation and Welfare Association. They have close affiliation with each other, reflecting their common origin. In 1983 Dr. Donald G. Murphy and Ms. Susan E. (Stewart) Goubeaux established the NIH Self-Defense club, which had its origins in the Taekwondo Club. The Taekwondo Club also sponsored the NIH Aikido Club, the latter having been established in July, 1989. The Aikido and Self-Defense Clubs combined in 1990 to form the NIH Aikido and Self-Defense Club. The NIH Kendo Club was established in 1993 under the leadership of Mr. James Yan and Dr. Don Seto. In 1994 Chi-Kung, under the leadership of Mr. Shuren Ma, was introduced to NIH through the NIH Aikido Club. Chi-Kung is now an NIH R&W club and a member of the R&W family of martial arts clubs. The NIH Taekwondo Club is independent, although it maintains informal affiliation with the United States Taekwondo Union and the World Taekwondo Federation. The NIH Aikido Self-Defense Club is unaffiliated, however, it continues to have strong ties with the Aikido Association of America. NIH martial arts training facilities are shared by the Aikido, Chi-Kung, Kendo, Judo, and Taekwondo clubs, and the clubs operate under a single Martial Arts Board co-chaired by Drs. Malone and Grem.

The NIH Taekwondo Club was an independent school for the first 4 years of its existence. During this time it practiced the Chung Do Kwon style of Taekwondo. The Club became a branch school of the Dong Ya Yang Taekwondo and Judo Institute in 1982. As a branch school, the Club was under the overall guidance of Professor Yang, Taekwondo Grandmaster (8th degree black belt in Taekwondo and 7th degree blackbelt in Judo). At this juncture in its history, the Club expanded its style of practice to encompass Kukkiwon Taekwondo, and became a member of the Maryland Chapter of the United States Taekwondo Union and affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation. In 1986, largely through the efforts of Dr. Malone (sensei of the NIH Judo club and then Deputy Director of NIH), a defensive arts training facility on the NIH campus was planned for occupancy by the two clubs. This facility came into existence in 1989, and was formally named the Thomas E. Malone Judo and Taekwondo Center. At this stage, the NIH Taekwondo Club became an independent Club, ending formal status as a branch school. The Club has its primary heritage in both Kukkiwon and Chung Do Kwon Taekwondo. The Club also incorporates a breadth of defensive arts training from Korean, Japanese, and other defensive arts traditions.