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GRAND MASTER JOHN TOMPKINS June 25, 1944 - June 23, 2016 |
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| Grand Master Tompkins became interested in the martial arts in 1957. It was difficult to find a martial arts instructor at that time but with the help of a Japanese foreign exchange student and by reading Bruce Tegner’s books, he began his training. Grand Master Tompkins’ first formal training was in Judo and jujutsu. From 1963 to December 1965, he learned grappling basics from Rod Sarcharnosky. He was a combat door gunner in Vietnam from December 1965 to July 1967 and was introduced to TaeKwon-Do by Republic of Korea soldiers under the direction of 4th Degree Black Belt and eventually Grand Master Park Jung Tae. He trained in Jujutsu and Karate and underwent 2 years of rehabilitation from his first spinal fusion from July 1967 until 1973. His training with the Korea TaeKwon-Do Association began again under one of Grand Master Park’s students in Vietnam and continued in the USA under B. C. Yu. Grand Master Tompkins resumed training privately under Grand Master Park’s direction in 1976. Grand Master Tompkins was a regional director for Master C. E. Sereff’s USTF from 1979 until 1989 because it was the only sanctioned ITF body in the US during those years. Between 1973 and 1989 he trained consistently in seminars with General Choi Hong Hi and Grand Master Park. General Choi’s background in Soo-Bak-Gi and Karate influenced the development of the Chang-Hun style (General Choi’s method) in such a way that it allowed Grand Master Tompkins’ training in both Judo and Jujutsu to mesh perfectly with the Chang Hun style that General Choi invented. |
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"Honor your parents and grandparents. Be patriotic. Be loyal to your instructor. Support your peers wholeheartedly. Do not expect life to be fair, but merely to give you a chance to participate in a manner of your choice. Good luck with your training!" - Grand Master John Tompkins, IX Dan |
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