n the early 1970s, Taekwondo tournaments flourished along the East Coast, many hosted by Korean instructors who had recently arrived in the United States. This poster for the Pennsylvania Open Taekwondo Championships, hosted by Grandmaster Kwak Byung Yul, was donated to the United States Taekwondo Museum® by Grandmaster Louis Radicioni.
Other tournaments of that era were hosted by Grandmasters Ki Yun Yi, Kim Chung Kim, Howard Lee, Mahn Suh Park, Henry Cho, Richard Chun, Suk Jung Kim, and others.
This tournament holds a special place in my heart and competitive career. It was the first tournament hosted by a Korean instructor at which I won the overall grand championship. At the time, I was studying under my lifelong instructor, Grandmaster Dong Keun Park. My first martial arts instructor, when I was approximately 14 years old, was Bill Adams, who taught Chito-Ryu Karate and competed in Mas Oyama’s North American Karate Championships.
My sincere thanks to Grandmaster Louis Radicioni, a member of the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame®, for donating this historic poster. It is now preserved in the poster collection of the United States Taekwondo Museum®.
UnitedStatesTaekwondoMuseum.com
Taekwondohhalloffame.com