GM Tony Blanchard
Taekwondo Hall of Fame® Ceremony 2009
Country : USA
ABOUT GM TONY BLANCHARD
The Tae Kwon Do career of Grandmaster Tony Blanchard began more than 50 years ago at Akron Ohio’s Archbishop Hoban High School. There he lettered in track and cross country. He also lettered in wrestling. He believes that one-on-one sport gave him a tactical advantage in Tae Kwon Do sparring over most people who only participated in team sports. After graduating he returned to Hoban to take classes from Grandmasters IJ Kim and TC Choi. From there he later moved to the main dojang.
In 1973 he was promoted to 1st Dan. In his first competition as a black belt he won Grand Champion. He continued winning in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. With a total of over 40 wins he had multiple wins in multiple cities: 6 in Charleston W.VA, 3 in Akron, OH, 3 in Monroeville, PA, 2 in Indianapolis, Indiana etc. He considers his two wins in Madison Square Garden to be the pinnacle of his competitive career.
In 1980 he was featured in a movie filmed in Akron,OH called “The Instructor” starring Masters Bob Chaney and Lynda Scharnott who later became GM Blanchard’s wife. In 1985 he was featured in the premier issue of World Tae Kwon Do magazine. A quote from the article was “He’s no slouch when it comes to using his feet. However, his bread and butter is his lightning fast reverse punch. It is nothing short of fantastic. Most amazing of all, he does it best going backwards-when you least expect it.”
Along with competition GM Blanchard spent years in the dojang working with other black belts in his sparring class. One of the techniques focused on was that reverse punch. This evolved into a group of offensive and defensive hand attacks which came to be known as the “Akron Punch”. They became a regular feature of tournaments at that time and his juniors were easily recognized for their proficiency in its usage.
For over 50 years Tae Kwon Do has played a major role in GM Blanchard’s life. In 2022 he was promoted to 8th Dan, one of the highest achievements of his life. He says he has met some of the finest people in the world through the martial arts. And not just through competitions with other schools but right there in his own dojang. He credits his instructor, GM IJ Kim for teaching him that all important and invaluable Tae Kwon Do spirit. He particularly thanks his senior, GM Ron Coleman for his guidance and leadership through so many years and still today. GM Blanchard also credits his junior black belts for the inspiration they’ve given him as he watched them grow and mature in the martial arts. Lastly, and best of all, GM Blanchard thanks Tae Kwon Do for the meeting and marrying of the love of his life and also his sparring partner for life, Grand Master Lynda Blanchard.
In 2009 GM Tony Blanchard received the highest honor in Tae Kwon Do upon being inducted into the OFFICIAL TAEKWONDO HALL OF FAME®
