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About Senior Grandmaster Young Pyo Choi
Senior Grandmaster Young Pyo Choi is a well-rounded martial artist and a 9th Dan senior GrandMaster with over 60 years of experience. He is an expert in several areas of martial arts, including the Song Moo Kwan and Moogong Ryu styles of Taekwondo, Sippalgi style of Kung Fu, Hapkido, TaeGukKwan style of Tai Chi, and over 20 weapons, including swords and staffs. Young Pyo Choi is also a practitioner of Kimoodo healing arts. As a martial arts master, he strongly emphasizes the development of ourselves as human beings.
The Beginning
Young Pyo Choi was born in 1948 in the mountains of North Korea near Hungnam. His family migrated to South Korea during the Korean war, where over two million civilians were killed and followed by a lot of civil unrest and conflict. At that time, the young Choi learned that it took hard work and dedication to overcome obstacles and establish himself in life. His uncle, a black belt martial artist, started teaching his nephews basic martial arts skills to help them protect themselves.
Master Choi's career in martial arts took a profound turn when he began traditional training under Supreme Grandmaster Byung Jick Ro, the founder of the Taekwondo's Song Moo Kwan (Pine Tree) tradition. As he gained more experience, Master Choi joined the ROK Marines as a martial arts instructor. Along the way, he encountered an expert in the Sippalgi style of Kung Fu, and the two agreed to teach each other everything they knew about their own martial arts skills. They practiced consistently, sometimes outside in subzero temperatures. Young Pyo Choi eventually gained the status of "master" in this style of Kung Fu.
Skills and Experience
In 1971, his older brother, Grandmaster Joon Pyo Choi, moved to the United States to become a Taekwondo instructor. He wrote to Young Pyo, telling him to practice day and night because Americans were serious martial arts students, and to survive as a young master, he had to practice hard. Following the lessons of his youth, Master Young Pyo Choi dedicated himself to pursuing a life in martial arts, continuously training hard for five or six hours a day to develop his skills.
With few resources, his trademark became a black uniform, sneakers, and a towel around his neck. He also sought out and developed expertise in Hapkido and TaeGukKwan Tai Chi and gained experience with KiMooDo (the Way of Martial Arts Energy), which emphasizes holistic well-being in all areas of life. In addition, he has become an expert in some weapons and, over the years, developed his MooJung style of Chong Bong (long staff) and Kum Bop (sword) techniques and forms. In fact, to other Grandmasters who know him, he is known as Moo Jung, the honesty style, a reference to his emphasis on rightness and correctness in the development of human character.
Those who know Master Young Pyo Choi are aware of his artistic abilities. His schools and training materials are decorated with unique art graphics, and he plays the traditional Korean drum known as the dae-book. His martial arts training has helped develop his concentration and coordination, enabling him to become a champion tennis player in high school and later an accomplished golf player, becoming a certified golf teaching professional in the US Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF).
With few resources, his trademark became a black uniform, sneakers, and a towel around his neck. He also sought out and developed expertise in Hapkido and TaeGukKwan Tai Chi and gained experience with KiMooDo (the Way of Martial Arts Energy), which emphasizes holistic well-being in all areas of life. In addition, he has become an expert in some weapons and, over the years, developed his MooJung style of Chong Bong (long staff) and Kum Bop (sword) techniques and forms. In fact, to other Grandmasters who know him, he is known as Moo Jung, the honesty style, a reference to his emphasis on rightness and correctness in the development of human character.
Those who know Master Young Pyo Choi are aware of his artistic abilities. His schools and training materials are decorated with unique art graphics, and he plays the traditional Korean drum known as the dae-book. His martial arts training has helped develop his concentration and coordination, enabling him to become a champion tennis player in high school and later an accomplished golf player, becoming a certified golf teaching professional in the US Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF).
The Founding of OMAC
Master Young Pyo Choi moved to the United States in 1974 to join his brother, Grandmaster Joon Pyo Choi, who had opened a martial arts school in Columbus, Ohio. The two brothers, Grandmaster Ho Kim, and other masters formed the core of the Oriental Martial Arts College system and the MooGongRyu (Guardian of the Peace) style as a branch of the Song Moo Kwan tradition. The OMAC system emphasizes the development of ourselves as human beings to become well-rounded and balanced individuals who work for a better society. Together, the Choi brothers have won several national, Pan American, and Olympic championships.
In 1983, Master Choi moved to Indianapolis to establish a branch of the OMAC system. From the beginning, where he first lived in his training school, he has worked hard to develop the MooGongRyu style and currently oversees three schools with over 300 active students. Master Choi has produced several state champions. In 1985, he initiated the Battle of Indianapolis Open Martial Arts Tournament, which has grown over the years to become Indiana's largest martial arts competition. Master Choi has consistently expressed interest in the benefits of martial arts for children, often saying that there are no masters or instructors without the new students to inherit our traditions. OMAC Indiana has sponsored a wide range of martial arts programs for children in local community centers and school systems. When children learn patience, persistence, self-control, and respect, OMAC gives back to society by producing positive contributing members of the community.
Awards and Recognitions
Grandmaster Choi was recognized when he cut watermelon on the stomach of a volunteer student in many of his martial arts demonstrations. He has been named the "Best Master's Demonstration" at many martial arts events, including exhibitions at Madison Square Gardens in New York City and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Grandmaster Choi has also received many awards for his performances, including the Best Master's Demonstration by the Governor of Ohio at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Battle of Columbus, and also appeared on some television shows. Grandmaster Choi is one of the few grandmasters still performing martial arts demonstrations.
Marriage
In 1992, Master Choi married Nam Mi Park, a renowned gymnast from Korea. She won over ten Korean national gold medals in gymnastics with grace and agility, eventually becoming an international referee at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Ms. Choi subsequently became a professor at the KongJu National University of Korea and was the Executive Director of the Korean National Gymnastics Association. She also gave many seminars around Korea, Japan, and the US. Ms. Choi is now retired after over 40 years of service.
Vision and Philosophy
Over the years, Master Choi has developed a unique training style focused on fostering the martial arts spirit in our daily lives. He emphasizes that Moo Do is the way of not having to fight. Through martial arts training, we nurture positive internal and external energy so that we can come in harmony and peace. His students practice Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Hapkido, long staff and sword, Tai Chi, Qigong, and meditation.
Master Choi's teaching style is an effective way to develop martial arts mental and physical skills in his students. He demonstrates the correct standards himself, guides his students step by step, and emphasizes discovering for ourselves. Master Choi is a keen observer of character, and his philosophy is often expressed in analogies rather than instant answers. He once said, "How can you explain to someone how salt tastes if they have never tasted salt?" Master Choi also talks about teaching someone how to climb a tree before calling on them to pick an apple at the top, so they will truly appreciate it when they have done it for themselves. Instead of directly responding to each question, he prefers to give his students a goal and an action plan. With persistent practice, when students find the answers for themselves, they are truly their own. His students learn the centeredness and balance of martial arts as a way of life as they become more positive human beings.
Grandmaster Choi emphasizes the value of martial arts as a means to develop ourselves as human beings and continually strives to improve his skills and abilities as a martial artist and person. He is dedicated to exhibiting characteristics of patience, persistence, concentration, and respect that he would have his students develop. This shows how Grandmaster Choi and OMAC Indiana sets the tone by focusing on developing us as leaders in martial arts. We are indeed fortunate to have him as our master to guide our mental and physical development in the martial arts spirit.
Today
Grandmaster Young Pyo Choi represents a well-rounded martial artist, both mentally and physically. This is seen in his own life and his students' lives. Indianapolis is indeed fortunate to have him as a valuable resource for our community and the United States for our martial arts community.
Check out Grandmaster Young Pyo Choi's photo gallery to see his martial arts skills and techniques. Link to SGM Choi's film appearance in "Bound by Blood" link 1: "Scene 1" link 2: "Scene 2"
Check out Grandmaster Young Pyo Choi's photo gallery to see his martial arts skills and techniques. Link to SGM Choi's film appearance in "Bound by Blood" link 1: "Scene 1" link 2: "Scene 2"