Heritage Plaza: Il~Do Taekwondo
Grandmaster Chang Jin Kang has remained steadfast in his efforts to expand and strengthen Taekwondo both locally and worldwide. Il-Do Taekwondo has become a fixture for almost 30 years in the city of Irvine — teaching thousands of students the techniques and life lessons that Taekwondo imparts.
However, for Grandmaster Kang this simply was not enough. He has created the first ever bachelor’s degree program in Taekwondo which at Concordia University parallels those programs only available at top universities in Korea. Concordia University is now the first institution to offer a bachelor’s degree course in Taekwondo outside of Korea. Not only in the U.S. but worldwide.
Grandmaster Kang’s Achievements
- 9th Degree Black Belt
- Two Time World Record Holder
- President of the World Martial Arts Master’s Federation
- Director/Professor of Tae Kwon Do Education at Concordia University
- 1958: Entered SONG MOO KWAN (one of the most prestigious Tae Kwon Do studios in Seoul, Korea).
- 1963: Won the Tae Kwon Do championships in the Korean National Sports Festival.
- 1966: Scored the highest grade in the National Tae Kwon Do Promotion Test.
- 1967: Upon completion of the Army R.O.T.C. Program, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the ROK Army.
- 1968: Appointed as Commanding Officer of the Tae Kwon Do Exhibition Team for the Korean Army in Vietnam.
- 1970: Conducted and supervised the Tae Kwon Do Exhibition at the Military Academy of Vietnam in the presence of the President of Vietnam and other high ranking officials. Received the “In-Hun” award, the highest honor for distinguished service and military merit.
- 1971: Honorable discharge from the R.O.K. Army as Captain.
- 1975: Participated and directed Tae Kwon Do Exhibition Tours to 11 European and Middle Eastern nations.
- 1980: Opened the IL-DO Tae Kwon Do School, Santa Ana, California.
- 1985: Started the Tae Kwon Do Program at Irvine Youth Services.
- 1989: Appointed the Chairman of the Martial Arts Committee by the California State Tae Kwon Do Association.
- 1991: Opened the IL-DO Tae Kwon Do School, Irvine, California.
- 1992: Raised $1,500 to help Irvine Police Department D.A.R.E. program by breaking 500 boards in a Tae Kwon Do Exhibition.
- 1993: Set the World Record by breaking 1,068 boards in 13 minutes, 57.7 seconds, at Heritage Plaza in Irvine. Both Irvine and Santa Ana schools raised a total of $8,361.42 for D.A.R.E. and IL-DO scholarship funds.
- 1994: Promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt during the first test conducted, of its kind, in the world. The test was a public event watched by students from the IL-DO schools.
- 1996: Organized the Best of the Best Martial Arts Festival in order to raise money for the city of Irvine, Santa Ana, and Tustin D.A.R.E. programs. The festival included various martial arts from all over the world.
- 1997: Received 9th Degree Black Belt promotion from Kuk Ki-won.
- 1998: Held the 2nd Best of the Best Martial Arts Festival at U.C.I.
- 1998: Began teaching Tae Kwon Do classes at Concordia University in Irvine.
- 2001: Achieved Black Belt in Kum-Do (the art of sword combat).
- 2002: Hosted the 3rd Best of the Best Martial Arts Festival raising funds to help the victims of the 9/11 tragedy. Received Certificate of Special Recognition from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.
- 2003: Hosted the 1st Irvine Mayor’s Cup Tae Kwon Do Championship.
- 2003: President of World Martial Arts Master’s Federation.
- 2004: Received 2nd Degree in Kumdo from Korea Kum-Do Association
- 2005: Council member of the Advisory council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification of Korea.
- 2006: Received Award from Kukkiwon “Most Boastful Award” in October.
- 2006: Director/Professor of Tae Kwon Do Education at Concordia University.
- 2007: Director of 1st Annual Concordia University Open Taekwondo Tournament and Bachelor’s Degree Program in Taekwondo Inauguration at Concordia University in Irvine
