View source for Sang-kee Paik

{{short description|South Korean taekwondo practitioner}}
{{Primary sources|date=August 2011}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Baek|Paik]]||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox martial artist
| name = Sang-kee Paik
| image = Grandmaster_Sang_Kee_Paik.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption = Sang-kee Paik
| birth_name =
| birth_date = August 21, 1929
| birth_place = Korea
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|7|12|1929|8|21|mf=y}}
| death_place = United States of America
| other_names =
| residence =
| nationality =
| occupation =
| relatives =
| martial_art = Sa-Sang Kwon Bup, [[Ch'uan Fa]], [[Shudokan]], [[Taekwondo]],
| rank = 10th "dan" founding grandmaster Sa-Sang Kwon Bup; also 9th ''dan'' Taekwondo (Kukkiwon)
| school = Paik's Oriental Martial Arts Institute, Paik's Academy of Martial Arts, Madison, Wisconsin
}}
'''Sang-kee Paik''' (1929–2009), also known in [[Korean language|Korean]] reference as Paik Sang-kee, was a [[Korea|South Korean]] martial arts [[Grandmaster (martial arts)|grandmaster]] and creator of a [[Kwon Bup]] system he called Sa-Sang Kwan ([[Korean language|Korean]]: school of the four natural elements: air, earth, fire, and water).<ref name="TKDHOF"/> Paik was one of the first pupils to receive the black belt under [[Yoon Byung-In]], and [[Kim Ki Whang]] with whom he continued his training after [[Yoon Byung-In|Yoon's]] disappearance during the [[Korean War]].<ref name="TKDHOF"/> Paik's system of Sa-Sang built upon the [[Ch'uan Fa]] ([[Korean language|Korean]]: [[Kwon Bup]]) he had mastered under [[Yoon Byung-In]], and included elements of [[Shudokan]] [[karate]] from both [[Yoon Byung-In|Yoon]] and [[Kim Ki Whang|Kim]]. Paik completed the system with his research into training effective kicking techniques.<ref name="TKDHOF">[http://www.lacancha.com/sangkeepaik.html Taekwondo Hall of Fame: History of Paik's USA Taekwondo] Retrieved on 7 February 2010.</ref><ref name="NeviaserNotes"/> He created four primary forms (Korean: [[hyung]]), symbolizing each of the four natural elements. He also developed a rigorous [[philosophy]] unique to the system, and intended to be carried into one's everyday life.<ref name="NeviaserNotes">From the notes of Paik former chief instructor Gerald F. Neviaser (1984–1997).</ref>
==Biography==
Upon completing his [[PhD]] in animal [[pathology]] at [[Seoul National University|National University]] of [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]], Paik moved to the United States in 1969 to work as a research [[pathologist]] at the [[University of Wisconsin]]'s Primate Research Center in [[Madison, Wisconsin]].<ref name="TKDHOF"/>  In 1971, he opened "Paik's U.S. Oriental Martial Arts Institute", and soon left his research position to devote all of his efforts to teaching the martial arts.<ref name="TKDHOF"/>
In 1977, Paik purchased a former elementary school(Sunnyside Elementary) building in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]] and converted it to a unique training facility consisting of three gymnasiums and numerous live-in [[dormitories]] for serious students and staff.  His intent was to create a unique "institution for higher learning in the martial arts".<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/>  He renamed his school "Paik's Academy of Martial Arts", and for the next 20 years taught thousands of students and conducted numerous "special weekend" sessions to train his black belt staff.  These intensive sessions required early morning meditation, 8 hours of hard training per day, all meals together, and overnight camping in the gymnasium. Paik noted these sessions mirrored those he attended regularly under Grandmasters [[Yoon Byung-In|Yoon]] and [[Kim Ki Whang|Kim]] in Korea.<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/>
Paik also maintained a relationship with the [[World Taekwondo Federation]] since its inception in 1973,.<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/>  He was selected to host the 1990 [[USA Taekwondo]] National Championships - the initial U.S. qualifying event for the [[1992 Summer Olympic Games]] in Barcelona. This was the second [[Olympic games]] to include [[Taekwondo]] as a demonstrator sport.<ref name="TKDHOF"/><ref name="NeviaserNotes"/> The tournament was held in Madison, Wisconsin at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum of the [[Alliant Energy Center]].<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/> In 1989, Paik had served as Team director of the U.S. delegate Team for the World games events leading up to the 1992 Olympics.<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/>
Despite his long traditional background, Paik was passionate about creativity and continued advancement in the martial arts. By the mid-1970s, he had developed and rigorously taught full independence of leg motion in kicking techniques (i.e. kicks to multiple targets before bringing the foot back to the ground). This was not done in traditional [[Taekwondo]] or [[Karate]] at the time.<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/>  He also implemented a first ever [[Taekwondo]] Creative Forms Division at the 1990 [[USA Taekwondo]] National Championships<ref name="NeviaserNotesForms"/> to allow competitors to develop and perform their own personalized forms ([[Korean language|Korean]]: [[Hyung]]).<ref name="NeviaserNotesForms"/> In a communication to lobby for this idea, Paik wrote: "With creativity, techniques become art; art becomes philosophy.  While we must always respect and practice traditional form, we must also allow for the creative process to continue to advance the martial arts."<ref name="NeviaserNotesForms">From the notes of Paik former chief instructor Gerald F. Neviaser, who assisted Paik with development of Creative Form Division at 1990 USTU Nationals.</ref>
Paik retired from full-time teaching in 1997 at 68 years of age, and passed the school to his son Peter Paik, 8th ''[[dan (rank)|dan]]'', who continues to operate the school in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] under the name of "Paik's Traditional Martial Arts Center - School of Integrity."<ref name="TKDHOF"/>
Sang-kee Paik died peacefully surrounded by his family on July 12, 2009, after a long battle with cancer.<ref name="SKPB">[http://drsangkeepaik.blogspot.com Dr. Sang-kee Paik Family Blog Obituary Announcement] Retrieved on 16 March 2010.</ref> His memorial service was held in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] on Saturday, July 25, 2009 and was attended by hundreds of his former students.<ref name="SKPB"/> Son Peter and daughter Myung (Mia) felt the best way to eulogize their father was to allow Paik's former students to speak at the podium. Many did, and universally recounted what an extraordinary teacher Paik was, and the positive and permanent impact he had upon their lives.  Also noted was Paik's penchant for taking in at-risk or troubled students, sometimes by offering free lessons, and then successfully bringing about life-changing reform through a mixture of benevolence and tough discipline.<ref name="NeviaserNotes"/><ref name="SKPB"/>
==See also==
* [[Ch'uan Fa]]
* [[Shudokan]]
* [[Korean martial arts]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.paiksmartialarts.com/  Paik's Traditional Martial Arts School]
* [http://www.paiksmartialarts.com/history.php Paik's philosophy of Sang-Sa Kwan]
* [http://www.wtf.org/ The World Taekwondo Federation]
* [http://www.lacancha.com/sangkeepaik.html  Taekwondo Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.usa-taekwondo.us/ USA Taekwondo]
* [http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/ Taekwondo Pioneers]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paik, Sang-kee}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:American male taekwondo practitioners]]
[[Category:South Korean male taekwondo practitioners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]