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Born in Hollywood,
California, Scott Shaw began training in the Korean Martial
Art of Hapkido at the age of six. Enthralled with the
Martial Arts, Shaw studied daily and in 1969, at the age of
eleven, earned his 1st
Degree Black Belt
in Hapkido. In 1971 Shaw was introduced to Taekwondo. By
late 1972 he held his 1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, as
well. During his youth Shaw also began practicing Kumdo, the
Korean Art of the Sword. As an adolescent and young man he
additionally trained in boxing with his uncle who was a
professional boxer during the 1930's and 1940's.
As the years
progressed, Scott Shaw never lost his focus on the Martial
Arts and practiced relentlessly. At the age of eighteen he
was promoted to 4th Degree Black Belt in both Hapkido and
Taekwondo and was awarded Instructor Certification.
During his youth
Scott Shaw also became deeply involved in Eastern Meditative
Thought. Throughout this time period, he practiced Yogic,
Sufi, and Buddhist meditation with such renown teachers as
Swami
Satchidananda,
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and Thich Thien-An. Though young in
age he became a certified instructor of Yoga and
Meditation.
Shaw then traveled
to India and Japan where he refined his understanding of
Meditation and Ki. These are essential elements he has
continued to integrate into all of his Martial Art
Teachings. While in Japan he also began his study of
Hapkido's root art, Aikijitsu and Kumdo's root art,
Iaido.
By twenty-one Shaw
was teaching the Martial Arts in association with
Grandmaster
Hee Hwan Yoon.
He was promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt and was awarded
Master Instructor Certification. In the following year,
Scott Shaw, as the highest ranking non-Korean practitioner
in Los Angeles at the time, was chosen to lead over five
hundred Taekwondo practitioners in the first annual Los
Angeles Koreatown parade. That same year, he was the only
non-Korean to be appointed as a body guard for the President
of Korea on his first visit to Los Angeles. Shaw commonly
trained L.A.P.D. and Los Angeles County Sheriffs in
self-defense applications.
During this period
of time, Scott Shaw frequently returned to Asia to refine
his understanding of the Martial Arts. He trained
predominately under the guidance of Hyn Sup Park in South
Korea and Harias Takeda in Japan.
Throughout the years
Scott Shaw has been certified by numerous Asian and
Occidental Martial Art Associations, from his 1st through
his 8th Dan Black Belt. In 1987 he was awarded the 7th Dan
Black Belt in Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo. In 1988 he earned the
7th Dan in Kumdo. In 1992 he tested and was certified
Hapkido 7th Dan by Grandmaster Sung Soo Lee in Hapkido Moo
Hak Kwan. In 1996 Scott Shaw became the first non-Korean
ever to be awarded the 7th Degree Black Belt by the
Korea
Hapkido Federation.
In 1999 Shaw was promoted to 7th Dan in Aikijutsu and 8th
Dan in Taekwondo. In 2001 he was awarded the 8th Dan Black
Belt in Hapkido. He is the founder of Ki Sul Kwan Hapkido,
the President of Hapkido
Taekwondo International,
and is on the Board-of-Directors of several established
Martial Art Organizations.
Scott Shaw has been
a mainstay in Martial Arts Media for over two decades. Over
three hundred of his articles have been published on the
subject, by the most respected journals in the industry.
Click
Here to view
an overview of articles he has written. In 1994, Unique
Publications, a leader in Martial Art Publishing and Video
Production, asked Shaw to create a four-part
Instructional
Video Tape Series on Hapkido.
In 2007 this series was re-mastered for distribution on DVD.
In 1996 Tuttle Publications, the most respected publisher of
books on the Martial Arts in the world, contracted Shaw to
write the book, Hapkido: The Korean Art of
Self-Defense. In 2002 they requested that he write the
book, Taekwondo Basics, and in 2006 they asked him to
write the book, Advanced Taekwondo. In addition to
these titles, he has written several other books on the
martial arts, published by industry leaders.
Click
Here to view
a list of his Books-in-Print.
Beginning in the
late 1970's Scott Shaw began to continually return to Asia
and the Middle East, spending extended periods of time
throughout these regions. He has continued this tradition
and frequently returns, documenting obscure aspects of Asian
and Middle Eastern Culture in words and on film.
Today, Scott Shaw is
a prolific Author, Journalist, Filmmaker, Seminar
Instructor, and University Lecturer on the subjects of Asian
Studies, Filmmaking, Zen Buddhism, Yoga, the Martial Arts,
Ki Science, and Meditation.
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