The Director (Bonbujangnim)
Dong-Hyeon YUN
Dong-Hyeon Yun started practising martial arts in 1979, at the age of 10. After learning Taekwondo in a Jidokwan school for some years, he started studying kung fu in addition, in particular baguazhang; still a few years later, he also took up Northern Shaolin. As an adult, he began learning other kinds of martials arts and acquiring master's degrees in them, among these taijiquan (Chen style), Shotokan karate, the German system Ju-Jutsu, traditional taekwondo (Cheongdokwan) and Wudang kung fu (taijiquan, baguazhang and xingyiquan) according to the Xuanwupai school.
His interests are widely spread, stemming from his academic education in linguistics and philosophy. The linguistic and philosophical concepts of Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) have particularly engaged his attention. Humboldt's ideas permeate his occupation as a martial artist: It is his constant goal to study and experience the similarities as well as the differences between various martial arts, and to ultimately gain a better understanding of the human condition. He delves into the substance of all martial arts on his own account.
Dong-Hyeon Yun discovered Gongkwon Yusul as an all-round fighting system in 1999. It quickly caught his interest and he engaged in studying it privately. Gathering any kind of relevant material he could find, his excitement about Gongkwon Yusul grew constantly. As soon as he had the opportunity, he contacted Grandmaster Kang, who welcomed him as one of his students. Dong-Hyeon Yun still holds fond memories of this fortunate and decisive moment in his life.
In order to make this wonderful martial art known to the public, Dong-Hyeon Yun invited Grandmaster Kang to hold a seminar in Germany. In May 2010, Gongkwon Yusul was presented in Germany for the very first time. After the successful completion of the seminar, Grandmaster Kang commissioned the task of spreading Gongkwon Yusul in Germany to Dong-Hyeon Yun. Since then, Hochschulsport Münster (Münster University Sport) has been organising Gongkwon Yusul training sessions, attracting a constantly growing number of students. In recognition of his successful activities as an instructor, the International Gongkwon Yusul Association appointed Dong-Hyeon Yun to be the director (bonbujangnim) of the German Gongkwon Yusul Headquarters. The radius of his activities growing steadily, he soon got appointed to be in charge of spreading Gongkwon Yusul throughout the entirety of Europe by Grandmaster Kang. This marked the foundation of the European Gongkwon Yusul Headquarters, of which Dong-Hyeon Yun is the acting director.
His passion for Gongkwon Yusul is attracting more and more interest in other cities. At the moment, he is actively working on training more instructors in order to spread Gongkwon Yusul in Europe. For him, this journey is its own reward: inspiring people with the philosophy of Gongkwon Yusul, and helping them to gain confidence in themselves and respect for others.
The director of the German and European Gongkwon Yusul Headquarters, Dong-Hyeon Yun, is determined to assist anyone interested as much as he can to enable people to learn the way of Gongkwon Yusul, its culture and its philosophy; to find common ground, and to learn to respect one another.