The following is adapted from and article written by Dakin Burdick.  The goal is to provide my students with my "martial arts ancestry."  I found the article fascinating as it provided a link for me, from where I am today, through my master and, his masters all the way to the home of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido-Korea. 

"It is the aim of Tae Kwon Do to achieve peak development, never hesitating to absorb the finer aspects of any existing martial art of tested repute." -- Mu-Gil Lee

The UFTI was founded in 1980 by students of Mu-Gil Lee and Sung-Jae Park. Both of these instructors immigrated to the United States from Korea around 1970, but they came from two separate kwans (training halls). Mu-Gil Lee was a member of the Sangmukwan, and taught the pumsae of both the WTF and the ITF, while Sung-Jae Park was a member of the Chongdokwan, and taught only ITF pumsaes.


                                       

Sung-Jae Park began learning Tang Su Do in 1958 under Dae-Young Ha. He also studied under Jae-Hwa Kwon, who now teaches Tae Kwon Do in New York City. He came to the U.S. in 1969 as an exchange student at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and was the first person in Indiana to teach accredited courses in Tae Kwon Do. In 1970, he earned his MBA from Butler University and began teaching Tae Kwon Do in Indianapolis. One of his students, Mike Merienthal, later helped found the UFTI.  

Mu-Gil Lee taught in Germany before John George (a Captain in the Army) brought him to Bloomington, Indiana, in 1972. At the time, Master Lee was a 7th Dan and one of the highest ranking black belts in Tae Kwon Do in the United States. He started Tae Kwon Do in the early 1950s, and was "first instructor' with the Korean Navy and Marines from 1958 through 1966. In 1970, he went to Europe to teach the NATO forces, which is where he met John George.

Lee’s first student to reach black belt was Joe Maire, who was soon followed by Dexter Grove. In late 1973, he tested Donald Burns for his 1st Dan, along with Dave Gibson, Charles Ansback, Charlie Tang, Dennis Miller, and Peter Nau. Master Kim (an 8th Dan) flew in from Los Angeles for the test. Mr. Burns would eventually become Lee's top student in Bloomington, and was responsible for establishing a Tae Kwon Do club at the university.

Mu-Gil Lee was greatly responsible for the spread of Tae Kwon Do in Indiana. Not only did he open a series of schools, but he also brought a host of other Korean instructors to Indiana. He first brought over Il-Sik Kim and Ki-Duk Lee, but later brought over masters Kwok, Ko, and Sa as well. He handed the Bloomington school over to Ki-Duk Lee. He then opened a school in Highland which he later gave to Kim (who later moved to Gary). Mu-Gil Lee then opened a school in Columbus, which he then gave to Master Ko (one of Master Ko's students, Daniel Coblentz, now runs an academy in Greensberg). Master Lee then opened a school in Terre Haute, which he gave to Master Kwok (like Kim, Kwok later moved to Gary), followed by the "M-G Lee Flying Tiger of Karate Kung-fu" school in Louisville, which he gave to Master Sa. He also opened a school in Dyer, which he gave to Dexter & Patty Grove. Mu-Gil Lee himself was last heard of in Austin, Texas, where he was still teaching Tae Kwon Do. One rumor has it that Master Lee later became ill and returned to Korea.

Although there was a Korean Karate Club at Indiana University in 1969-1970 (run by Dennis Callahan), the I.U. Tae Kwon Do Club as we know it was started in 1972 by Joe Maire, Donald Burns, Michael Bonaventura, and Monte Anderson, under Mu-Gil Lee's instruction. The club was started "to give students a chance to participate because most students could not pay the tuition at the center." Other members that year were Dave Gibson (then a freshman) and Cliff Higgins. In 1973, the Tae Kwon Do Club participated in its first intercollegiate tournament on Mar. 30, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dave Gibson later became the coach of the club during the 1970's, while Mr. Burns was faculty adviser. In the 1980's, Mr. Burns took over all instruction. In 1992, he gave control of the club over to Bryan Robertson. After Bryan moved to Indianapolis in 1994, Dakin Burdick took over instruction of the club.

Ki-Duk Lee took over instruction of the First Street academy when Mu-Gil Lee left. Ki-Duk Lee was a member of the Ji Do Kwan ("Way of Wisdom Hall"), and introduced the Bul-pai and Roh-pai pumsae from that style.  He later moved to New Jersey, leaving the school in the hands of Mr. Burns, who ran it for about ten years and then gave it to Jeff Boyd. Many of Mr. Burns' students have gone on to teach Tae Kwon Do themselves, including Bryan Robertson, Lynda Mitchell, Don Johnson, Dakin Burdick, Greg Lucas, John McConnell, and Ron Tubbs.

Mr. Burns is now a WTF Kukkiwon 7th Dan in Tae Kwon Do, 7th Dan in Hapkido, and 2nd Dan in judo. He began his martial arts training in judo when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1961. After he left the service in 1965, he began taking classes at Indiana University at Kokomo, transferring to Bloomington in 1966. In his second year at Bloomington (1967), he began teaching judofor the school of Health, Physical Education & Recreation (HPER), both in the classes and for the Judo Club. He taught classes free for a year, until the university decided to pay him an hourly rate. He became a member of the faculty in 1972 and eventually he earned his tenure, becoming the Martial Arts Coordinator for the university. He introduced basic classes in Tae Kwon Do at the university in 1972, followed by an intermediate class in 1974 and an advanced class in 1975. He is the author of An Introduction to Judo for the Student and Teacher (1976) and An Introduction to Karate for Student and Teacher (1977) and taught both the Tae Kwon Do Club and Self-Defense Club for many years.

Mr. Burns is credited as being the founder of the Martial Arts program at Indiana University. When he retired in 2006, the IU program enrolled between 1,500 and 1,700 students per semester, making it one of the largest martial arts instructional programs in the United States. But for Burns, teaching wasn’t about large enrollments; it was about motivating students beyond the grade and into life-long learning. “I really feel a sense of pride when my students finally get their black belt and start to teach their own club or classes after leaving Indiana University.”

Mr. Burns now concentrates on the healing side of the martial arts, continuing his training as a massage therapist and giving seminars in Reiki and other healing arts.

John McConnell began training under Mr. Burns in January of 1982 as a member of the Indiana University Tae Kwon Do Club. During each school year, from the fall of 1983 through 1986, he taught classes at the Don Burns Martial Arts Academy.   During the summers of 1984 and 1985 John opened and operated the Quincy Martial Arts Academy in Quincy Illinois. 

John earned his 1^st Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do from Mr. Burns in 1985 and his 1st Degree Black Belt in Hapkido in 1986.  In 1986 John also received his Varsity Letter from the Indiana University Tae Kwon Do Club.  

After graduating from IU, John relocated to Florida and opened the Orlando Martial Arts Academy teaching Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. OMAA classes were held at Martin Marietta’s Recreation Facilities in the east and west sides of Orlando. He earned his 2nd Degree Black Belts in both Tae Kwon Do & Hapkido in 1988. 

Continuing to round out his martial arts education and while living in Orlando John studied Wah Lum Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu under Sifu Chan Pui.

John was promoted by Don Burns to 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do in 1992, and 4th in 1995. In 1993 John turned over the Orlando Martial Arts Academy to two of his black belts--Tom Cook and David Countryman.

After relocating to Baltimore, John developed and several self defense programs through Baltimore County Public Schools in their after school/evening education offering. 

In 2004 he began studying Kenpo Karate with the Maryland Professional Karate Association where he attained the rank of Instructor in 2008. John taught classes at MPKA’s main school in Dundalk and the Sparrows Point class in Edgemere.

In 2009 he returned to teaching Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido and opened Sparrows Point Martial Arts Academy.