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The university's plan to offer a bachelor's degree program in Martial Arts Studies – the first such program in the nation – won the unanimous approval of the Board of Governors for Higher Education in Connecticut on Oct. 20. That means UB will start recruiting students for the program immediately.

Dr. Thomas Ward serves as dean of the International College, where the program will be housed. "The major is a liberal arts program with a specific focus on the martial arts," Ward said. In addition to the martial arts, students in the major have the option to choose a minor or a concentration in the health sciences, business, psychology, or communication.

The studies in the major will cover the theory and practice of martial arts, and include the study of East Asian culture and philosophy, international political economy and diplomacy, and psychology. There will be a language requirement as well. Students will take at least 12 credits in Chinese, Japanese or Korean. They will also have the option of pursuing practica in either taiji or tae kwon do, as well as study other martial arts.

Ward said the martial arts are considered a way of developing character and accepting discipline that builds self-esteem. He anticipates that the program will encourage students to examine that thesis by studying the growing literature on the psychosocial impact of the martial arts.

Professor Mark K. Setton, an East Asian scholar who holds a doctorate from Oxford and Professor Yongbom Kim, a grand master who holds a master's degree in tae kwon do and directs the UB martial arts center, will play key roles in the development of the program, Ward said.

"We've been planning this program for a couple of years," Ward said. "We think it's important and will be well-received. It certainly had the support from the state, and from the martial arts communities in the Northeast."

June 7, 2004

Taekwondo stars from campuses around country come to UB for National Collegiate Championships

More than 400 students, athletes, coaches, officials and referees were drawn to the UN campus April 16-17 for the 29th National Collegiate Taekwondo Championship.

There were 86 universities represented in the competition. Students came from north, south, east and west and the nation's heartland to participate.

Taekwondo is a sport growing rapidly in popularity because it combines athleticism with demands on the intellect and a higher plain likened to spirituality. It is also popular because it is a sport that has its roots in Asia and has particular cultural appeals to Asian-American students, who now represent a significant percentage of enrollment at many colleges. Many of the colleges in the tournament have fully budgeted taekwondo programs. The 17 University of California-Berkeley athletes and their coaches participated and made the trip as a sanctioned sport funded by the college athletic budget.

The University of Bridgeport has offered Taekwondo or other martial arts programs going back to the 1960s and '70s. In those earlier years it was offered more for exercise and for self-defense. But in recent years, UB and other colleges are integrating the martial arts into their athletic programs and offering martial arts courses as electives.

UB's program is run by the very able taekwondo grandmaster, Yongbom Kim, who is an assistant professor in the International College. Kim, who was the coach of the American women's team in the 2003 Universiade Games held in Daegu, South Korea, last summer, was the leader in bringing the collegiate championship tournament to UB this spring. Kim, whose father was an amateur wrestler in South Korea, started taekwondo at the age of 8, majored in it in college in South Korea, where all of the universities offer an undergraduate degree in taekwondo, and at Kyunghee University in South Korea, he went on to become the first person in the world to win a master's degree in taekwondo.

Now UB, under Dean Thomas Ward and Kim, is applying for state education approvals to offer the state's first undergraduate major in taekwondo.

September 2, 2003

UB’s Taekwondo professor leads U.S. team to 6 medals in Universiade

Prof. Yongbom Kim

Yongbom Kim, director of the University of Bridgeport's Martial Arts Institute, coached the American taekwondo team to an impressive six medal showing in the 2003 Universiade games held Aug. 21-31 in Daegu, South Korea.

Kim, a UB assistant professor who teaches taekwondo and other martial arts, oversaw the martial arts training of 530 American participants. The U.S. Olympic Committee named him coach, choosing him from among the martial arts masters across the country.

Kim's athletes won one gold (Daniel Elkowitz of Houston Baptist University), one silver (Darcy Kemmich of the University of Denver) and four bronze (Ruford Hamon of Florida International University, Amanda Thome of the University of Denver, Rebecca Peterson of Edison Coral College and Stephanie Beckel of Pikes Peak Community College) in the games.

There were 53 nations represented at the games. The U.S. teams finished eighth, with 5 gold medals, 13 silver and 18 bronze or 36 medals overall.

Chinese student athletes led the competitions with 41 gold, 27 silver and bronze medals for a total of 81 medals. The Russian Federation was next with 26 gold, 22 silver and 34 bronze.

About the games, Kim said "the importance lies not in winning or losing, but in that the students of the world can gather, cooperate and create good relations together."

Kim, who lives in Stamford with his wife and two sons "both of whom are studying taekwondo" began his own training in martial arts at age 8, encouraged by his father, an amateur Korean wrestler. He kept with the sport and majored in it in college and at Kyunghee University, became the first person in the world to receive a master's degree in taekwondo. He's a grandmaster in the sport and runs the YB World Taekwondo Academy in Stamford.

Kim sees taekwondo as more than a self-defense form. "True martial arts," he said, "is self-cultivation, developing the person in mind, body and spirit."

"When you kick and punch, the focus is not to hit people, but to develop patience, endurance and self-control through concentrating the mind, having peace of mind when executing any motion."

When you apply these principles, he said, you are “gaining the ability to be self-reflective, self-disciplines and humble.” In other words, he said, it teaches you “how to be a better person.”