ABOUT MRS. OH

I was born shortly after the Korean War. The Korean War brought a lot of devastation to Korea and thus my parents were very poor at the time of my birth. Due to our lack of financial means, my mother was malnourished when she was pregnant with me. When I was born I was a purplish, blue color and I did not cry. My parents did not think I would survive so they did not bother to get me a birth certificate. But by the grace of God, I survived. I was very weak as a child and became sick very easily, but with my mother’s care, I became stronger little by little. 

When I was about 9 years old, I witnessed a man physically and mentally abusing a woman. Even though I was young, I knew it was wrong and I wanted to do something to protect myself from ever experiencing a situation like that. Around that same time, I saw a sports event on television, “Tae Kwon Do Demonstration!” It opened my eyes and I was desperate to learn. 

At the age of 11, I was able to take lessons. In the beginning, I wanted to learn to defend myself against bad people, but as I learned more about martial arts, my passion grew and I wanted to become a martial artist and wished to expand my knowledge and share it with others. At age 15, I earned a 1st degree black belt. In order to receive my black belt, I trained seven days a week for four to seven hours a day.

I had a dream. I wanted to immigrate to the US and be a Hollywood martial arts movie star and open a martial arts studio. While I did not become a movie star, I did purse my passion of teaching martial arts to others.

In September of 1981, O & M's Martial Arts Institute was established in Sunset, Utah. The “O” came from my husband’s last name, Oh, and the “M” came from my maiden name, Moon. I hope to touch one person at a time and impact their life with Hap Kwon Do training.

I give thanks to my students and friends who have been here to support me and the studio throughout the years. 

With love and appreciation, 

Instructor 

Myong C. Oh