The History

Brothers Young Il Kong and Young Bo Kong founded Young Brothers Taekwondo Associaties in 1968 and opened the first schools in Pennsylvania. As their students learned and advanced, some of their higher ranking students eventually spread throughout the United States to open schools of their own. The Young Brothers, both 9th Degree Black Belts, studied Taekwondo in Korea and have trained in the martial art for over 50 years. Grandmaster Kong Il participated in a demonstration team lead by General Choi, the “father of Taekwondo,” that traveled to 127 countries to introduce the world to Taekwondo more than thirty years ago. Grandmaster Kong Il also assisted General Choi with the design of the patterns we now study.

Young Brothers Taekwondo in Houston is proud to continue this rich heritage and strives to spread the benefits of Taekwondo to the rest of the world today.

Grandmaster Young Il Kong, IX Dan

Grand Master Young Il Kong was the Taekwondo All Star Team Captain at Kyung Hee University, S. Korea in 1963. He was in the Republic of Korea Army from 1964 to 1968 where he was again the Taekwondo All Star Team Captain. During those years, he was also the first Master Instructor to Introduce Taekwondo Martial Art to the 8th US Army in Korea.

During 1973 to 1980, Grand Master Kong travelled around the world with General Choi Hong Hi (Founder of Taekwondo), as a selected member of an International Taekwondo demonstration team. He visited 127 countries performing demonstrations to introduce the Taekwondo martial art to the world. After each demonstration there was an open invitation/challenge to the public to fight any demonstration team member. Grand Master Kong fought martial artists of all kinds in 127 countries and never lost a fight.

Throughout 1980 to 2004, Grand Master Kong opened TKD Dojangs from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S.A. as well as Puerto Rico and taught the TKD martial art to thousands of practitioners. Quite a few of his students became champions around the world. One noteworthy highlight was his being Master Instructor for the USA government agency, the F.B.I.

Awards include

• 1994 – Became the 39th Inductee to the All-American Black Belt Hall of Fame
• 1997 – Promoted to 9th Degree by General Choi, Hong Hi in Poland
• 2006 – Assumed the role of President of the World Taekwondo Alliance

Grandmaster Young Bo Kong, IX Dan

Born in 1953,Grandmaster Young Bo Kong, a 9th degree Black Belt, began his Tae Kwon-Do training in Korea at age five. As a young man in the United States he trained competitively under the instruction of his older brother, Grandmaster Young Il Kong, and Grandmaster Park Bu Kwang. Both were legendary fighters while living in Korea.

Using the superior techniques they taught, Grandmaster Young Bo Kong won the Pan American Championship’s Grand Champion in 1973. He then became the first ITF middleweight champion in Montreal, Canada in 1974. At that first ITF World Championship competition, he came in second place in the pattern division and won another gold medal in breaking to become the first overall ITF Grand Champion. Grandmaster Young Bo Kong also won the North American Championship’s Grand Champion in 1976.

Grandmaster Young Bo Kong’s unique style was built upon unmatched speed and the skillful strategy learned from his mentors. He was the fastest kicker alive and is unrivaled in his ability to read his opponents intentions and set them up for effective attacks.

Grandmaster Young Bo Kong is currently president of Young Brothers Institute on the East Coast and continues to train students. As an instructor, he has produced many champions including All American Champions, Olympic Team members, National Champions, State Champions and many more. He actively teaches and trains at his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania dojang and has opened nine other satellite schools in the area. Grandmaster Young Bo Kong has been introducing the martial arts to children and adults for the past 34 years and has produced over 3000 black belts.

Grandmaster Young Bo Kong said he will continue to train the rest of his life because it has become a part of him. He said, “It has given me the confidence to do many things and the opportunity to meet many people from different backgrounds who have inspired me greatly.”

9th Dan Grand Master Mark Giambi

9th Dan Grand Master Mark Giambi, long time student of 9th Dan Grandmaster Young Bo Kong, established the first Young Brothers Taekwondo Centers in Houston, Texas.

Grand Master Mark Giambi began his Taekwondo training at the age of twelve, with World Champion Grand Master Yong Bo Kong as his original and primary teacher. Over the years, Grand Master Giambi also met and learned from some of the most prominent and highly respected Korean masters in North America. He also was associated with Taekwondo pioneers like 9th Dan Grand Master Young II Kong, Park Bu Kwang, and their teacher, General Choi Hong Hi, the acknowledged founder of modern Taekwondo.