Alliance has a history of martial arts excellence. Over the last 20 years, Alliance teachers, students and alumni have traveled nationally and internationally for competition and training many times, training with world-class masters and grandmasters and even bringing home national and international competition wins. Alliance is proud of this legacy, and proud that another generation of young blackbelts contributed to that legacy this summer.
Alliance blackbelts Mr Tanner LaFavor and Mr Kristofer Huck – due to their hard work and dedication to the martial arts – were selected to join a team of practitioners from across the Midwest to travel, train, and ultimately compete at the 80th Anniversary Chang Moo Kwan World Championships in Seoul, South Korea. They accompanied Master Devon Waldron on a trip spanning 15 days that included training, competition and cultural exchange.
The Alliance crew arrived at Incheon International Airport and were greeted by members of the Changmookwan who had arranged for buses to get us to our initial hotel. In the morning, now time-shifted 14 hours from our regular schedule, we were bussed three hours south past Seoul to the Taekwondowon (태권도원) in the mountains in Muju – the largest officially recognized campus in the world dedicated to martial arts. It spans over 2300 square kilometers (almost 900 square miles), and includes an international training center, sports science research labs, a dedicated Taekwondo museum, administrative offices, dormitories, and an observatory – and the T1 Arena, the world’s first and largest purpose-built Taekwondo competition arena, seating over 4,500 spectators.
The crew spent several days at the Taekwondowon, training every day. This usually included some short morning training before breakfast, as well as more focused training later in the day. The training also included time with respected grand masters including Grand Master Lee Kyu-Hyun, Grand Master Lee Sang-Ki and Grand Master Lee Jong-Kwan, with whom we trained fundamentals, hapkido and advanced poomsae (patterns). Mr Tanner and Mr Kris also successfully completed the exam for 1st Dan in hapkido; congratulations to them! We also had time to spend in the Taekwondo museum, investigate the traditional style training areas, and got to go to the observatory at the top of a nearby peak – part of the Taekwondowon campus – to take in the view.
After several days at the Taekwondowon, the crew headed back to Seoul. The night we arrived back in the city, there was a formal dinner for all of the Changmookwan dignitaries and international guests – it was a late night with lots of food, photos and speeches. The following day was the 80th Anniversary Changmookwan Championship. The Changmookwan 80th Anniversary Tournament was co-hosted with the 2026 Hanmadang in Gangnam, Seoul. With the Kukkiwon building packed to the brim with Hanmadang participants and observers, the Changmookwan event took place in a nearby gymnasium. All three representatives of Alliance competed and placed. Master Devon’s division included a 7th Dan from Singapore, a 6th Dan from Nepal, a master from Germany and another Master from the United States. Congratulations to the team for bringing home three medals from another international competition!
After the competition concluded, the international visitors got to enjoy a cultural tour, seeing some of the many points of interest around Seoul and the surround areas. The cultural tour kicked off with a visit to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, where the crew was able to look out from an observation deck across the border into North Korea. The next day the group visited the Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace, where they witnessed a changing of the guard and had time to walk the palace grounds and visit the on-site museum. Later that day, we paid a visit to the YMCA in Seoul where the founder of the Changmookwan first started teaching martial arts classes in 1946. The day closed with a visit to the Myeongdong night market, a street market where the crew enjoyed fried squid and octopus, hotteok, and also picked up some souvenirs and travel gifts.
The following day started with a visit to the famous Namsan Tower, also called the N-Seoul Tower – a defining element of Seoul’s skyline, located atop Namsan Mountain, the highest natural point in Seoul. The tower grounds are favored in South Korean pop culture as a setting in media, and for romance – thousands of couples have hung “love locks” on the fences as testaments to their commitments to one another. The crew took a cable-car up the mountain to the base of the tower, and took the elevator up to the observation deck to get their first elevated look at the 10th largest city in the world. The afternoon included stops at some other famous places in the city; notably, the Bongeunsa Temple grounds, the Starfield “Library,” and the Lotte Tower. The Lotte Tower is the 6th tallest building in the world (as of August 2026). Going to the observation deck of the Lotte Tower allowed for a spectacular view of Seoul, and we managed to arrive just before sunset. The views from the top of the tower were truly breath-taking.
Our last day in Seoul saw the conclusion of the Hanmadang – we got to watch some of the finals, pick out some last minute gifts, and enjoy the rest of the day ourselves. We had some delicious Korean food, and spend some time with friends old and new before heading back to Incheon the next morning to fly home.
Trips like this help to elevate the entire school; the training and experience adds to the richness and expertise of the Alliance community. Thanks to all of the student, parents, alumni and other supporters – we could not have made this work without that support. As always, our gratitude goes out to Grand Master Eric Greenquist for his many years of dedication and instruction, and Great Grand Master Yun Moo Young Yun for the legacy he left us after a lifetime of tirelessly promoting traditional Korean martial arts.
UPDATE: Over the whole duration of the trip, a documentary team from TV Chosun was recording photo and video with the intent of chronicling this historic occasion and sharing this international story with a wider audience. The documentary aired on television in South Korea on September 6th, 2026. The documentary was uploaded to YouTube and can now be found here: 태권도 로드 – The Origin.
