In the world of martial arts, there are people whose journeys inspire generations. Grand Master J.R. West was undeniably one of these remarkable figures, with a martial arts career spanning over 50 years. His contributions to the art of Hapkido, along with his dedication and unwavering commitment, have left an indelible mark on the martial arts community.
A Humble Beginning
Master J.R. (Jeffrey Arnold) West was born on August 1, 1944 in Kunming, China near the upper tip of Viet Nam, but his family left China about 6 weeks after he was born. He spent the early part of his childhood in Hazard, Kentucky, and then his family moved to Newburgh, New York.
Master West began his martial arts training when he was 21 yrs. old in February 1966 while serving as a communications liaison in the Army Special Forces (Green Beret) in the 25th Infantry, otherwise known as the Korean Tiger Division, during the Vietnam War. The Korean Tiger Division, also known as “Ghost Soldiers,” was one of the most effective and feared units in the Viet Nam War. The Tiger Division had a 20/1 kill ratio much better than the U.S.’s 10/1 kill ratio. They practiced hand-to-hand combat daily where broken noses and cracked ribs were considered part of the training process. Master West also became fluent in speaking Korean as a result of this experience.
It was there that he was introduced to the dynamic art of Hapkido, igniting a lifelong passion. His training took place under the tutelage of Baek Nam Guk and Kim Jung Soo, both esteemed instructors in the Korean Tiger Division for the R.O.K. Army. Master Kim Jung Soo was a member of the now legendary “M-21” martial arts training program. He also befriended Bong Soo Han during his time in Viet Nam, and learned some skills from him as well.
In 1967, he proudly earned his 1st Dan Black Belt, marking the start of a journey that would shape the rest of his life.
A Journey Across Professions and Borders
When he returned to the United States, he was only the 4th Hapkido Black Belt in the entire country. The others were Dr. HeYoung Kimm, who we still train with twice a year, and who was the first to bring Hapkido to the United States, Bong Soo Han (who we’ve trained with twice), and Choi She Oh.
Settling in Mississippi, he teamed up with close friend to open West’s Hapkido Academy in 1973. Later, he moved closer to Jackson, Mississippi, where he offered martial arts classes at Millsaps College and opened his own dojang, where he began teaching a unique blend of military applications from Taekwondo and Hapkido.
Guidance from Dr. He-Young Kimm
Master West's quest for a deeper understanding of traditional Korean martial arts led him to an invaluable mentor, Dr. He-Young Kimm. Upon leaving Viet Nam, his main instructor, Baek Nam Guk, gave him an introduction letter to give to Kim Hyung Suk and Master West searched and searched and couldn’t find him. He did come across Dr. HeYoung Kimm and drove down to Louisiana to meet him. He told Dr. Kimm that he had been trying to track down Kim Hyung Suk but couldn’t find him and he asked if Dr. Kimm would like to read the letter. Dr. Kimm said “yes” and, as soon as he started reading the letter, he started laughing. It turned out that he was Kim Hyung Suk but he had changed his name to HeYoung Kimm upon coming to the United States because “suck” was a bad word in the English language. Master West drove almost 3 hours each way to Louisiana to train weekly with Dr. Kimm.
Until 1996, he served as the Director of Associate Members for Dr. Kimm’s World Han Mu Do Association.
Under Dr. Kimm's guidance, Master West steadily built a devoted following of Hapkido students. Together with his wife Master Renee West, they nurtured West's Hapkido Academy, which soon gained international acclaim.
Their dedication was not in vain, as their efforts earned them the acceptance of Kim Jung Soo, the 8th student of the legendary founder of Hapkido, Choi Yong Sul. (We have also had the privilege of training with Kim Jung Soo in South Korea twice!)
A Legacy Beyond Borders
The martial arts community experienced a profound loss in 2003 with the passing of Master Renee West. However, Master West's resilience and commitment to martial arts remained unshaken. He continued to teach and hold regular seminars, drawing students and friends from around the world.
His achievements culminated in the formation of the United States Korean Martial Arts Federation, a testament to his enduring impact.
Sharing Knowledge Across the Nation
Grand Master West's dedication extended to sharing his knowledge far and wide. The U.S.K.M.A.F. conducts two seminars each year at his headquarters dojang in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and he was highly sought after across the United States to lead seminars, enriching the martial arts community with his wisdom and understanding of Korean culture. His dojang thrives on the principle that "giving is better than receiving," emphasizing personal growth and self-improvement over combat skills. Their holistic approach aims to improve the overall well-being of their students, teaching them not only how to fight but, more importantly, how not to fight. Master West taught that, “The first person to throw a punch is the first person to run out of ideas.”
In addition to running his dojang and the U.S.K.M.A.F., Master West became a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and a member of its FBI Alumni. He trained FBI agents, FBI SWAT team agents, U.S. Army Soldiers, Federal Marshal’s Service, the 82nd Airborne division of the army, the CIA, Secret Service, the 75th Army Rangers, ICE, Border Patrol, and State and Local Law Enforcement. He also had students who teach at the JFK Institute for Special Warfare, 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg and NATO forces, U.S. Army forces in Iraq, U.S. Air Force in Iraq, U.S. Army forces in Korea and at Army and Air Force locations throughout the United States. He was always willing to help law enforcement and the military.
He also allowed Master Dexter Mangum (who is a police officer and who will be taking over for him both with their dojang and with the U.S.K.M.A.F.) to use his dojang for police defensive tactics training.
Master West was also the Vice President of the Korea Kido Association (Kidohae) for Hapkido operations in America.
Beyond Hapkido
Aside from Martial Arts, Master West was just an incredible human being!
He had a profound influence on us all—he was a quiet pillar of wisdom, discipline, and kindness. His teachings went far beyond technique; he instilled in us integrity, perseverance, and humility. He had a wonderfully creative wit and a masterful way with words that brought lightness to even the toughest training sessions—those moments of laughter and clever insight will be greatly missed. For so many, he was more than an instructor; he was family.
He often said that, “If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” and he wanted to be part of the solution for problems. When a tornado hit his area of Mississippi, the police parked their mobile command bus in front of his house where he offered the use of his bathroom if needed and he assisted them whenever possible. He wrote letters of recommendation for a lot of people for employment and for military service. He did a lot of things for a lot of people over the years.
The story that stuck with me the most upon hearing it was after his parents died, he was asked to settle their estate. They had an historic property in New York that they had been renting to the same woman (whom he had never met) for years. He went there and discovered that the woman had taken incredibly good care of the house and lawn. He started talking to the woman without identifying himself as the owner and asked her why she never tried to buy the property? She told him that she could never afford to buy it. After their conversation, he went straight to his attorney where, unbeknownst to her at the time, he not only put the property in her name, but he also paid 10 years of property taxes on it in advance. That cost him a LOT of money, but he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. That’s the kind of man he was!
Though words cannot fully capture his impact, his spirit lives on in every technique we perform, every lesson we pass forward, and every act of respect we show.
Please honor his memory by training with purpose and living with the quiet strength he embodied. His legacy endures in us all!
A Humble Beginning
Master J.R. (Jeffrey Arnold) West was born on August 1, 1944 in Kunming, China near the upper tip of Viet Nam, but his family left China about 6 weeks after he was born. He spent the early part of his childhood in Hazard, Kentucky, and then his family moved to Newburgh, New York.
Master West began his martial arts training when he was 21 yrs. old in February 1966 while serving as a communications liaison in the Army Special Forces (Green Beret) in the 25th Infantry, otherwise known as the Korean Tiger Division, during the Vietnam War. The Korean Tiger Division, also known as “Ghost Soldiers,” was one of the most effective and feared units in the Viet Nam War. The Tiger Division had a 20/1 kill ratio much better than the U.S.’s 10/1 kill ratio. They practiced hand-to-hand combat daily where broken noses and cracked ribs were considered part of the training process. Master West also became fluent in speaking Korean as a result of this experience.
It was there that he was introduced to the dynamic art of Hapkido, igniting a lifelong passion. His training took place under the tutelage of Baek Nam Guk and Kim Jung Soo, both esteemed instructors in the Korean Tiger Division for the R.O.K. Army. Master Kim Jung Soo was a member of the now legendary “M-21” martial arts training program. He also befriended Bong Soo Han during his time in Viet Nam, and learned some skills from him as well.
In 1967, he proudly earned his 1st Dan Black Belt, marking the start of a journey that would shape the rest of his life.
A Journey Across Professions and Borders
When he returned to the United States, he was only the 4th Hapkido Black Belt in the entire country. The others were Dr. HeYoung Kimm, who we still train with twice a year, and who was the first to bring Hapkido to the United States, Bong Soo Han (who we’ve trained with twice), and Choi She Oh.
Settling in Mississippi, he teamed up with close friend to open West’s Hapkido Academy in 1973. Later, he moved closer to Jackson, Mississippi, where he offered martial arts classes at Millsaps College and opened his own dojang, where he began teaching a unique blend of military applications from Taekwondo and Hapkido.
Guidance from Dr. He-Young Kimm
Master West's quest for a deeper understanding of traditional Korean martial arts led him to an invaluable mentor, Dr. He-Young Kimm. Upon leaving Viet Nam, his main instructor, Baek Nam Guk, gave him an introduction letter to give to Kim Hyung Suk and Master West searched and searched and couldn’t find him. He did come across Dr. HeYoung Kimm and drove down to Louisiana to meet him. He told Dr. Kimm that he had been trying to track down Kim Hyung Suk but couldn’t find him and he asked if Dr. Kimm would like to read the letter. Dr. Kimm said “yes” and, as soon as he started reading the letter, he started laughing. It turned out that he was Kim Hyung Suk but he had changed his name to HeYoung Kimm upon coming to the United States because “suck” was a bad word in the English language. Master West drove almost 3 hours each way to Louisiana to train weekly with Dr. Kimm.
Until 1996, he served as the Director of Associate Members for Dr. Kimm’s World Han Mu Do Association.
Under Dr. Kimm's guidance, Master West steadily built a devoted following of Hapkido students. Together with his wife Master Renee West, they nurtured West's Hapkido Academy, which soon gained international acclaim.
Their dedication was not in vain, as their efforts earned them the acceptance of Kim Jung Soo, the 8th student of the legendary founder of Hapkido, Choi Yong Sul. (We have also had the privilege of training with Kim Jung Soo in South Korea twice!)
A Legacy Beyond Borders
The martial arts community experienced a profound loss in 2003 with the passing of Master Renee West. However, Master West's resilience and commitment to martial arts remained unshaken. He continued to teach and hold regular seminars, drawing students and friends from around the world.
His achievements culminated in the formation of the United States Korean Martial Arts Federation, a testament to his enduring impact.
Sharing Knowledge Across the Nation
Grand Master West's dedication extended to sharing his knowledge far and wide. The U.S.K.M.A.F. conducts two seminars each year at his headquarters dojang in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and he was highly sought after across the United States to lead seminars, enriching the martial arts community with his wisdom and understanding of Korean culture. His dojang thrives on the principle that "giving is better than receiving," emphasizing personal growth and self-improvement over combat skills. Their holistic approach aims to improve the overall well-being of their students, teaching them not only how to fight but, more importantly, how not to fight. Master West taught that, “The first person to throw a punch is the first person to run out of ideas.”
In addition to running his dojang and the U.S.K.M.A.F., Master West became a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and a member of its FBI Alumni. He trained FBI agents, FBI SWAT team agents, U.S. Army Soldiers, Federal Marshal’s Service, the 82nd Airborne division of the army, the CIA, Secret Service, the 75th Army Rangers, ICE, Border Patrol, and State and Local Law Enforcement. He also had students who teach at the JFK Institute for Special Warfare, 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg and NATO forces, U.S. Army forces in Iraq, U.S. Air Force in Iraq, U.S. Army forces in Korea and at Army and Air Force locations throughout the United States. He was always willing to help law enforcement and the military.
He also allowed Master Dexter Mangum (who is a police officer and who will be taking over for him both with their dojang and with the U.S.K.M.A.F.) to use his dojang for police defensive tactics training.
Master West was also the Vice President of the Korea Kido Association (Kidohae) for Hapkido operations in America.
Beyond Hapkido
Aside from Martial Arts, Master West was just an incredible human being!
He had a profound influence on us all—he was a quiet pillar of wisdom, discipline, and kindness. His teachings went far beyond technique; he instilled in us integrity, perseverance, and humility. He had a wonderfully creative wit and a masterful way with words that brought lightness to even the toughest training sessions—those moments of laughter and clever insight will be greatly missed. For so many, he was more than an instructor; he was family.
He often said that, “If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” and he wanted to be part of the solution for problems. When a tornado hit his area of Mississippi, the police parked their mobile command bus in front of his house where he offered the use of his bathroom if needed and he assisted them whenever possible. He wrote letters of recommendation for a lot of people for employment and for military service. He did a lot of things for a lot of people over the years.
The story that stuck with me the most upon hearing it was after his parents died, he was asked to settle their estate. They had an historic property in New York that they had been renting to the same woman (whom he had never met) for years. He went there and discovered that the woman had taken incredibly good care of the house and lawn. He started talking to the woman without identifying himself as the owner and asked her why she never tried to buy the property? She told him that she could never afford to buy it. After their conversation, he went straight to his attorney where, unbeknownst to her at the time, he not only put the property in her name, but he also paid 10 years of property taxes on it in advance. That cost him a LOT of money, but he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. That’s the kind of man he was!
Though words cannot fully capture his impact, his spirit lives on in every technique we perform, every lesson we pass forward, and every act of respect we show.
Please honor his memory by training with purpose and living with the quiet strength he embodied. His legacy endures in us all!
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