about grandmaster

Grandmaster Dave Wheaton is a revered instructor, who has taught and trained in the martial arts for well over 50 years. He is the founder of Hapkido International (1981). Below is a little bit of his martial arts lineage.

Dave Wheaton began his training in 1966 at the age of 16 in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do. Over the next few years, he studied a little Muay Thai, Aikido, and Judo. In 1970, Dave met his first true martial arts mentor, Grandmaster Yi, Tae Hee. GM Yi had been a Taekwondo Combat instructor in the Vietnam War’s Tiger Division, where he taught soldiers a very intense style of hand-to-hand martial art called Chung Do Kwan.

Dave trained, taught, and opened a few schools for Grandmaster in Connecticut until 1976 when he moved to the island of Oahu and began teaching Taekwondo at the University of Hawaii. While in Honolulu, Dave was invited to train an art called Hapkido under Grandmaster Sung Ok Hong, and found himself enthralled with the art.

In 1981, Dave began teaching Hapkido in Seymour, Connecticut and within a few years moved back to Oahu and opened up a Hapkido studio there. In 1996, Master Dave married a fitness trainer named Melodee and adopted her two sons, who trained under him. Eventually, all 4 of them were training and working together, teaching classes and growing the family business.

In 2012, Grandmaster Yi came to visit Master Dave’s school and at last was able to see his legacy continued on. GM Yi awarded Master Dave the certificate of 7th Dan Grandmaster. It was a powerful and humbling moment for the school, and even more so for Grandmaster Dave.

Grandmaster Dave currently holds multiple certifications and ranks, including:

  • 9th Dan Black Belt in Gene Hong Kwan Hap Ki Do

  • 8th Dan Black Belt in Chung Du Kwan Taekwondo

  • Appointed “Grandmaster” title under the World Taekwondo Chung Du Kwan Federation

  • 2001 Golden Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Karate Union Martial Arts Hall of Fame

Grandmaster Dave retired to Hawaii in 2020.

Grandmaster Dave and Dojunim Ji Han Jae

Grandmaster Dave and Dojunim Ji Han Jae

Through the years: Grandmaster Wheaton and Grandmaster Hong

Through the years: Grandmaster Wheaton and Grandmaster Hong

Grandmaster Tae Hee Yi

Grandmaster Tae Hee Yi

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Dave (last on the right) training at GM Yi’s dojang in Branford, CT.

Dave (last on the right) training at GM Yi’s dojang in Branford, CT.