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The World Taekwondo
& Hapkido Association

The World Taekwondo & Hapkido Association

Honoring The Past, Embracing The Future

Meet the WTHA Vice President

Grand Master Frank R. Nelson WTHA Vice President
  • Grand Master Frank R. Nelson BSN, MA,
  • Vice President – World Taekwondo & Hapkido Association
  • 9th Dan World Taekwondo & Hapkido Association
  • Kukkiwon Certified International Master
  • Kukkiwon Certified Poom/Dan Belt Examiner
  • 8th Dan Korean Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan
  • 9th Dan World Taekwondo Jidokwan Federation
  • First Class Taekwondo Jidokwan Master
  • 8th Dan World Taekwondo Chungdokwan Federation
  • 7th Dan Korea Hapkido Total Association
  • 6th Dan Korea Hapkido Federation
  • President of the Central Florida Association of Korea Hapkido Total Association

GM Frank R. Nelson is one of the highest legitimate multi Kwan officially ranked Masters in the world, an original student of Moo Duk Kwan GM Chong Soo Hong and GM Jae Sun Do, Chungdokwan GM Edward B. Sell and GM Hae Man Park, Jidokwan GM Oh Joo Yul and GM Dong Kyun Lim, the KTA, WTF, the Kukkiwon Academy, Korea Hapkido Federation, Korea Hapkido Total Association, Sin Moo Hapkido, Jin Jun Kwan Hapkido, American Hapkido Association, and several others, and Co Founder and Vice President of The World Taekwondo & Hapkido Association.

Master Nelson taught elements of the US Army First Infantry Division “in theater” during the Persian Gulf War (ODS/DS) 1990/91, and Iraqi Translators, U.S. & British Special Forces & Ugandan Republic Military Guards “in combat theater” during the Iraq War (OIF/OEF) 2008/09. Master Nelson taught Taekwondo in several community settings as well as an adjunct professor at Valencia Community College in Orlando Florida where he was also a State College Campus LEO.

Grand Master Frank R. Nelson, a retired U.S. Army Captain with 25 years of active duty around the globe including multiple combat tours was born in Miami Florida in 1960. He began his Korean Martial Arts training in 1975 practicing “Korean Karate” “Kong Soo Do.”

In April 1977 Master Nelson entered U.S. military service where at that time a combination of Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Judo “Hand to Hand Combat ” training was a standard Basic Combat Training requirement.

Upon completion of Basic and Advanced training Master Nelson went overseas in September 1977 and began formal Taekwondo and Hapkido training in Sung Moo Kwan and Sung Do Kwan. Following the death of his teacher in 1980 Master Nelson studied both Ishynryu Karate and Wushu Gungfu for approximately one year each before returning to Taekwondo and Hapkido.

In 1984 Master Nelson returned to the US for sixteen months continuing to practice Taekwondo and Hapkido before returning overseas in September 1985.
 
Overseas Master Nelson resumed training in Taekwondo and Hapkido from 1985 – 1991.
In 1988/89 Master Nelson trained again in Wushu Gungfu, and in 1990/91 engaged in ITF Taekwondo and Wing Chung Gungfu.
 
In 1990 and 1991 Master Nelson taught Taekwondo to Yugoslavian refugees fleeing the Serbian War and elements of the First Infantry Division (FWD) leading up to the Persian Gulf War before returning to the U.S. after the Gulf War in July 1991.
In July 1991 Master Nelson met Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan GM Jae Sun Do (former Pan American Moo Duk Kwan Secretary General) and began training under his direction leading to a relationship with his teacher GM Hong Chong Soo (former Kukkiwon Vice President and second Korea Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan President) who visited, taught, and lectured on occasion between 1991 until his passing. This is when the passage of the WTHA system began. Master Nelson continued to train under GM J.S. Do while teaching at multiple area youth, sports, and fitness centers, as well as Valencia Community College in Orlando Florida until opening his first Dojang in April 1993.
 
In April 1993 Master Nelson opened the Central Florida Taekwondo & Hapkido Academy. Master Nelson taught for fifteen years before closing his Dojang due to military deployment requirements. During those fifteen years Master Nelson continued to train under Moo Duk Kwan GM Jae Sun Do. 
 
GM Do eventually relocated to Georgia in the mid 1990’s. 

During that time Master Nelson sought to participate with other Florida based martial arts organizations and as a result began training relationships with United States Chungdokwan Association President GM Edward B Sell and World Taekwondo Chungdokwan Federation Vice President GM Park Hae Man, Florida State Taekwondo President and former Pan American Olympic Coach, Jidokwan GM Oh Joo Yul, Chunnam Techno College Education Director Jidokwan GM Ki Jeong Lee, and Hodori Demonstration Team Director, Jidokwan GM Don Kyun Lim, Judo O’Sensei Philip S. Porter and others, Jeet Kun Do with Sifu Edwin Pagan and Bruce Lee student Sifu Richard Bustillo, BJJ with Gracie Jujitsu Black Belt Andre Linares, Shito Ryu with Sensei Vincent Sands, Tenshin Aikido with Luis Santos Sensei, Kumdo with GM Anthony Ropero, and has had continued formal and distant Hapkido training from the late 1970’s to present day under the Korea Hapkido Total Association, the Korea Hapkido Federation, American Hapkido Federation GM Chong Mon Lee, Jin Jun Kwan GM Kim Myung Yong, WHF GM Kwang Sik Myung, IHF GM Bon Soo Han, Sin Moo GM Ji Han Jae, HMD  GM Dr He Young Kimm, and several others, all Korean born Hapkido systems.

In 1994 Master Nelson hosted Korean Tiger Team Director – a former Jidokwan Vice President GM Hak Sun Ahn and The Korean Tiger National Demonstration Team at his Dojang in Orlando Florida.

From 1997 to 2000 in coordination with Kwangju City Chunnam Techno College Professor of Education GM Lee Ki Jeong Master Nelson hosted a Korean American Masters exchange program with Chunnam Techno College.

From 2000 – 2005 Master Nelson was President of the Advanced International Martial Arts Association-AIMA.
 
In 2005 Master Nelson entered the US Army Reserves. From 2005 to 2013 Master Nelson trained in the Army Combatives System, i.e. Jujitsu, and the Marine Corp Martial Arts Program, i.e. Hapkido.
 
In 2007 Master Nelson began deploying to Iraq in the Global War On Terror. By 2008 Master Nelson was forced to close his Dojang to meet deployment requirements.
 
While deployed from 2008 to 2009 Master Nelson taught Taekwondo and Hapkido to U.S. and British Special Forces, Iraqi translators, Ugandan Republic Military Guards, and other Soldiers at Combat Operation Base Speicher, Tikrit Iraq. In 2009 Master Nelson was injured and returned to the U.S. for medical care and was deployed 16 months later in September 2010 for three years until September 2013.

In September 2013 Master Nelson returned to Forts Stewart and Benning for medical care and was subsequently medically retired in September 2015.

In January 2016 Master Nelson opened the Korean American Martial Arts Academy in Orlando Florida.

Since 2017 Master Nelson re established Taekwondo, Kukkiwon, Kwan, and Hapkido Kwan relationships subsequently attending multiple USAT Masters and Referee Clinics, World Taekwondo Masters Union and Kukkiwon Masters courses, Taekwondo tournaments and seminars as well as Hapkido training with such notables as GM Inwan Kim, GM Shelton Moreland, GM Will Widmyer, GM Larry Dorsey, GM Garland, GM Yates, GM Kim Myung Yong, the GHF, KHF, the KHTA, and others.
In 2017 GM Nelson hosted Hodori Team Director Grand Master Dong Kyun Lim and the Korean Hodori Demonstration Team in his Orlando Florida home and Dojang.
GM Nelson hosts WTHA President GM Jae Sun Do in Orlando Florida every year since 2017 for Annual Academy and Association Seminar, training, annual Black Belt Testing, and to attend the annual Florida Masters Association Reunion.
 
As a result GM Nelson has exemplified the highest standards of loyalty, discipline, etiquette, protocol, trained in and maintained the highest standards of curriculum and performance in each associated Kwan, and integrated this multitude of disciplines, education, knowledge, skill, technique, philosophies, and wisdom in his continued teaching and sharing these Korean Martial Arts and in doing so was qualified to test and passed with superior performances in each of his associated Kwans and was promoted to Kukkiwon International Master, Kukkiwon International Poom/Dan Belt Examiner, 9th Dan Moo Duk Kwan, 9th Dan Jidokwan, 8th Dan Chungdokwan, 7th Dan Korean Hapkido Total Association, and 6th Dan Korean Hapkido Federation.
 
Grand Master Nelson is Vice President of The World Taekwondo and Hapkido Association and President of the Central Florida Association of Korea Hapkido Total Association.
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In summary:
GM Frank R. Nelson is one of the highest official multi Kwan ranked Masters in the world, an original student of GM Chong Soo Hong, GM Jae Sun Do, GM Edward B. Sell, GM Hae Man Park, GM Oh Joo Yul, GM Dong Kyun Lim, Korea Hapkido Federation, Korea Hapkido Total Association, Sin Moo Hapkido, Jin Jun Kwan Hapkido, American Hapkido Association, and several others, and Co Founder and Vice President of The World Taekwondo & Hapkido Association.

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Martial arts as we know them have evolved over centuries driven by the personal, social, geopolitical, and cross cultural influences of their time. The founders of The World Taekwondo & Hapkido Academy have combined these teachings to address the need for a comprehensively structured elite, military style, Advanced Korean Martial Arts Training System.

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Martial arts as we know them have evolved over centuries driven by the personal, social, geopolitical, and cross cultural influences of their time.
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