Professor George Anderson was born in Akron, Ohio in 1931. His
father, William E. Anderson was a respected teacher who had taught
in Egypt. His mother was Winifred Pape of Utica, New York, a noted musician.
As a youth, Anderson won honors as a student of violin at the Cleveland Institute
of Music and later was a scholarship student at the University
of Wichita. He also studied accounting and Spanish at the University of Akron,
where he has been teaching since the late 1960’s
Swimming competitively in high school, he was one of the first Red Cross
Certified Water Safety Instructors in the United States. In 1956, he
attended machine accounting school in Chicago and was admitted to the National
Association of Cost Accountants in 1957. While studying
Spanish at the University of Akron he helped found the Club Hispano - Americano,
serving as the Charter Secretary. Enjoying racing, he was
a founder of the Akron Go-Cart Club, the BMW Motorcycle Club, and a consistent
winner in drag racing competition. His company also
sponsored several racing cars.
Anderson started martial arts training in 1950, beginning with elementary
jujitsu, and progressing though karate, a rough shotokan karate, judo,
kung fu, and taesoodo, as the Korean art was then called. After many years
of study, he earned his black belt in the early sixties under Il Joo Kim,
a student of Grandmaster Kim Pyung Soo, a student of Grandmaster Chull Hee
Park, founder of the Kang Duk Won Korean Kwon-bop
Association, himself a student of In Byung Yoon, a Shihan of the Shudokan
and the founding master of much of what is now Taekwondo.
Anderson became the General Secretary of Kim’s newly formed Taekwondo
Association of Ohio.
In the late sixties, Il Joo Kim changed affiliations to coordinate with his
friend and newly arrived "brother," Tong Choo Choi, who was affiliated
with the Song Moo Kwan (Korean Shotokan), whose founder, Ro Byung Jick, was
a direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, and Anderson was
obliged to follow.
During the 1960’s and early 70’s, Anderson was extremely active
in karate, sparring hours every day, teaching, and gaining a reputation as
a
good hard-nosed practitioner. As he was nearly forty when competition really
became popular, and as he was in demand as a referee, he turned
his attention that direction. Most of his involvement at that time was with
the East Coast Korean group, and he had a close association with
Ki Whang Kim, Richard Chun, Henry Cho, Kang Rhee, Kim Soo Jin, Jhoon Rhee,
Mon Soo Park, and Chong Lee to name a few.
Receiving his third dan from Grandmaster Ro, Anderson founded the Central
Taekwondo Association with Larry Lunn, Bob Chaney, Dan Willis
and himself as founders. As Anderson was Senior, he was elected Chairman.
This organization grew rapidly to one of the largest in the USA at
that time and became interested in national affairs.
Bob Chaney allegedly was first referee in the new AAU Karate upon returning
from Japan, appointed Anderson to many important posts, which
finalized with his being certified as a World Union of Karatedo official
at the World Championship in Long Beach, CA. From this position and as
the head of very large American association, Anderson helped sponsor the
separation of AAU Taekwondo and AAU. Remaining in both sections,
he was appointed Public Relations Co-Chairman of the AAU Taekwondo and also
Executive Board Administrator for AAU Racquetball. Active
in the AAU Taekwondo (the precourser of the US Taekwondo Union) he was the
leader of the successful AAU team that won the team
championship at the National AAU Taekwondo Championship in Berkeley California
in the 1970’s. Where he earned a Pan-American Taekwondo
Officials Certification.
Taekwondo being well seated in Korean hands, his interest soon turned to
karate and he became the AAU Karate International Representative,
an International Judge, and was elected the Secretary General of the Pan
American Union at the World Karate Championship in Madrid Spain.
Returning to the USA, Anderson was elected the President of the AAU Karate.
Shortly thereafter was elected the President of the powerful World
Referee Council (which served as the organizing committee and the technical
committee) in at the World Championship in Taiwan.
Anderson also authored the Constitution of the Pan-American Union in Spanish
and soon was elected the President of that Union in at a Technical
Congress in Venezuela.
He now held he held the positions of President of the World Referee Council,
The President of the Pan American Referee Council, The President of
the Pan American Union of Karatedo Organizations, and the President of the
National AAU Karate Committee. He was soon to be elected as the
First Vice President of the World Union. He now assumed the responsibilities
of Director for the World Medical Commission.
Succeeding in leading the charge to get karate recognized by the United States
Olympic, he was elected to represent all the non-Olympic sports to
the board of the USOC and served four years in that position.
While all this progressed, his study continued. He joined the United States
Karate Association under Grandmaster Robert Trias and was appointed
style-head for the Korean and international systems and International Director
for the USKA Police Liaison Division, under which he directed the
greatest National Police Training seminar seen in this country to date. He
earned degrees in judo and jujitsu and other styles of karate. (The last
major
seminar by the famous judo master Sadaki Nakabyashi was at held at his dojo).
At the time of Grandmaster Trias’ death, Anderson was the senior
dan in the USKA and was a member of the prestigious Trias International Society.
He became a fast friend of Grandmaster Phillip Koeppel who has
continued to be his kobudo mentor.
Anderson has always been intrigued by the problems of law enforcement. He
has attended many seminars covering bombs, hostage negotiations, etc.
where he has attained numerous certifications pertinent to police work. Hanshi
Anderson has served as consultant and advisor to various police and
law enforcement groups in the United States and around the world and is
considered an outstanding authority on officer survival training as well
as the
sporting aspects of karatedo.
Professor Anderson has lectured widely on physical education and the martial
arts and he has supervised countless championships and official training
seminars. Many of the world’s greatest masters hang certificates with
his signature on their wall.
As an organizer, Hanshi Anderson in peerless. He was the Technical Director
at the First World Cup in Budapest, where he directed the initial
unification event of the World Karate Federation (WUKO) and the International
Amateur Karate Federation (IAKF), and the First World
Collegiate Karate Championships in Kobe, Japan. The First World Technical
Congress was held in Akron, Ohio and was chaired by the
Grandmaster Anderson.
He engineered the successful drive to have karate entered into the Pan American
Games as a medal sport in , serving a quadrennium as a Director of
the United States Olympic Committee representing all the Affiliated Sports
Organizations. Having reached the Pan-American Games, Professor
Anderson presided over this historic karate event, receiving universal acclaim
for achieving the impossible.
Emerson said "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." However,
for Anderson there are other accolades. He was recognized as 9th Dan
Hanshi in Seibukan, Kyoto, Japan by Grandmaster Masafumi Suzuki, 10th Dan,
Principle of the All Japan Budo Federation, the Zenkoran. When
Grandmaster Suzuki died, Hanshi Anderson was requested to and gave the eulogy
at his funeral in Kyoto. Grandmaster Suzuki directed Anderson to
accept the 10th dan upon his death. At the funeral, the seniors of the Seibukan
were asked to support Grandmaster Anderson.
Hanshi Anderson was also recognized by the master of Grandmaster In Sun So
as a 9th Dan in the Kido Federation and Grandmaster Nam Suk Lee
of the Korean Changmookwan, which he currently represents as a 9th Dan.
Hanshi Anderson claims Grandmaster Park Chull Hee of the Kang Duk Won as
his direct teacher and still receives regular lessons from him.
O-Sensei Anderson has appeared in numerous magazines, newspaper’s and
reviews. Among these honors are: Induction into the Black Belt Hall
of Fame in 1986 , featuring on the covers of Karate Illustrated magazine,
April 1992. and again on the cover of Karate Profiles magazine,
August 1993, and appearance on TV and the front pages of many international
newspapers
Hanshi Anderson is an unusual man. Besides holding high dans in many martial
arts, he is an accomplished violinist, an inspired artist, and an entrancing
speaker. He has been called the renaissance man of the martial arts and in
constant demand as a lecturer and teacher. His views on the arts and their
relationship to the values inherent in martial arts education. are leading
the way towards the 21st century.
He and his wife Joan have been married nearly 50 years and have two sons,
three daughters and nine grand children, and one great grand child.
Anderson lives in Akron, Ohio |
