Sang Kee Paik

Sang-kee Paik (1929–2009), also known in Korean reference as Paik Sang-kee, was a South Korean martial arts grandmaster and creator of a Kwon Bup system he called Sa-Sang Kwan (Korean: school of the four natural elements: air, earth, fire, and water).

Biography Upon completing his Ph.D. in animal pathology at Seoul National University, Paik moved to the United States in 1969 to work as a research pathologist at the University of Wisconsin's Primate Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Paik retired from full-time teaching in 1997 at age 68 named as his successor son Peter, eighth dan, who continues to operate the school in Madison, Wisconsin under the name Paik's Traditional Martial Arts Center - School of Integrity. His memorial service was held in Madison, Wisconsin on July 25, 2009, and attended by hundreds of his former students. Son Peter and daughter Myung (Mia) felt the best way to eulogize their father was to allow Paik's former students to speak at the podium. Many did, recounting what an extraordinary teacher he was and the positive and permanent impact he had on their lives. Also noted was Paik's penchant for taking in at-risk or troubled students, sometimes by offering free lessons and then turning their lives around through a mixture of benevolence and tough discipline.