Yu Byung Chull (B.C. Yu) immigrated to the USA from Korea in the early 1950s as a teenager to attend the private prep-school, Mt. Hermon in Massachusetts.  The honor student was accepted to all six of his college choices, but chose Oberlin College in Ohio, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. B.C. Yu then moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan’s Graduate School where he earned a master’s degree in English.

While a graduate student in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan, the 20-something B.C. Yu rekindled his martial arts interest in the early 1960s by studying Tang Soo Do under the legendary Korean Moo Duk Kwan Instructor Sang Kyu Shim of Detroit. After rapidly earning his 1st and 2nd Dan Black Belts under Master Shim, and teaching a satellite program for him in Flint, B.C. Yu decided to join General Choi Hong Hi’s Tae Kwon Do organization, the ITF, in 1965.
 
B.C. Yu first met Tae Kwon Do’s “legendary founder,” General Choi, when he came through Detroit while organizing his International TaeKwon-Do Federation (ITF) throughout Canada and the U.S.A. What impressed B.C. Yu was General Choi’s comprehension of the theories of power behind the devastating kicks and strikes of Tae Kwon Do, as well as his unique ability to describe and apply his vast knowledge of the martial arts with such precision and passion.

Master B.C. Yu having dinner in his home with General Choi

For the first two years, B.C. Yu traveled to General Choi’s home in Toronto on a monthly basis to take private training directly from him so that he could learn every Tae Kwon Do technique, theory, form, and movement –exactly as it was designed by him (or intended by the other original masters). He became General Choi’s “rising star” instructor for the ITF in the U.S.A.

One of many visits to General Choi's home in Toronto (Master Park Jung Tae on far left)

By 1972, Master Yu earned ITF 5th Dan directly under the General, and had set up the largest network of ITF-style Tae Kwon Do programs in Michigan (through colleges and universities, public schools, YMCAs, and recreation departments) – altogether totaling thousands of students—and he was still under 30 years old!

Master Yu with Tae Kwon Do Founders, General Choi Hong Hi & Chung Do Kwan's Nam Tae Hi

Through General Choi, Master Yu became friends with most of Tae Kwon Do’s original masters, including the famous Tae Kwon Do co-founder, Nam Tae Hi and other legends from the original KTA demonstration team that made the art internationally famous in the early years.
 
General Choi came to Ann Arbor, Michigan to watch one of Master Yu’s TKD testing events at Huron High school.

General Choi and Nam Tae Hi visit Master Yu's testing at Huron High School in Ann Arbor (L to R: Master Yu's brother, General Choi Hong Hi, Nam Tae Hi, Master Yu)

During these early years of Tae Kwon Do with General Choi, Master Yu became good friends with Master Jhoon Rhee, “The Father of Tae Kwon Do in America.” It was around this time that Master Rhee called Master Yu to report that General Choi was telling other Tae Kwon Do masters of Michigan’s ITF growth and expansion through B.C. Yu.

Master B.C Yu and Master Jhoon Rhee appear together in General Choi's Encyclopedia of Tae Kwon Do (here is an example from the pattern Choong-Moo)

Master Yu attended General Choi’s first tournament in Montreal, Canada (it was a very small tournament at that time). He became good friends with General Choi’s original Korean demo team member, Master Jong Soo Park – and continued to attend his tournaments in Toronto. Master Yu also became a close friend of Master Han Cha Kyo (from the original Korean TKD Demo Team) who lived nearby in Chicago (Later, Master Yu was one of the first to adopt Master Han’s “Dyna-Strike” invention in his school.).
 
Master Yu maintained those friendships for the rest of their lives (or to this day for those still alive).

In 1974, Master Yu hosted General Choi and his world famous Demo Team in Flint, Michigan. The great Korean TKD founders and masters performed a spectacular demonstration that included board breaking, flying kicks and choreography (such as spin kicking an apple off of a student’s head)!
 
Note: the last name on the Flint Demonstration Program listed below is B.C. Yu’s younger brother – a former TKD master from Kalamazoo, Michigan (deceased).

Master Yu's 1974 Flint, Michigan program for the demonstration performed by Tae Kwon Do's Original Masters, led by General Choi (several European masters did not attend)

General Choi Hong Hi brings his world famous Tae Kwon Do demonstration team to visit Master B.C. Yu's students in Flint, Michigan (1974). Pictured are General Choi and Master Yu signing the program after the demo.

At the special request of General Choi, Master Yu facilitated Chang Moo Kwan’s founder and General Secretary of the ITF, Grandmaster Nam Suk Lee’s initial visit to the U.S.A. It was during that first trip when Grandmaster Lee began investigating his relocation to America (due to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, President Johnson expanded immigration for Asians). The two became lifelong friends until Grandmaster Lee’s death in 2000. Grandmaster Yu ultimately earned his 9th Dan under GM Lee through the Chang Moo Kwan.

Chang Moo Kwan Founder, Grandmaster Nam Suk Lee (left) with Master B.C. Yu at his Tae Kwon Do studio in Ann Arbor

Master Yu also sponsored Chang Moo Kwan’s Master Chang Soo Lim and his family’s move from Korea to the U.S.A. – inviting their family to live with him until they were independently established. Master Lim was the Korean high school friend of Master Yu’s youngest brother, and an accomplished Tae Kwon Do instructor in Seoul at that time. It was Master Lim who convinced Master Yu to open a “brick and mortar” school in Ann Arbor.

Mid-Michigan's Master Chang Soo Lim with Master B.C. Yu

Master Yu expanded three times. His first Ann Arbor school began around 1980 on Airport Drive and stayed at the same location for 10 years. He then relocated to the then newly constructed Colonnade Shopping Center for the next 10 years, followed by 5 years on Jackson Road until 2005 when he sold it to his assistant instructor (it is still in business at the same location today).

As an ITF 6th Dan, like many Korean Masters at the time, Master Yu separated from the ITF and migrated to the Kukkiwon and WTF in the 1980s. He participated in the first WTF TKD seminar to establish TKD theory in Seoul, Korea and also attended one of the earliest WTF judging certification programs.

Master B.C. Yu wearing his Blue WTF Judges Blazer after attending one of the first certification programs

Also beginning in the 1980s, Master Yu’s Tae Kwon Do teaching began to change when he was contacted by his friend, Jhoon Rhee who invited him to his instructor seminar. At the time, Master Yu was reluctant to attend a seminar from another TKD master instructor. But after receiving a good review from their mutual friend, Master Hee Il Cho, BC Yu decided to attend.
 
Master Yu describes the Jhoon Rhee seminar as was one of the best decisions of his TKD teaching career! Upon his return, Master Yu immediately adopted many of the non-traditional adaptations of Jhoon Rhee, including his western punching style, sparring combinations, and even a variation of his student creed. More importantly, Master Yu was inspired to pursue additional methods of teaching designed to speed up the learning process of Tae Kwon Do mastery.
 
It was shortly after this seminar that Master Yu’s Eurythmic Method of Teaching was born. Master Yu used his extensive background and love for classical music to develop a rhythmic method of learning Tae Kwon Do movements in a three and six-part cadence. He practiced and perfected these interactive drills with his long-time student (and now Grandmaster himself), Angel De Jesus of Midland, Michigan.
 
Grandmaster B.C. Yu’s Eurythmic Method of teaching Tae Kwon Do skills, such as complex forms and individual skills, as well as his “3-Beat” an “6-Beat” sparring drills are practiced by thousands of Tae Kwon Do students across the country and beyond!

Grandmaster B.C. Yu on the cover of TKD Times over the years.

Today, the Octogenarian lives his life according to the advice of his longtime Tae Kwon Do friend, Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee: to have "one hundred years of wisdom in a 21-year old body." Although “retired” from owning a full-time Tae Kwon Do school, Grandmaster Yu still performs a rigorous martial arts workout and teaches on a daily basis –either at the Washtenaw County Recreation Center, through private lessons, or through instructor training seminars at the Allen Park Martial Arts Center with his longtime student and friend, Master Kevin Hurlahe.
 
For 55 years running, Michigan’s “Father of Tae Kwon Do,” has had a tremendous influence on advancing the Korean way of hand and foot fighting! Grandmaster Yu has directly and indirectly taught tens of thousands of Tae Kwon Do students in Michigan, as well as throughout his affiliated branches around the U.S.A. and beyond her borders. He has promoted thousands of Tae Kwon Do Black Belts, hundreds of master instructors, and a handful of grandmasters who continue to carry on his legacy. It is estimated that he has influenced Tae Kwon Do’s popularity and growth by well over a hundred thousand practitioners over the last one-half century! Grandmaster B.C. Yu has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Grandmaster B.C. Yu continues to stay active promoting Tae Kwon Do. Here he is pictured in the second row from the top - light grey coat. Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi is seated in the front row with a cane.