The photo is courtesy of Master Steve Elmore of Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy – it’s from 2001, when he and his first black-belt-test students were photographed with a leader who has just passed away and will be remembered in West Seattle today:

On Monday, July 9th, 2012, the Martial Arts world lost one of its most prominent and respected leaders, Grandmaster Jae Chul Shin. Grandmaster Shin passed away on Monday after battling cancer. He was the founder, president, and Grandmaster of the World Tang Soo Do Association which has over 100,000 members in over 38 countries worldwide, making it one of the largest Martial Arts organizations in the world today.

The two member schools in Washington, located in West Seattle, will be having a memorial in his honor at 1 pm (today) Saturday, July 14th, in Hiawatha Park. Students from these two schools, Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy and Puget Sound Tang Soo Do, will be sharing memories and stories of this great leader, teacher, and mentor. Many high-ranking students and instructors will also be traveling to North Carolina to attend a service in his honor on July 22nd.

The two schools will also be making a donation to the American Cancer Society in Grandmaster Shin’s name and will accept donations from anyone in the community. Grandmaster Shin’s life and legacy will be kept alive by the nearly 250 of his students that train in Seattle today. He was an inspiring, compassionate, and dedicate man with the utmost character and integrity. He will be sorely missed by many.