Wasatch Martial Arts Academy began teaching Korean Karate since the fall of 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are independently owned and located at the I.J. and Jeanné Wagner Jewish Community Center, though we are not directly affiliated. Membership to the Jewish Community Center (JCC) is not required to participate.
Wasatch Martial Arts Academy is a certified member of the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation and World Moo Duk Kwanand the only school in Utah legally authorized to teach Hwang Kee’s art known as Soo Bahk Do, Tang Soo Do, or Moo Duk Kwan. This gives us a direct connection to the roots of both Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do. All rank promotions are internationally certified. You will find each class taught by highly professional instructors who are able to blend both ancient philosophy and tradition with modern scientific application.
World Moo Duk Kwan
Soo Bahk Do
Soo Bahk Do is the name of the martial art we study. Though it is a Korean martial art, it has been influenced by both Chinese (soft) and Okinawan (hard) fighting systems. In Soo Bahk Do you’ll find quick, sharp movements, followed by long, fluid movements. Our technique blends east asian wisdom with modern-day scientific principles.
Soo Bahk Do’s movements can be distinguished by our unique use of hip and devestating kicks. Another distinction can be made from the famous Chil Sung and Yuk Ro form series. Both of these sets of forms is a compilation of Hwang Kee’s study of the oldest Korean martial arts text, the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji, along with his previous knowledge of So Rim Jang Kwan (Shaolin Long Fist) and Tae Kuk Kwan (Tai Chi Chuan).
Soo Bahk Do is much more than a form of exercise or self defense. Soo Bahk Do is a way of life that helps cultivate and refine a person’s mind, body, and spirit. This is accomplished through three separate forms of training called Neh Gong, Weh Gong, and Shim Gong.
Chief Instructor
Wasatch Martial Arts Academy is owned and operated by Master Brian Corrales. Master Corrales brings over 25 years of martial arts experience into his classes, 15 of which where he has owned his own school. Brian Corrales has participated in the infamous Ko Dan Ja Shim Sa, an 8-day Masters Test in the mountains of California in 2008 and again in Switzerland in 2013. He is currently a 5th Dan (5th degree black belt equivalent) in the art of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan. He is also a certified Sa Bom, designating him as a “master model” instructor. This is the highest level of teaching certification that Soo Bahk Do offers. Master Corrales is the highest ranking Soo Bahk Do practitioner in Utah and operates the only certified school in the state that is legally authorized to teach Grandmaster Hwang Kee’s art form known as Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk Do, or Moo Duk Kwan.
In 2010, Master Corrales was appointed as Region 8’s Youth Ambassador where teaches seminars at the regional and national level targeting children, teenagers, and young adults.
In 2011, Master Corrales was appointed by the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee to officiate as a Regional Examiner in Region 8 (Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico). He is responsible, along with Oliver Whitcomb Sa Bom Nim, to oversee Dan-level promotions, and ensure that students, instructors, and schools within Region 8 are in accordance with the values set forth by the Technical Advisory Committee and Grandmaster H.C. Hwang.
In 2017, he was appointed by Grandmaster H.C. Hwang, President of World Moo Duk Kwan, to officiate as an Assistant to the Technical Advisory Committee for the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation and assists in teaching and digitally disseminating the standardized curriculum of Soo Bahk Do throughout the USA.
Master Corrales has taught many special seminars throughout the Rocky Mountain region and has been a multiple-time National Champion at the Soo Bahk Do National Championships. He has trained in Korea and has received instruction from both the founder of Soo Bahk Do, Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee and his son Kwan Jang Nim H.C. Hwang.
Brian Corrales has also been nominated into the Black Belt Hall of Fame and was invited to participate on the USA Karate Team.
Soo Bahk Do is Master Corrales’ primary art and always will be. He has, however, experimented in the following martial art systems: Tae Kwon Do, Shorin-ryu, Shotokan, Budoshin Jiujitsu, and Brazilian Jujitsu. He also acquired a black belt in Tang Soo Do (Korean karate) before training in Soo Bahk Do. He is also known to hold special seminars using the Kan Bong (6 foot Korean staff). Master Corrales is a seeker of knowledge and his classes given unique insight that he has acquired from his diversity of training.
Master Corrales holds dan number 36364, which was issued to him by Grandmaster Hwang Kee. His lineage can be traced back to the founder himself:
Our Lineage
- Hwang Kee, Kwan Jang Nim – Founder of Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do as pertaining to the Moo Duk Kwan.
- Master Jae Chul Shin #698 – Founder of the World Tang Soo Do Association.
- Master Chuck Norris #2819
- Victor Martinov, Sa Bom Nim #10189 – Current member of the Senior Advisory Committee to the World Moo Duk Kwan
- Jeff Moonitz, Sa Bom Nim #17650 – Current member of the Hu Kyun In (Guardians of the Art)
- Oliver Whitcomb, Sa Bom Nim #23268 – Current Regional Examiner
- Brian Corrales, Sa Bom Nim #36364