NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 Biden awards Asian artistsRead

Article

Donald Trump awarded honorary ninth-degree taekwondo black belt — now outranks Chuck Norris

Trump awarded with an honorary ninth-degree taekwondo black belt
Trump awarded with an honorary ninth-degree taekwondo black belt

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    Donald Trump is now a taekwondo black belt holder despite never having actually practiced taekwondo.

    Martial artist: Kukkiwon, a taekwondo governing body based in South Korea, presented the former president with an honorary ninth dan black belt at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend, reported the New York Post.

    • Kukkiwon President Lee Dong-seop presented Trump with the honor, which is considered the highest level a professional martial artist can achieve.
    • Lee told local outlet Dong-A-Ilbo, “I heard that Donald Trump is highly interested in Taekwondo.” 
    • Images posted on Kukkiwon’s Facebook page show Lee posing with Trump, who was wearing a “dobok,” the traditional taekwondo uniform.
    • The post’s disclaimer noted that the ceremony, organized by a South Korean living in the U.S., was “not related [to] any other political issues.”
    • Trump and Lee posed in front of several photos on display, including that of the former president shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

    (To view the post above, you must click on the Facebook post and see through the social media platform.)

    POTUS pride: Trump said he will be wearing his “dobok” to Congress should he get elected president again.

    • Trump said of the title: “It is my honor to receive honorary dan certificate and I think taekwondo is magnificent [sic] martial art for self-defense. I wish to see Kukkiwon Taekwondo Team’s demonstration.”
    • Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was given the same belt and the title of grandmaster in 2013 while visiting Seoul, also has a black belt in judo.
    • The two world leaders now outrank actor and martial arts champion Chuck Norris, who never advanced his eighth-degree taekwondo black belt.

    Featured Image via Kukkiwon_tkd

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal