Masters

Master Eric Friske
7th Dan Black Belt

First introduced to the art of Hapkido and Grand Master Han in 1969 at the age of 13, Master Eric Friske began actively training four years later, and has continued to train under Grand Master Han for the past 30 years. He presently holds the rank of 7th Dan Master Level, one of only two students to achieve the level of Master under Grand Master Han. An active member of the Korean Hapkido Association and the International Hapkido Federation since 1975, Master Friske has performed in martial arts demonstrations and conducted numerous self-defense seminars for the Los Angeles office of the FBI. He has actively participated in tournament officiating and competition throughout his martial arts career, and performed in the 5th World Martial Arts Expo. Master Friske collaborated in the development of the International Hapkido Federation, and has been awarded several certificates of appreciation for contributions to the IHF and Grand Master Han. He also participated in the development and filming of the first in a series of instructional Hapkido videotapes. Master Friske currently manages the teaching curriculum at the IHF Headquarters and the instructional development program for teaching Black Belts. In addition, Master Friske conducts IHF seminars for all IHF-affiliated schools.

Master Daniel Cruz
7th Dan Black Belt

Master Danny Cruz began his martial arts career in Hawaii at the age of 12 and has studied the arts of Shotokan, Kajukenbo, Arnis, and Moo Duk Kwan as well as hand combat self-defense while stationed in Vietnam. He began his training in the art of Hapkido under the tutelage of Grand Master Han over 32 years ago and shares the honor of being the first of Grand Master Han's most senior students to be promoted and certified to the level of Master Instructor. As an active member of the International Hapkido Federation and the Korean Hapkido Association since l975, he has participated in the development of the IHF and has trained many students throughout the world at the IHF Headquarters facility. Master Cruz has actively officiated and competed in tournaments for over 20 years and has won numerous major U.S. Regional State Championship and National Grand Championship Karate tournaments. He performed in the 5th World Martial Arts Expo and has conducted many martial art demonstrations, FBI law enforcement training sessions, and Hapkido seminars throughout the country with Grand Master Han. Master Cruz has appeared in several of Grand Master Han's television and movie projects and also participated in the development of Grand Master Han's Hapkido martial arts instructional videotape series. In addition to co-authoring the IHF Student and Black Belt teaching manuals, his article, "Spirit of a Warrior", featuring Grand Master Han, served as the cover story for the September 1997 issue of Inside Karate. Master Cruz co-administers the IHF HQ and continues to write for various martial arts articles. He currently co-manages the teaching curriculum at the IHF Headquarters, the instructional development program for teaching all levels of Black Belt and Gup levels and Grand Master Han’s Black Belt program. He also conducts IHF seminars for all IHF-affiliated schools. Master Cruz is the recipient of several awards of appreciation for his contributions to the Bong Soo Han International Hapkido Federation.