History of Bendell Karate:

Bendell Karate was founded in 1991, by black belt brothers Brent and Joshua Bendell when they were 16 and 15 years old respectively.  At the ages of 4 and 5 the brothers began their training under the tutelage of their father Grand Master Don Bendell in Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo.  Over the next 10 years the brothers continued to hone their skills as students. 

During their training the Bendell’s realized the importance of Martial Arts and how it could improve the lives of others.  With this vision and the support of their family they decided to try their hand at teaching.  Starting with four students, the Bendell’s would move the furniture in their home living room two nights a week and conduct classes.  Over the next few weeks the word got out about the quality of their instruction and their classes began to grow.  Due to obvious space limitations they ended up renting a small space on Main Street in Canon City, CO which became the first Bendell Karate School.  As the popularity of the school continued to grow eventually moving into a larger facility and in 1996 they opened a second Bendell Karate school in Pueblo West, CO.

The Bendell Karate schools continue to flourish under the continued ownership and instruction of Master Brent Bendell.  Today the schools continue to stick to their core values of Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo, however, they have expanded the curriculum to include styles such as Judo, JuJitsu, Muay Thai, Aikido and Hapkido.  Master Bendell ensures the schools are operated at the highest standard and the instructors that help him teach the art are no less than top notch. 

Brief History of Song Moo Kwan:

The core style at Bendell Karate is Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo.  Rich in history and tradition, Song Moo Kwan is the oldest and most famous school of Taekwondo in Korea.  Its founder, Taekwondo pioneer Supreme Grand Master Byung Jick Ro, is the higest ranking Taekwondo Black Belt in the world.

As a young man, Supreme Grand Master Ro traveled to Japan to attend college.  It was during this time that his passion for the martial arts let him to seek out Shotokan founder and the "Father of Modern Karate", Gichin Funakoshi.  In May of 1936 he began training under Funakoshi, subsequently earning his black belt in Shotokan.  During college vacation he returned home and taught friends and neighbors the techniques he had learned.  In February of 1944 he returned to Korea, where he continued to create additional hand and foot techniques of his own.  It is the combination of these techniques along with the ones he learned during his early years of training that we know as Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo today.