Ultimate promotion for Tehachapi martial artist

On the evening of Oct. 22, the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the International Combat Hapkido Federation was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

At this event, Tehachapi martial artist Ivan Jadric was one of five United States honorees and the only one from California to be elevated to 9th Dan Grandmaster in Combat Hapkido and one of two to be elevated to 9th Dan Grandmaster in Tae Kwon Do. The awards were presented by Grandmaster John Pellegtini, founder of the International Combat Hapkido Federation. Jadric was also named 9th Dan Grandmaster by the World Martial Arts Alliance. Jadric and his wife, Maria, own and operate Tehachapi Martial Arts Center (TMAC) located on Brian Way in Old Town Tehachapi. Maria Jadric also was awarded her 4th Dan Black Belt in Combat Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do at the event.

A 9th Dan Grandmaster is the highest that can be earned.

"There is no higher promotion," said Ivan Jadric. On presenting the award, Grandmaster John Pellegrini, founder of ICHF, said that Jadric has more knowledge and years of experience than any of the 250 conference attendees.

The October event marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of the ICHF by Grandmaster Pellegrini. Since 1992 the organization has issued over 3,500 Black Belts in over 40 countries and more than 250 of them have reached Master level. ICHF has also elevated its first generation of Grandmasters. During part of the evening's ceremonies, Ivan and Maria Jadric were among the 2022 inductees into the Founder's Hall of Honors.

"The members all know each other. It's like a huge family," said Ivan Jadric.

Pellegrini began teaching Traditional Hapkido at his Tae Kwan Do school in Florida in the 1980s. He eventually traveled around the country doing seminars and eventually modified his style with emphasis on more modern and practical self-defense. He called this style Combat Hapkido. As this style became more in demand, he resigned from the Traditional Hapkido Federation, formed the ICHF and aligned the organization with the World Ki-Do Federation/Korea Ki-Do Association under Grandmaster Sun Seo. The Combat Hapkido style received conditional approval in 1993 and full formal accreditation in 1999.

Today Combat Hapkido continues to evolve providing training, knowledge, skills and certifications to thousands of students around the world while gaining the highest respect from the international martial arts community. Since the Jadrics opened TMAC in 1991, they have been teaching ICHF Combat Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do in Tehachapi. In addition to these two martial art styles, the Jadrics also teach Kung Fu and the ancient Chinese practice of Tai Chi. TMAC promotes self-respect, self-control and self-discipline in their students.

Tehachapi Martial Arts Center is located at 20418 Brian Way, Ste. 6-3. Check out their website at http://www.tehachapimartialartscenter.com or contact them at (661) 823-0621.