Grand Master Bettencourt

Grand Master Bettencourt began his martial arts training in early 1970 and has 50 years of martial arts training. He has studied Kenpo, Shotokan Karate, Okinawa-Te, Aikido, Judo, Wrestling, American Boxing, Mud Duk Kwan, Hapkido, and Taekwon-Do. He began teaching Taekwon-Do on a full time basis when he opened his first school in Longview, Washington in 1977. He eventually opened eleven more schools before returning to Portland, Oregon to establish the permanent headquarters for Bettencourt's Taekwon-Do America in 1989.

Grand Master Bettencourt was very active in tournament competition throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada from 1974 to 1986; winning over 150 trophies, awards and medals. As a multiple gold medal winner, Grand Master Bettencourt retired from competition and focused on teaching and coaching. However, in 1996 he entered the Taekwon-Do, Mud Duk Kwan National Championships, held in Los Angeles, California, where he earned a Gold Medal in the Advanced Black-Belt Hyung Division. Grand Master Bettencourt has supervised the training of over 800 Black-Belt students, many of whom are Taekwon-Do instructors, having produced their own Black-Belt Students.

Grand Master Bettencourt was the senior ranking member of a Black-Belt Taekwon-Do demonstration team to South Korea in 1985, where he brought a number of his Black-Belt students. They gave over 30 demonstrations to the Korean populace over a 12 day period and the entire team was shown on Korean National Television.

Grandmaster Bettencourt is a doctor of counseling psychology, Psy. D, a licensed psychotherapist, and certified hypnotherapist. He has worked for 37 years, since 1983, in the profession. He was a psychology professor at three colleges over a ten year period, as well as a mental health Clinical Supervisor and trainer for eight years. Dr. Bettencourt has been a specialist in the field of anger management and is the Director of Peaceful Warrior Counseling. In 1996, Grand Master Bettencourt joined the International Hapkido Federation to continue his training in Hapkido under the legendary Grand Master Bong Soo Han. In 1999, Grand Master Bettencourt was appointed the Regional IHF Director for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Colorado. Grand Master Bettencourt currently studies Hapkido under Master Eric Friske (a student of Grand Master Han) and Robert Levitt, hapkido 4th Dan at Mushin Hapkido in Santa Monica, CA.

As the author of "Gup Testing Curriculum", "Pre-Arranged Sparring", "Taekwon-Do Hyung" and "Black Belt Curriculum 1st - 3rd Dan", and "Black Belt Curriculum 4th - 6th Dan. Grand Master Bettencourt has written a complete Taekwon-Do text entitled "Traditional Taekwon-Do", a Pyong Hwa Musado video tape series, a Hapkido article for "Taekwon-Do Times" magazine entitled "Open Up Your Heart", written about Grand Master Bong Soo Han and a mental health article for "Focal Point" entitled "The Role of Traditional Taekwon-Do for Children with Emotional and Behavorial Disorders" available through this website.

Grand Master Bettencourt conducts seminars on Traditional Taekwon-Do, Hapkido, and weapons of the Psychology of board breaking of the Pyong Hwa Musado system; as well as martial arts, warriorship, conflict resolution and anger management. He is the Founder and President of the World Musado Federation, Bettencourt's Taekwon-Do America, the Pacific Northwest Taekwon-Do Association and the creator of the Pyong Hwa Musado system.