The Cheongye Kwan Daehando Founder

5th Dan Black Belt    Certified Master Instructor     National Referee

Master Barry Cook is originally from the parish of Burscough, but later chose Much Hoole as his home, where he settled and formulated his Martial Arts system. His career began at the age of 9, when his Grandfather took him to try a Judo class, which after 3 years changed to Ju-Jitsu. Ju-Jitsu was great for Master Cook, and gave him the foundations he needed to improve on the skills he had already learned. After 4 years, he left Ju-Jitsu to join Shotokan Karate.

As most people did, Master Cook attended Seminars with high-ranking Karate Masters and also competed in several Tournaments, but his heart was in the Philosophical and Traditional aspects of the art.

Then in 1990 Master Cook joined WTF Taekwondo and as a result, left Karate after 4 years to focus on the art that would lead to the foundations of his lifelong study.

In 2005, Master Cook developed his own unique system of Martial Arts training, that was a culmination of several Korean Martial Arts methods and his own (then) 26 years of Martial Arts training named the Cheongye Kwan Daehando (CKD) with the mission of providing top level, systematic, scientific and dynamic Martial Arts in his teaching and managing. He has devoted almost a decade into developing the CKD system and making Cheongye Kwan into a household name.  He started teaching in a local Church Hall in Longton with a mere 5 students, and in just in 7 years the CKD has grown to become an exceptional Martial Arts and Educational School in the Much Hoole area with a range of dedicated and motivated members.

Master Cook is also a successful UK Taekwondo Team Coach, who has won many awards and accolades, however, his proudest accomplishment is the CKD curriculum and system which embodies all his life time training, experience and knowledge.  He wants to produce the next generation of Black Belts and Masters who will carry the Cheongye Kwan torch forwards into the future.  In his spare time, Master Kwak enjoys swimming, Kumdo, Hapkido and reading as well as researching various Martial Arts.   

Master Cook wants to credit a great deal of success to his wife Helen Cook, who is his tireless supporter and advocate of his career. He says Helen has been instrumental in his success by facilitating him to focus on his Martial Arts in the early stage of the Cheongye Kwan's development. It was her emotional, physical and financial support that allowed him to achieve his success in a relatively a short period of time. Also the complete education center concept has been conceived and developed by Mrs. Cook and her vision, business knowledge and great logistics.                         

From a sporting perspective, Master Cook is a Gold and Silver Medallist and is a former Great Britain National Team member, competing at both National and International levels. Master Cook was also the Southern Technical Synchron and Individual Freestyle Champion, which gained him a National Ranking of 3rd overall in Great Britain. After retiring, Master Cook then became a National Technical Team head coach for 2 years. Now Master Cook's programme of teaching is more about the benefits of the Martial Arts and their affects on people, and is less about the involvement of Martial Sport.