The Cheongye Kwan Daehando Founder

5th Dan Black Belt  *  Certified Master Instructor  *  National Technical Advisor

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 of Cheongye Kwan. His career began at the age of 9, where he started his training with Judo, 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.

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. His mission was to provide a top level, systematic, scientific and dynamic Martial Art.

Classes began in a local Church Hall in Longton with a mere 5 students, and has now grown to become an exceptional Martial Arts and Educational Institute in the Much Hoole area with a range of dedicated and motivated members.

Master Cook has had training from many Martial Arts over his 31 years of education, which most recently includes: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wing Chun Kung Fu, he 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 lifetime of 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 Cook enjoys expanding his own training by researching various Martial Arts and is also a personal friend of Professor John Machado of the world famous Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family.

Master Cook credits a great deal of his success to his wife Helen, 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 short period of time. Also the complete education centre concept has been conceived and developed by Mrs. Cook with her vision of business knowledge and logistics.                         

From a sporting perspective, Master Cook is a Gold and Silver Medallist and is a former Great Britain National Taekwondo 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, and after retiring, Master Cook became a National Technical Team head coach and senior advisor.

Now, Master Cook's programme of teaching is focussed more upon the benefits of the Martial Arts and its affects on people, and is less about the involvement of Martial Sport.