In 1960, he attended the military police academy and upon completing basic training, he was assigned to the Department of Defense and sent to Seoul, Korea. There, he began his training in Hapkido with Grand Master Ji Han Jae, the founder of modern Hapkido. It was Grand Master Ji Han Jae was responsible for incorporating various unique kicking techniques to Hapkido.

In 1961, South Korean General Park Chong Hee staged a revolt against the government and initiated martial law. Being in a dangerous position, General Park decided to recruit top military members to be his bodyguards. There were 500 elite military members who were chosen for the try out. After a series of intensive testing including shooting, hand to hand combat, verbal skills and last but not least good looks, 30 individuals passed for the position. Grandmaster Kim was one of them. After an election in 1963, General Park Chong Hee became the new president of Korea. When president Park took his administration duties in the Blue House (the equivalent of the US White House), Grandmaster Kim continued his duty as his bodyguard.

Two years later, in 1965, as the Vietnam war was becoming highly volatile, Grandmaster Kim was reassigned to Vietnam as part of the Republic of Korea Criminal Investigation Division (Bi Dul Gi Bu Dea). During his time there, he applied his martial arts skills and established an impressive record. First, he gathered a large group of followers and became the only foreigner to be allowed to open a martial arts studio in Vietnam. His studio stood six stories high and had over 1000 students.Next, he was asked