Certifications
6th Degree Black Belt
22 years of experience
Nationally-Certified Instructor since 2012
Multi-time State Champion of Ohio in Forms, Weapons, and Sparring
Biography
I began training in martial arts in 2004, just before my 10th birthday. My brother had just begun training a few months prior, and after seeing him train with his friends in class, I knew that I wanted to join them. I took my first class with my instructor, Master Turner. After which, even at such a young age, I could tell that this was the beginning to a life-long journey for me. Training in Taekwondo has benefitted me in more ways than I could ever have hoped. My focus improved in school, my work ethic with homework was bolstered, and my performance in other sports was accelerated. It also helped me with my communication skills with people of all different ages, a skill that, as adults, we know is invaluable.
I decided that I wanted to begin teaching during my freshman year of high school, roughly 5 years into my training. Initially, I struggled with teaching. I couldn’t articulate my thoughts well. I thought that students should be able to quickly acquire the skills that I was teaching. But my instructor was patient with me, and showed me how to convey my thoughts in a more understandable way, so that students of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels could understand. And that is what I love most about teaching. Being able to help anybody, and I do mean anybody, enjoy the same activity that I enjoy so much.
Outside of Taekwondo, I am a big car guy. I partake, and instruct, in both endurance racing and autocross with the SCCA. It’s a fun challenge to test my skills in another way, as I love being a student of life, always trying to better myself in whatever ways I can. It’s interesting how many parallels can be drawn between martial arts and racing, including how they can both help you grow physically and mentally.