Mr. Duyane Ernst

2. Grandmaster Kyongwon Ahn Grandmaster Kyongwon Ahn was born in Seoul, Korea. His training in the martial arts began when he was twelve years old and continued through his residence in Korea. He served an internship with his instructor, Master Chang Bok Lee, as the Master Instructor for the Korean and American armies from 1955 through 1967. Upon the request of the United States, he emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio to begin teaching Taekwondo in August of 1967. In 1971, he founded the United Taekwondo Association (UTA) to help bring reputable martial arts instruction to the U.S.  The goals of the UTA were to promote uniformity and standardization for the martial arts.  In 1967, Grandmaster Ahn began instruction at the University of Cincinnati, where he still serves as an advisor.  He has also taught at Miami University of Ohio and Xavier University. During the 1970's when Taekwondo was beginning its climb to national and international status, Grandmaster Ahn was a member of the founding Board of Directors of the National AAU Taekwondo Committee (which later became the United States Taekwondo Union (USTU)). His work was adopted by the Technical Standardization Committee. From 1986 to the end of 1992, he served as President of the USTU, which is the national governing body for Taekwondo. Grandmaster Ahn, as President of the USTU, lead the United States Olympic Taekwondo teams in 1988 in Seoul, Korea and in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. He contributed greatly to Taekwondo becoming a full medal sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. In addition to his other activities, Grandmaster Ahn has served as the Chairman of the Ohio AAU Taekwondo Committee, Acting Chairman of the National AAU Taekwondo Promotion Committee, and head of the United States team at the 3rd World Taekwondo Championships in 1977. As a 9th Dan Grandmaster Instructor, Grandmaster Kyongwon Ahn is licensed and accredited by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) as a Class 2 International Referee and Master Instructor. He is widely known and respected nationally and internationally as a leading figure in Taekwondo—and as a tireless organizer and a dedicated master teacher. Grandmaster Ahn has trained over 1000 black belts, including some to the level of Master, and over 50,000 students. Many of his students have received national recognition in competition and international recognition for their instructor and refereeing skills.

3. Master Paul Woodson Sr. Master Paul Woodson Sr. was promoted to the rank of master (5th Dan) by Grandmaster Ahn on 04/01/05. Master Woodson is an accomplished competitor of Olympic sparring and is a certified referee and coach. Master Woodson serves as the master instructor for the Milford Martial Arts Academy.

4. Grandmaster Hwang Kee Kwan Jang Nim (grandmaster) Hwang Kee began his martial arts studies in Manchuria, China in 1936 and founded the Moo Duk Kwan Style in Seoul, Korea on November 9, 1945. Despite enduring many hardships over the next 30 years, Hwang Kee struggled through wars and governmental/political issues to keep the Art of Soo Bahk Do (Tang Soo Do) - Moo Duk Kwan alive. The number of practitioners of Soo Bahk Do continued to grow through the years and outgrow the physical boundaries of Korea as many servicemen rotated home to their native countries with these newly acquired abilities. Grandmaster Hwang Kee soon realized that there was a growing need to unify these multinational practitioners and ensure the standardization of his techniques.

5. Grandmaster James K. Roberts Sr. While serving in the Army in Korea in 1963, Grandmaster James K. Roberts Sr. studied Tang Soo Do directly under Grandmaster Hwang Kee and was promoted to black belt (#6241). Grandmaster Roberts returned to the United States and opened Roberts Karate in various locations including a school in Goshen, where Grandmaster Smith taught as the master instructor.

6. Grandmaster Randolph Smith Sr.

7. Mr. Mark Hoenle Mr. Hoenle began his training at eight years of age under the instruction of Grand Master Randolph S. Smith Sr., who taught Mark forms, weapons and Hapkido. At the age of nine, Mark won a gold medal in forms at a qualifying state tournament earning a spot to compete in the Junior Olympics held in Louisville, Kentucky. A short time later, Mark received his first-degree black belt at the age of eleven and became an assistant instructor at his school for martial arts. He continued to teach students and later became a certified instructor in Tae Kwon Do through an instructor certification program. Mark currently continues his teaching and training as the head instructor at the Milford Martial Arts Academy and serves as a police officer for the Village of Williamsburg. He is currently working toward a bachelors degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. Mark is also CPR and First Responder certified through his college program.

8. Mr. Duyane Ernst Mr. Ernst began his Martial Arts training at the age of five. He started his training at a local YMCA where he studied Shotokan Karate twice a week until he eventually earned his Black Belt at the age of Nine. Several years later at the age of fourteen he earned his second don, shortly thereafter he took up boxing. After experiencing boxing for a period of time Mr. Ernst took up Tae Kwon Do at the age of sixteen with the Cincinnati Tae Kwon Do Association under the direction of Jim McAleney, there he earned his Blue Belt before Mr. McAlaney decided to move to Florida, at that time he searched for an instructor that he felt could fill Mr. Mcalaney's shoes. So, Mr. Ernst and his long time friend went from school to school trying different styles of Martial Arts such as Judo, Mah doo do, Ninjitsu, and Tae Kwon Do with the other instructors. Then in 1991 Mr. Ernst met Master Randy Smith Sr. who ran a school in Goshen, Ohio called "Roberts Karate". Mr. Ernst and his friend both studied Moo Duk Kwon Tae Kwon Do with Master Smith for years, as well as Judo and Kickboxing. Mr. Ernst got caught up with Kickboxing and spent several years training under Master Smith in the art of Kickboxing, leaving behind his Tae Kwon Do training. Mr. Ernst trained with former Kickboxing champions Marty Sloan and Julius Bosko. Mr. Ernst and Mr. Bosko were sparring partners for years in both Kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do. In 1995 Mr. Ernst then began his Tae Kwon Do training again but it was short lived because Mr. Ernst entered the Police Academy, He graduated the Police Academy in 1996 and began his career in Law Enforcement at the age of nineteen, all while continuing to train with Master Smith in Martial Arts during every free moment. In 1998 Mr. Ernst began  his career with the Clermont County Sheriffs office as a corrections officer while working part time in Lincoln Heights as a Police Officer. Mr. Ernst had saw during his work with the Sheriffs office that there seemed to be a lack of self defense training and took it upon himself to teach the corrections officers who wanted to learn self defense, on his own time. In 2000, he was promoted to Deputy Sheriff, after several years of working for the Sheriff's office as a Deputy Sheriff he was sent to the Ohio Police Officer Academy and certified as a Defensive Tactics Instructor. Currently, Mr. Ernst teaches in both the Corrections Academy and the Police Academy, all while continuing his training in Tae Kwon Do. Part of his continues training in Martial Arts includes being an AAU Certified Referee and Coach.