New Black Belt Graduates – November 2025

“The first aspect John Rhee has helped me with was my confidence. When I started I wasn’t a particularly confident kid. I would hide behind my moms legs whenever I met someone I didn’t, but not so shy that I would wait outside class. For my first dozen or so classes I was quiet. I would try and be unnoticed to avoid criticism, and I wouldn’t try that hard. Gradually, however, I started to become more confident. I put more effort into Taekwondo, and even more effort into school. It wasn’t just by myself that I would do this, it was with help and encouragement from Master Pineda and Master Shackelford… …A third aspect that Jhoon Rhee has helped me accomplish is self discipline. My whole class would sometimes be made to stand at attention for minutes at a time, an impressive feat for thirty-some eight-year-olds. The teacher would always say that it was an exercise in self discipline, but I could never understand why. I realized when writing this essay and preparing for my black belt test that it was all to make me focus on just Taekwondo, and that it would spread to everything else I did. And that it did do. I doubt if I had not done Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo I would be the same student I am now. I think I would be worse, unfocused, unmotivated, and irritated by school. Now I realize that school is hard because it makes you grow, just like in Taekwondo.”

“I first began Taekwondo as a kneehigh ninja at 5 years old. At such a young age, I can’t remember being able to do 1, if any pushups, and I struggled with recognizing concepts like leadership and confidence. I lacked motivation to come to class, and around the Covid-19 pandemic I was unenthusiastic to attend virtual sessions. However, there are two main aspects mentally that I believe have improved over my journey: my leadership skills and confidence. Both of those have had a very positive impact on my academic and sports performance outside of class. When I first began helping out with younger belt classes, I was very nervous. I was worried that the students wouldn’t listen to me, or that I would make mistakes. I did make mistakes when I started out; Lots of them. I realized though, that I was improving, and the leadership and confidence skills I would develop came from improving my mistakes…. …My leadership skills, confidence, and strength have flourished from the teachings at Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo, and these aspects all have a positive impact on my academic performance in school and my performance in my other extracurriculars. I’ve come so far from the kid I was when I first began Taekwondo, and the Knee High Ninja I used to be never could have imagined how much Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo made a difference in her life.”

“When I started Tae Kwon Do I was kind of a loner in school, I wouldn’t talk to anyone and I struggled to fit in. Tae Kwon Do gave me confidence, not only through the loud yelling or saying yes sir and yes mam, but through the notion that it was ok to mess up. The only way that you can fail in Tae Kwon Do and in life is if you give up. It’s not about how good you are at Tae Kwon Do, it’s about how many mistakes you can make and still keep trying. Tae Kwon Do has also taught me how to be disciplined. When I was a kid before I started Tae Kwon Do, I was unable to finish my schoolwork without constant reminders from my mom and I would get grounded often. Through the increasing push-up number and standards throughout the ranks, I learned that the less work you do in the present, the more work you will have to do in the future to catch up. This has allowed me to take on a quite ridiculous course load with 6 AP’s all while still keeping straight A’s. …Working as a part time staff here has also greatly helped me. It has taught me much more confidence than anything else that I have ever done in my life. Through teaching the ranks I learned how to project my voice, I learned how to be articulate with my speech, and I learned how to deal with uncertainty confidently. I learned courage through this as well. Teaching people has always been a fear of mine and through immense courage and practice I was able to overcome that fear.”

“My journey began when I was just 4 years old, alongside my twin sister, Camila. I remember on the first day when we met our new instructor, I was visibly nervous, but he was the one who taught us the fundamental basics… …I slowly realized that after my sister quit, many of the classmates I had started with were no longer there. About 80 percent of them had left and given up, but I still decided to persevere and see what I could achieve if I stayed. …The thing I credit Taekwondo with helping me most with is developing my self-discipline to persevere through challenges, no matter what. I recall a specific instance during one of my belt tests, when I became quite frustrated with a form that proved quite challenging to perform because it was very complex and difficult. I was frustrated with myself for not being able to perform with perfection and was ready to give up. Suddenly, as I stood in front of the mat where all my masters could see me they noticed how frustrated I looked when performing the form and told me it was okay to make mistakes and to just try my best, I realized at that moment Taekwondo wasn’t just about your strength or perfection; it was about pushing through the hardships, and that you didn’t need to be perfect. It was about perseverance, and you shouldn’t always expect to see results or be the best right away. It was about putting your best foot forward and giving it your all every day, no matter how good or bad your day might be. As long as I gave my best self on any given day, I knew that I was still giving it my all and improving little by little.”

“Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo has taught me the importance of discipline. As a young kid in elementary school, I was constantly distracted, unfocused, and fidgety. When I first started Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo, I was similar. Through countless forms, combos, and the same concepts every class, I started to wonder why we were repeating the same material over and over. Then, I realized what it was doing; slowly, I could see myself start to improve. Every punch had more power, every kick was higher, every form was crisp. My push-ups and slow kicks became easier. A main piece of Taekwondo is attention to detail. Every technique is so meticulous that it requires a high amount of focus just to do something correctly… …Most importantly, Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo has shown me how to be a leader. The first step to that was building self-confidence. Yells are emphasized so much in Taekwondo, and rightfully so, because they reinforce self-confidence. 12 years later, my self-confidence is much higher than I ever could have thought. This allowed me to speak in front of over 800 people at my 8th-grade promotion. I never could have imagined doing that before I started Taekwondo.”

“When I first started taekwondo, I was very outgoing and confident. I wasn’t afraid to try new things, and I wasn’t embarrassed to do something that I liked. Gradually, as I made my way through life, I lost my strong sense of self-confidence. I felt like an outsider in groups I wanted to belong to and felt that everyone secretly hated me. This attitude about life led me down a really depressive period where I didn’t want to do anything or talk to anyone new. These bottled-up feelings really came to a climax last year while entering high school, when I really went over the edge. I missed a lot of school because I felt horrible most of the time, and when I was at school, it was hard to focus and get work done. I managed to skirt along the edge of good grades, but I still felt terrible… …Around halfway through the year, I finally told myself enough was enough and started to face all these feelings head-on. Going to taekwondo really helped me see that I could belong in places and make new friends along the way. Through all the yells and encouragement from instructors, I rebuilt what I once had. I can now move more comfortably through life, trying new things and making new friends without worrying about embarrassing myself.”

“What does it take to get to 8th dan? Initially, I say…. just don’t quit and it will happen. Teaching Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do is the only job I’ve had since I was 15 years old. I took only 2 years off to see if I could be a network engineer. Early off as an instructor, I was epitome of “Lead By Example”. I was doing hundreds or push-ups, the splits, backflips, kicking 180 degrees… the typical teenager abilities. As I entered my late teens and 20’s, I steered towards competition. I was never the best in the country… but I tried, was on a few teams, finished top 10, and had fun. I realized I spent more time focusing on my students’ competitive success rather than my own. As I matured into a more seasoned instructor, I took on the task of converting the largest martial arts schools in Arizona into members of JRI. Then 20 years ago, Barry Shackelford and I opened Jhoon Rhee Arlington. Probably the largest Jhoon Rhee school ever and most likely one of the largest martial arts schools in the mid-Atlantic. As a master, I feel the title of a “Master” means: a leader of leaders… which really hits home as I proudly watch my son Alex teach on the same mats he started as a 5 year old 20 years ago. When a candidate tests for Black Belt, they give a speech, “What Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do has done for me”. I would make my speech, “What has Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee and Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do has done for me”. My speech would be short… the answer would be, “Everything”. I am the person I am now because of Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do. I have always represented Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do and always worn the patch… I will continue to be the head instructor of Jhoon Rhee International, an honor Grandmaster Rhee gave me in 2006. I may not be able to physically do the things I used to do, but my goal has never been more clear. I will continue to dedicate my life to Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do hoping that I can give back as much as it’s given me. It was bittersweet not having Grandmaster Rhee hand me the diploma, but when his son, Chun Rhee said, “My dad would be proud… he’d want you to have this”, everything sunk in.”