TAEKWONDO & KICKBOXING TEACHERS

Our teachers are active practitioners and competitors, striving to lead by the best examples possible. We are grateful for the opportunity to do what we do.

 
Jacob Cho Co-Founder, Owner & Operator Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing & Jiu Jitsu Instructor

Jacob Cho
Co-Founder, Owner & Operator
Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing & Jiu Jitsu Instructor

Jacob Cho

  • 40+ years of martial arts experience

  • 30+ years of teaching experience

  • Son of martial arts pioneer and Tae Kwon Do legend, Grandmaster Hee Il Cho

  • Tae Kwon Do black belt

  • Brazilian Jiu Jitsu purple belt

  • Co-founder, Owner & Operator of Cho’s Academy

  • Active practitioner & ongoing student of martial arts

Mr. Cho has a lifetime of martial arts experience; starting his journey at a very young age under the tutelage of his father, Grandmaster Hee Il Cho, a living martial arts legend.

His martial arts experience includes ongoing practitioner, teacher, competitor, coach and team builder. He began Tae Kwon Do training at the age of 5, started competing shortly after, and was teaching by the time he was a teenager. Now in his early 50s his consistent and regular training includes: TKD, Boxing, Kickboxing, Yoga, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Meditation. He also enjoys weight training, running, hiking, surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, guitar and says that these all complement each other. He looks forward to continued opportunities for growth and to be of service.

Mr. Cho holds a black belt in TKD, a purple belt in BJJ and is passionate about about sharing his knowledge.

TESTIMONIAL (more available on request):

"I've trained in countless Martial Arts schools over the past 30 years, and met a multitude of instructors. Jacob Cho is without question the most dedicated instructor I've ever had the pleasure of working with. His passion for teaching, technical skill, and obvious love for his students is inspirational." Jason

 
 
Erik Van Der Lee Kickboxing & Jiu Jitsu Instructor

Erik Van Der Lee
Kickboxing & Jiu Jitsu Instructor

Erik Van Der Lee

Erik has been training for many years. His primary disciplines include MMA, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing. He currently trains at and fights out of team Subfighter MMA headed by Adam Lynn.

Erik has been a friend of the academy for some time now and has been working on adding some TKD specifics to his skill set.  

He is 8-4-0 as an MMA amateur and recently turned professional. He's also 1-0-0 as an amateur kickboxer and 1-0-0 as a professional Muay Thai competitor. He holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is a successful and active Jiu Jitsu competitor. 

At just 21 years young this dedicated martial artist is fast on the rise and brings great energy to his classes.

 

Junior TKD Instructors and Junior TKD Assistants:

 

Our Youth Program guides and nurtures the leadership process.  We are committed to helping shape strong, responsible, compassionate leaders.  This is our next generation. Standards are kept high. In our fourteen years of service, we’ve promoted many brown and red belts but only a few have made it to Junior Black belts… congratulations to these exceptional young men and women!

Brayden Jenson
TKD Jr. Black Belt 2nd Degree

Vincent Ewing
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Sabrina Yang
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Sterling Radisay
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Theodore Drews
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Jacob Burdiek
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Royce Newton
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Chloe Chang
TKD Jr. Black Belt 1st Degree

Zachary Wang-Huhem
TKD Jr. Deputy Black Belt

Alex Wang-Huhem
TKD Jr. Deputy Black Belt