A place to learn the principles of martial arts techniques, not just the techniques themselves.
A place to learn how to fish, so that you can catch any fish you want. David Teitelbaum began training in Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do from age 7 in 1976 under Master Nam K. Hyong, 7th Degree Black Belt and owner of Hyong’s Martial Arts Academy in Champaign, Illinois. Master Hyong was affiliated with the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) in Seoul, Korea. The WTF has since gained ascendency among the
various competing federations and is now the body that governs the practice of Tae Kwon Do as an Olympic event. Teitelbaum continued to train and earned his First-Degree Black Belt in 1981 at age 12 under younger brother and 5th Degree black belt Master Namsoo Hyong. He was one of the youngest students to achieve this rank at that time in WTF history. In 1982, Teitelbaum’s instructors made a philosophical break from the model of competitive martial arts and devoted their practice instead to using martial arts training as a holistic way to develop the practitioner physically, mentally, and socially. Originally trained as a competitor, Teitelbaum was among the first beneficiaries of this philosophical development, and he assisted in the development of this program over the next decades. Throughout college at the University of Illinois, where he studied Russian Language and Music Theory, he was President and Head Instructor of the Illini Tae Kwon Do Club, where he taught more than 1,000 students. In 1994-95, while working and studying in the Republic of Kazakhstan as a David L. Boren National Security Education Program Fellow, he donated more than 100 hours of training to orphans in Almaty Children’s Home #3, for which he was recognized by First Lady Sara Nazarbayeva. Teitelbaum ran a full-time academy from 1998-2003, and earned the rank of Fourth Degree Black Belt, Master Instructor. He introduced Martial Arts training to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s After School All Stars program for homeless children in New York City in 2003. In 2011, David established an after-school enrichment program for the children of his own kids’ school, Westbriar Elementary, in Vienna, VA. Over seven years, he taught some 250 children, donating a total of $60,000 to the school’s Parent-Teacher Association. Since that time, Teitelbaum has provided private and small-group lessons to children and adults, as well as self-defense seminars for women and for children. He has training also in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Masters Fernando Yamasaki and Francisco Neto (Yamasaki Academy), Aikido under Masters Knut Bauer (Central Illinois Aikikai), Mike Lassky and Jim Sorrentino (Aikido of Northern Virginia), Taekkyeon under Kim Eurjoong, and yoga. Teitelbaum is writing a book about his experience teaching children, entitled "Karate Dad: Parenting Lessons from the Dojo (https://www.facebook.com/Karate-Dad-Parenting-Lessons-from-the-Dojo-111405524470945).
