Grandmaster Gerald Wynn
Grandmaster Wynn began his Taekwondo training in 1959 at the age of 4 years old. His story is quite remarkable, having been born and raised in Tennessee to parents that worked the land as sharecroppers. A man named Ernest Nettles introduced him to Taekwondo and inspired his interest. Grandmaster Wynn trained daily until the age of 13, when his family moved to Illinois. A Korean Master named Lee (complete name unknown) became his new instructor. GM Lee passed away some years later, but training continued with the senior masters of the school, brothers Yong Duk Choi and Yong Sun Choi. After about seven years they left the area, and GM Wynn took over teaching until Grandmaster Yong Chul Rho came and took over the school. “Back then”, says GM Wynn “when you taught a martial art in the seventies, you taught until another Master came, and they would take over the school”. They actually lived in the school. GM Rho took over, became very successful, and then moved to the St. Louis area. GM Wynn goes on to explain that he again took over the school, having himself become a Master. No other Korean masters ever came, so he continued to teach. There were fifteen other martial arts schools that he was overseeing. “I taught pretty much day and night” he says, “going from one school to the next, until I was able to find instructors who were capable to assist”. GM Wynn says he really had no other life besides martial arts during that time. He actually was going to tournaments and fighting in competitions almost every weekend. From kumites' in the back woods of Kentucky all the way up to Chicago; he competed in every kind and style of tournament. He has more than 300 trophies, not including medals, where he competed in sparring, forms, weapons, and breaking. “My point was to show the students I was teaching, that it didn’t matter what style you competed in. The point was that if you did martial arts, you made it good. It didn’t matter what your art was. People would say this art is better than that art. I always felt that the reason Taekwondo was good was because I made it good against other arts”. He says that “if I had been doing karate, I would have made that good. It’s not only your art, but the person. Taekwondo has a lot of other good aspects, such as teaching discipline, loyalty, and being more humble. But I have always felt it is the instructor that makes the difference when it comes to martial arts”.
To his credit after a lifetime of teaching, competing at a world class level, winning at US Olympic festivals and National Championships, and dedicating his life to his students through teaching Taekwondo, Grandmaster Wynn has attained the rank of a Kukkiwon 8th dan black belt.
He recently relocated the main headquarters for his school, the Grandmaster Wynn University School of Taekwondo to Chula Vista, California from San Diego proper.
Contact information:
Grandmaster Wynn University School of Taekwondo, 1741 East Lake Parkway, Chula Vista, CA 91915 phone 1-619-482-1130
Allan Schein
USTC Correspondent
