Coach Tiny started Tae Kwon Do in Korea at around 5 years old and has spent most of a lifetime in martial arts, from Hapkido and Tang Soo Do as a kid to years of Muay Thai as an adult.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu came in 2009, after a move to North Carolina the year before. Tiny earned a blue belt in 2011 under Professor Geoff Balme, took a decade long break, and came back in 2021 to train under Professor Joel Garcia.
Now a brown belt with two stripes from Professor Joel, Tiny has coached since 2023 and teaches Adult No Gi on Tuesday nights and Kids BJJ on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Wake Forest. Class mixes traditional drilling with a constraints-led approach, with a great amount of detail in the techniques.
I am a Christian first and foremost. I have an amazing wife and two kids you’ll see also training at Embrace. I am a Cloud Solutions Architect by trade and a video game nerd at heart, and I also enjoy weight training and woodworking.
I love teaching because sharing and learning together is such an intricate and complex art. In my classes, I mix a traditional drilling approach with a constraints-led approach, and I share a great amount of details in the techniques I present.
| Class | Days | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Adult No Gi | Tue | 6:45pm |
| Kids BJJ | Mon, Wed, Fri | 5:30pm |
Just like most Korean kids in Korea, I started training in Tae Kwon Do when I was around 5. I spent most of my life in martial arts. It’s a deep part of my culture as a Korean.
My childhood years were spent in a mix between Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do with different instructors. The majority of my training was in Tang Soo Do with my father, who was a black belt under Grandmaster Song. In my twenties I spent time under Grandmaster Antkowiak and achieved my brown belt. I then spent some years training Muay Thai.
I moved to NC in 2008 and began training BJJ in 2009. I received my blue belt in 2011 under Professor Geoff Balme and proceeded to take a decade long break until I started training under Professor Joel Garcia in 2021.
I’ve had 3 pec tears, a torn MCL, partial ACL and quad tendon tear. Torn rotator cuff, labrum, and have no cartilage in my elbows, giving me about half of the mobility in my arms. None of these injuries were caused by Jiu Jitsu, most were from weight lifting and other activities.
Most importantly, none of these injuries have kept me away from BJJ for long.
I still LOVE BJJ and have adapted my game to accommodate for these past injuries and still enjoy every minute on the mats.
Favorite quote