Master John Park

Head Master, 4th Degree Black Belt

Master John Park is the Head Master for Total Impact Martial Arts. He has been training Martial Arts, such as Taekwondo and Hapkido, since 1977 and received his black belt in 1984 at the Kukkiwon World Taekwondo Headquarters in South Korea.

As a member of the Southern California Elite Demo Team, he’s performed in front of thousands at the Hollywood Park and at the Ford Theater in Los Angeles, California. Master Park has won many major tournaments, including 1st place for sparring at the All-State Taekwondo Championships in 1988 and is a 2-time All-State Champion in 1992 and 1994. In 1997, he went back to South Korea to train with the National Korean Olympic Team and Junior Olympic Team.

Master Park now dedicates his time to train and teach the true traditions of Taekwondo. His vision for Total Impact Martial Arts is to have all his students become successful, not only in the Do-Jang but in life as well.

In 2007, Master John Park received the highest honor from Grand Master Young Min You when he was selected to be Head Master for the U.S. Institute of Martial Arts (USIMA). Grand Master You has since retired and the school continues on as Total Impact Martial Arts.

Grand Master Young Min You is the founder of the U.S. Institute of Martial Arts (USIMA) and has trained in Taekwondo for over 50 years. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Grand Master You began his training at the age of 4. In 1966, he performed for President Lyndon B. Johnson and later for President Nixon in 1969. He has won many championships and awards and has received the highest honors amongst the Grandmasters in South Korea.

His journey then took him and his family to Austria in 1983, where he opened his first school. Later, he became the head coach for the National Austrian Team. In 1988, he came to the states and founded the first USIMA in Lake Elsinore, California. He then opened other schools in Murrieta, Temecula, and Menifee.

In 1992, Grand Master You became the team coach for the U.S. Collegiate Taekwondo Team of the World University Taekwondo Championships in Mexico and in 1955 led the team to Ukraine. He established and directed the First Annual Inland Empire Taekwondo Championship in 1995, and conducted Taekwondo seminars in China, Mongolia, and Vienna Austria in 2004. He has hosted international exchange programs and goodwill games for Taekwondo students from around the world, including South Korea, Austria, and Spain throughout the years.

Grand Master You has continued to excel in personal training and competitive endeavors, competing in the 2000 Korean Team, and in the USA Open Elite Taekwondo Championship in California in 2006, placing first place. He tested for 7th Dan Black Belt in October 1997, 8th Dan Black in 2005, and 9th Dan Black Belt in 2008. Professionally, he was Vice President of the California Taekwondo Federation in 2005-2006, a member of the International Advisory Committee 2008-2009, and continues to abide by the highest tenants of Taekwondo, namely those of the World Taekwondo Federation.

November 1966 – President Lyndon B. Johnson presented a transistor radio and a fountain pen to ten-year-old Taekwondo black belt Young Min You, following his impressive demonstration of brick breaking at the military camp of Korea’s 26th division under the command of See Chong You, Father to Young Min You.