Master Whittier (and instructors)

Sa Bum Nim (Master Instructor) Master Donald Whittier.

Master Donald Whittier began training in Tae Kwon Do while in high school in the early 1980s. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990. As an experienced state and national competitor, he was ranked among the top three lightweight fighters in North Carolina in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1993 he attained national ranking by placing 5th at the US Nationals.  This distinction earned him an invitation to the 1993 US Olympic Festival where he won a silver medal.

Master Whittier's credentials are as follows:

• Kukkiwon Certified Fifth degree Black Belt.
• US Olympic Festival Silver Medalist, 1993.
• Ranked one of the top five fighters in the United States in 1993.
• US Nationals Forms Bronze Medalist, 1993.
• Coach for state, collegiate, and national champions, 1991 to present.
• President of the “Carolina Martial Arts Club,” 1989.
• Head instructor and owner of Chapel Hill/Carrboro Tae Kwon Do, Inc. one of the largest and best equipped schools in the Triangle area.

A dedicated and experienced teacher, Master Whittier has coached students at the state and national level.  While Master Whittier regularly teaches adult and children’s classes, other experienced instructors supplement the students’ training.  Each individual instructor brings his/her own area of expertise to the Dojhang: In addition to traditional Tae Kwon Do, many instructors have mixed martial arts experience, including kickboxing, modern Arnis, Hapkido and Tai Chi.

Head Instructors:

Master Robert Agans: Master Agans is a fourth degree black belt and began training in 1982. He received his first Dan in 1988. He has 17 years of teaching experience at the black belt level, and has also spent one year training in Taekwondo and Hapkido in Korea. He is also a marathon runner.

Mark Tommerdahl - Mark Tommerdahl began training with Master Whittier in 1992, is a 3rd Dan in Tae Kwon Do and has the distinction of currently being the oldest male instructor in the dojang. His athletic background includes a lengthy tenure in competitive swimming that began in the early 1960s (participated at the varsity collegiate level in the 1970’s; won 5 Southern Conference titles and held one conference record; intermittently competed in national and international competitions over the last 20+ years, and occasionally misses the Saturday TKD class to compete in open water races). Other past athletic interests have been primarily in endurance events (triathlons, running, and biking). When not having fun training, he makes a living as a neuroscientist (i.e., Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at UNC; B.S. at Davidson College; M.S. and Ph.D. at UNC) or moonlighting as a carpenter.

April Henry - April Henry, currently holding a second-degree black belt, has been training in Tae Kwon Do for 10 years both in Indiana and North Carolina. She also has a first-degree black belt in Hapkido. April is currently working on a Ph.D. in medieval German literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When she is not writing her dissertation, she enjoys teaching, biking and swimming. She plans to pursue a career in education, once she finishes her degree in the spring of 2008.

Black Belt Instructors:

Vicki Boyer: Mrs. Boyer is a third degree black belt who began training under Master Whittier in 1992. Mrs. Boyer also holds a Master level teaching credential from the Ohara School of Ikebana, Tokyo.

Anna Henke: Anna began training under Master Whittier in 1992 and is a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo. Anna has studied Aikido for two years at Reed, Since 2000, she has been involved in several martial arts films (both in front of and behind the camera). A few of the shorter projects can be viewed at www.reelkick.com. During the summer of 2004 she taught the techniques filmmakers use to bring fight scenes to life at a summer camp held on Wellesley College’s campus.

Kas DeCarvalho: Mr. Kas DeCarvalho holds a third degree black belt in Taekwondo. He has been training in the martial arts for the past decade, and previously dabbled in various forms of the arts including judo, karate, and combat training/self defense before settling on the particular passion of Taekwondo. He was a founding member of Providence Martial Arts, Inc., and has won various WTF and AAU competition titles, including state titles in North Carolina and Rhode Island and the All-New England AAU championship, as well as being a seasoned competitor at the collegiate and national levels of Olympic-style sparring. www.providencemartialarts.com

Joan Potter: Dr. Joan Potter has been training with Master Whittier since 1992 and currently holds the rank of 3rd Dan.

Steve Milligan: Steve has been training in Tae Kwon Do since 1995 and has two years of Tai Chi training as well. In addition to his martial arts training he has ten years of experience in 3D computer graphics, as a modeler, animator, and technical director. Recently he has branched into filmmaking, as a cinematographer, director, camera operator, editor, and writer. 
 
Keville Kouraj: 2nd Dan Instructor

Karim Kouraj: 2nd Dan Instructor

Mike McDermott: 2nd Dan Instructor. Mike has been training since 1985. Mr. McDermott has cross trained in Tai Chi and Kenpo. He is also an avid cyclist.

Elin Abercrombie: Mrs. Abercrombie started TKD with Master Whittier in Fall 1996. She tested for her 1st Dan in March of 2002 and her 2nd in July of 2005. Prior to Taekwondo she played competitive tennis. Present cross training activities include biking, kayaking, skiing, and yoga.

Pam Baker: 2nd Dan Instructor.

Mark Stuckenbruk: Mr. Stukenbruk has been training for 7 years in Tae Kwon Do, with some dabbling in Aikido, Hapkido, and Judo. He was a competitive wrestler for 6 years, played rugby for 4 years.

Other Black Belts include (but are not limited to):
Erica Baker, April Henry, Phil Campbell, Zach Haggerty, Jorge Gamboa. Erica Haney, Brain Huff, Heather Iocca, Rob Morris, Taylor Tazewell, Aaron Williams, Joe Johnston, Joanna Wilson, Patrick Wilson, Mary Paulsgrove, Sam Hargrave, Michael Boyer, David Henke, Derek Baker, Meredith Carter, Jonathan Desamero, Kathryn Flynn. Jonathan Flynn, Jodi Savage Tausz, Mark Tommerdahl, Jimmy Coyne, Jacob Coyne, Josh Lanning, Atsuko Negishi…