WHO ARE WE?
Grand Master Kim’s Taekwondo
is a group founded in 1988 by an incredible martial arts grandmaster, named Nam Souk Kim. Over the years he inspired the growth of an old fashioned notion, that exercise and diet are the keys to health and happiness. We are successful entrepreneurs, world-class athletes, computer programmers, HVAC experts, square dancers, mothers and fathers, students and teachers, leaders in our communities.
We are fit. We are family.
Grand Master Nam Souk Kim
Grand Master Nam Souk Kim (9th Dan) is the founding father of our school. He is among the original members of the Chung Do Kwan, founded in 1944. The Chung Do Kwan is the first of the five schools of modern Taekwondo. He was promoted to 9th Dan by the Kukkiwon in 1991, the highest rank attainable. Also in 1991, he established Grand Master Kim’s Taekwondo in Olathe, Kansas.
Grand Master Kim sat on the Council for the World Taekwondo Federation, headquartered in Seoul, Korea for a number of years. In 2007, Grand Master Kim moved to Reseda, California, where he continued teaching Taekwondo. He made annual trips back to our school after its move to Bonner Springs in 2010. He oversaw all black belt testing events at the school until his passing on July 17, 2022, at the age of 91.
Master Rick Grimm
Master Rick Grimm (5th Dan) is the chief instructor of Grand Master Kim’s Taekwondo and currently resides in Phoenix, AZ. He has been practicing Taekwondo since 1991 and also holds a black belt in Hapkido, a Korean martial art emphasizing grappling and self-defense techniques.
Master Travis Donn
Master Travis Donn (4th Dan) is a master instructor, emeritus, of Grand Master Kim’s Taekwondo in Bonner Springs. He has been practicing Taekwondo since the 1990s and received his 4th Dan in 2011, while training directly under Grand Master Kim.
Master Mark Putman
Master Mark Putman (4th Dan) is the local administrator and program director of Grand Master Kim’s Taekwondo at the Bonner Springs location. He has been practicing Taekwondo since 2010 and trained directly under Grand Master Kim, Master Grimm, and other Master Instructors in the Chung Do Kwan.
Master John Mathew
Master John Mathew (4th Dan) is a master instructor at the Bonner Springs location. He has been practicing Taekwondo since 2007 and trained directly under Grand Master Kim, Master Grimm, and other Master Instructors in the Chung Do Kwan
Ms. Breanna Wuerzberger
Ms. Breanna Wuerzberger (1st Dan) is an assistant instructor at the Bonner Springs location. Ms. Wuerzberger teaches the Little Dragons classes, where children, aged 6-7 years, learn to kick, punch, and block while they grow balance, self control, and attention spans.
Ms. Tammy Wickwire
Ms. Tammy Wickwire (3rd Dan) is a senior instructor, emeritus at the Bonner Springs location.
