Our Instructors 

Grandmaster Thac Nguyen

President & Technical Director

Grand Master Nguyen is the youngest 7th Degree Black Belt (Han Moo Kwan) to ever obtain this ranking at the age of 30. He has trained in Taekwondo for over 30 years and has been teaching for over 20 years. He is a Kukkiwon Licensed Certified Master Instructor, one of only two people to have this distinction in Northern California. Master Nguyen is also a level 1 coach certified by USA Taekwondo.  In his competition days, he was known for his powerful, knock-out kicks and flexibility. Initially trained in the traditional ITF style of Taekwondo, he has since converted to training and teaching Kukkiwon style Taekwondo.

 

Here are a few of Master Nguyen's accomplishments:

· 1995 Pan American Open Gold Medalist

· 2003 U.S. Open Gold Medalist

· 2007 U.S. National Poomsae Team Trials Gold Medalist

 

Master Robert Viet Long

· Master Instructor

· 5th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo

· Kukkiwon Certified Master Instructor

· USA Taekwondo Certified Coach

· Certified CPR/AED and First Aid by American Heart Association

Master Robert Long has been training in Taekwondo for over 25 years and was acting as the senior instructor for over 7 years at the Blue Dragon Headquarter in Milpitas, California before moving to San Diego area. He was initially trained in the traditional ITF style of Taekwondo; he has since converted to training and teaching Kukkiwon style Taekwondo.  Master Long also holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science and a M.S. degree in Computer Engineering.

 

Grandmaster Joong K. Nam, Technical Advisor

Grand Master Joong K. Nam has had over 45 years of Taekwondo experience, and over 40 years of teaching experience. He is one of Blue Dragon's chief instructors and technical advisors. Grand Master Nam was the former instructor of 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Dana Hee. He is a 1st Class International Referee. He is also the only person in the U.S. with a 1st Class Master Instructor's License from Kukkiwon. With all of his experience, knowledge, and world-wide recognition in Taekwondo, we are honored to have Grand Master Nam as part of the Blue Dragon staff.

 

Phuc Nguyen, Instructor
3rd Dan Black Belt
Mr. Nguyen earned a B.S in Biomedical Engineering degree from UC Davis. Some of his accomplishments are:
 .         CA state champion

 .         95 Pan-Am Open Champion

 .         2001 US Open Champion

Minh-Tri Vu, Instructor
3rd Dan Black Belt
Mr. Vu graduated from UC Berkeley with an Architecture degree.

Charlie Ngo, Assistant Instructor
2nd Dan Black Belt
Mr. Ngo is currently attending Milpitas High School and recently won a bronze medal at the 2010 National Qualifier in Fresno, California.