Dubuque Karate Club

805 Century Drive, Dubuque, IA 52002
563-583-8256

Headquarters of the ATKI

Est. 1970 - Celebrating over 40 years

Master David J. Schmitt

Certified Master Instructor
7th Degree Black Belt

Title: Kook Jae Sabumnim - International Certified Master Instructor

Rank: 7th Degree Black Belt "Chil Dan"

Master Schmitt is a renowned martial arts expert of Tang Soo Do.

Sabumnim David J. Schmitt was born on March 14, 1947 in Dubuque Iowa.

• 
  1966, drafted into the United States Army. After completing his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was stationed with the 4th Army at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.
  1966, Joined the Ft. Sam Houston Tang Soo Do Karate Club under the instruction of Mr. Amos Judd, a 2nd degree black belt in Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan.
  1967, Promoted to an assistant hand-to-hand combat instructor for Special Forces troops (green berets). After serving his tour of duty with the United States Army, he received his honorable discharge and returned home to Dubuque, Iowa.
  1970, Opened the first Karate School in Dubuque, Iowa, the Dubuque Karate Club located at 527 W. 8th Ave. This was one of the first karate schools opened in the state of Iowa. The same year he opened the first karate school in Platteville, WI. The UW-Platteville Karate Club, located at the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. This was one of the first karate schools opened in this state as well.
  1971, His son, Ronald David Schmitt, was born. By the age of seven he began his training in the first all-kids Tang Soo Do program. Today, Ronald is the head instructor at the DKC and holds the rank of Sa Dan 4th degree Master Instructor.
  1973, Began teaching Tang Soo Do full time.
  1974, introduced the first all women's martial arts and self-defense program. It was at this time his wife, Susan, began her training in Tang Soo Do. Today she is the head instructor of DKC children's programs.
  1975, Founded the American Tang Soo Do Karate Institute (ATKI). This new organization was created to identify all studios that opened under the instruction of Master Schmitt or one of his Black Belts.
  1975, Hosted the first Midwest Tang Soo Do Open Karate Championship in Dubuque, Iowa, held at the University of Dubuque Gym. Today this tournament is one of the largest karate championships held in Iowa.
  Started the first all-kids karate program.
  1980, Became a certified judge with the PKA (Professional Karate Association) for full-contact karate fights. He also trained full contact fighters during this time and co-sponsored several PKA sanctioned full-contact fights held at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, featuring top ranked fighters including Rick (the jet) Rufus who went on to become a world champion.
  1984, Attended a martial arts seminar in Laport In. and trained under the instruction of some of the worlds best martial artists including Ed Parker, Aaron Banks, Billy Blanks, Tadidisi Yamishita, and many others.
  1984, Began training in the Philippine art of sticking fighting.
  1984, Joined the American Arnis Assoc. where he trained for several years in the Arnis system, but due to the distance between Arnis studios it became to difficult to continue.
  1988, Publicized in Faith and Fortunes (p.338), an encyclopedia of Dubuque County, for his dedication and devotion to the growth of young athletes in Dubuque, Iowa. The last book of this kind was published in 1911.
  1990, Joined the World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA). This enabled him to continue his training under the instruction of Grand Master J.C. Shin, 8th degree Black Belt and founder of the WTSDA (See World Tang Soo Do Association for more details). Today, Master Schmitt is one of the highest-ranking Masters in the WSTDA.
  1991, Appointed Region 3 director of the WTSDA and a member of the WTSDA board of directors. His responsibities included the promotion of all Black Belts in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
  1993, Promoted to the rank of Oh Dan, 5th Degree Black Belt, "Sunnim Sabumnim" (Senior Master Instructor).
  1993, Selected to represent the World Tang Soo Do Association by Grandmaster J.C. Shin as a United States Delegate and member of the 1993 WTSDA China/Korea team. The team consisted of six members to accompany Grandmaster Shin to Korea and China on a 15-day martial arts tour. One of his highlights was their visit to the Shaolin Temple where the team performed for the Shaolin fighting monks and had the honor of watching the monks perform for them in front of the Shaolin Temple.
  1998, In Orlando, FL at a special awards ceremony, he was presented the 30 year plus award from Grandmaster J.C. Shin in a special ceremony dedicated to those who had dedicated 30 years or more of their life to training and teaching in the art of Tang Soo Do. This was the first awards banquet ever held for this award.
  2000, At the World Tang Soo Do Association Championships held at the Convention Center in Orlando, FL in the presence of over 2000 spectators, he was promoted to the rank of Yuk Dan, 6th Degree Black Belt, "Kook Jae Sabumnim" (International Master Instructor). He is a certified world-class judge for the World Tang Soo Do Association. and is responsible for training and certifying Black Belt judges for all WTSDA championships in Region 3.
• 2010 Master Schmitt was promoted to the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt by Grandmaster J.C. Shin president of the WTSDA at the 2010 World Tang Soo Do Championship in Greensboro NC.
  Grandmaster J.C. Shin was promoted to the rank of 9th Dan by proclamation at this event.
  To date, Master Schmitt has opened 11 ATKI Schools. Master Schmitt has trained and coached competition teams for over 40 years. He was one of the first promoters of team matches in karate tournaments in the Midwest and promoted the first Iowa vs. Wisconsin and Iowa vs. Minnesota team fights with top rated fighters from all three states competing.

Over the years, Master Schmitt's students have won thousands of awards at tournaments and championships held throughout the United States. Master Schmitt is a man who lives by his word. He has shown this in the past and so continues in his aspiration to establish the highest quality martial arts studios. His greatest rewards today come from seeing his students grow into strong, self-confident leaders, not only in the martial arts, but also in their own communities.

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