Grand Master Pierce

Grand Master Pierce was born June 1, 1950, in Franklin, Louisiana. He moved to Pensacola, Florida, soon after and lived there until he was 12 – in 1962, he, his mother and stepfather moved to California for two years, then to Millington, Tennessee. His stepfather was in the Navy and was stationed at the base near Memphis. G.M. Pierce worked after school, graduated from Millington High School in 1968, then attended business college in Memphis. He didn’t have much time for organized sports as a kid. As a younger teenager, he had a paper route; then worked in a pizza restaurant through high school.

His real post high school education started in 1969 when he joined the U.S. Air Force and got into law enforcement. As a security policeman, his final job title was a law enforcement corrections supervisor. Education is more than classroom, in school or the military. Travel is education. In late 1969, G.M. Pierce was off to the U.S. Airbase in Osan, Korea. He began martial arts training in January 20, 1970, with Master Chun Sik Kim in Tangsoodo Moo Duk Kwan. Tangsoodo is similar in technique to Taekwondo, but uses different forms. After starting Tangsoodo, G.M. Pierce trained two years to achieve 1st Degree Black Belt – then was shipped back to the U.S. for six months before heading for C.C.K. Airbase in Taiwan. He taught unarmed self–defense to Air Force security personnel and went looking for more martial arts training for himself. Taiwan didn’t have any Tangsoodo schools that he could find, but he met an American Taekwondo instructor at–of all places–a kung fu school. But he trained with that fellow Airman and Korean stylist in a move that eventually brought him into the American Taekwondo Association. That instructor was Grand Master Clint Robinson, a 5th degree black belt at the time. During that time, G.M. Pierce kept up his original training and flew to Korea in 1973 to successfully test for his 2nd Degree in Tangsoodo.

In August 1973, he was in a Chinese kung fu movie with G.M. Robinson. G.M. Robinson had won the National Taiwan Taekwondo Championships twice. The producers were looking for big foreigners to get killed in the movie. After G.M. Robinson left Taiwan, G.M. Pierce tested for his 1st degree black belt in Taekwondo October 1974.

He got out of the Air Force in October 1975. He had talked to G.M. Robinson a number of times about starting a Taekwondo school together. He headed back home to Memphis and met a senior Korean instructor and got his Taekwondo 2nd degree in 1976. He moved to Sacramento, California, in January 1977, to start a school with G.M. Robinson. After moving to Sacramento, he continued training in Taekwondo and in Tangsoodo with Grand Master Andy Ahpo. During the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s, G.M. Pierce and G.M. Robinson completed in over 100 open karate tournaments. During this time, G.M. Pierce was nicknamed “Crazy Jack”, because of the way he fought and demonstrations he performed. In October 1985, G.M. Pierce moved to Everett, Washington. Since that time until presently, he started the Hwa–Rang Taekwondo Federation in December 1999 and achieved his 8th degree black belt in July 2005.

National Awards

Year	Award
1988	Feature Story for Taekwondo World Magazine
1989	ATA National Achievement Award
1989	ATA Hall of Fame
1989	ATA National Instructor of the Year
1991	ATA National Appreciation Award
1992	ATA Outstanding Leadership Award
1996	ITC Hall of Fame
1996	ITC School of the Year
1999	ITC National Appreciation Award

Special Training and Instructor Certification

Grand Master Pierce’s Achievements

Back to top