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Head Instructor Gil Johnson has trained in taekwon-do since 1983 and founded Traditional Taekwon-do Kwan in Portland in 1993. Under his guidance, nearly 150 students have attained a black belt at our school, which now is one of the oldest martial arts schools in Portland.

Master Johnson is a former tournament grand champion but considers the accomplishments of his students to be the most rewarding part of teaching taekwon-do. He also has trained in karate, jujitsu, hapkido and aikido. He currently is writing a memoir about his life in taekwon-do and an instructional manual on the elements of taekwon-do forms.

Prior to beginning a career in martial arts instruction, Master Johnson worked in journalism. He was a newspaper reporter and editor early in his career and later became executive editor of a magazine covering natural foods. Believing it is important to give back to the community, he has served on the City Club of Portland's Research Board, the Street Trust board of directors and the board of the Hwa-Rang Foundation, whose mission was to bring martial arts to children living in low-income communities.

Master Johnson can truly claim that taekwon-do saved his life. Coming out of the hard living lifestyle of a newspaper reporter, Master Johnson was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day when he took his first taekwon-do class. Six months later, gaining discipline from training and desiring to gain more endurance, he quit cold turkey. And never smoked again