AMERICAN BLACK BELT ACADEMY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Hapkido Instructor, Mehan Hapkido Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor and NRA Certified Firearms Instructor
Mr. Swartwood started training in the Martial Arts at the age of 16. He has been training in Hapkido for over 35 years and has been teaching others for almost 30. In 2017 Mr. Swartwood was promoted to the rank of 8th degree Black Belt within the Hanminjok Hapkido Association. He is recognized by the Korean government as a Master Instructor.
In 2015 along with Master Lou Lannum, Mr. Swartwood created the MeHan Hapkido Association. Their goal is to spread the benefits of Hapkido training across the United States and the world.
Over the past 20 years Mr. and Mrs. Swartwood have traveled to Korea 10 times to either compete in or take a team to compete in the Busan Mayor's cup International Kuk Sool Won Tournament and Master's Demonstration. During the first Busan Mayor's cup tournament Mr. Swartwood won a bronze medal in Self-Defense. He has competed multiple times on the international stage and has been featured in demonstrations on ESPN II and Korean National TV.
In 2005 Mr. Swartwood was inducted in the Inaugural Class of the Budo Hall of Fame as Hapkido Instructor of the Year.
Mrs. Swartwood has been teaching Tae Kwon Do since 1990. She is a certified 5th degree Black Belt and has competed and medaled Regionally, Nationally and Internationally in both Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. In 2015 she tested and was awarded her 3rd Degree Black Belt in Hapkido.
In 1995 Mrs. Swartwood competed in the Diamond Nationals and was ranked number 1. She continued to compete well into her 40's taking medals both regionally and Internationally at the Busan Mayor's cup held every 2 years in Busan, Korea.
For more than 20 years as Instructor of American Black Belt Academy, Mrs. Swartwood has worked with thousands of Children and Adults ranging in age from 4 to 82 in the techniques and life lessons of Tae Kwon Do. Students that have gone through ABBA's program have become lawyers, doctors, surgeons, military pilots, have been contestants on both the Voice and Survivor. When former students come back to town they stop in to say hello and continue to tell Mrs. Swartwood how their current success is directly tied to their training at American Black Belt Academy.
Mrs. Swartwood has been so successful at changing the lives of her students that today she is teaching the children and in many cases the grand children of her past students.
Mrs. Swartwood also holds a Black Sash in Kung Fu.
"Some instructors train their fighters to be angry," he says. "I don't like my fighters to get angry before a match. When you get angry, you drain your energy very quickly, and you can run out of gas.
"My style is to tell them to relax, that when the time comes, they'll do the right thing. It's a Buddhist attitude."
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Master Toddy says people often ask him if the person with the better technique will win a fight. "No," he says. "The person with the heart of the lion wins. It can help you beat someone who's technically better than you."
The best test of skill in muay Thai is competing in Thailand - with no family and friends around you, he adds. "You can't call yourself the world champion of muay Thai without having beat the Thais."
The muay Thai trainer known as Master Toddy likes to have his students cut their teeth on a specially designed striking pad that's positioned near the ropes that surround one of his boxing rings.
"You can stand in front and hit it to get your distance with uppercuts and other punches until you feel comfortable," Master Toddy says. "Then you learn how to punch and kick while bouncing off the ropes to get their energy. You really need that energy in round four and round five."
Job Titles:
- Editor - in - Chief of Black Belt