Jon Michael Davis is a 4th Dan Black Belt and Certified Instructor with over 30 years of experience in Hapkido. He trained under legendary Hapkido Grand Master Bong Soo Han for over 13 years and served as Director of Operations for Grand Master Bong Soo Han’s International Hapkido Federation. Grand Master Bong Soo Han was one of the original senior students of the Founder of Hapkido, Yong Sool Choi, and was referred to as the “Father of Hapkido” in the United States.
Mr. Davis has participated in countless demonstrations, has taught seminars across the country, and has also trained members of the LAPD and FBI. He has been an instructor since 1998 and in 2003 was awarded IHF Instructor of the Year. During his tenure as an instructor and Director of Operations, the IHF Headquarters in Santa Monica, California was named “Best Traditional School” by Black Belt magazine in 2006. Articles written by Mr. Davis on the philosophy of Hapkido and the martial arts have been published in Black Belt Magazine and TaeKwonDo Times Magazine. In 2016, he was inducted into the United States Martial Artist Association Hall of Fame as Instructor of the Year.
Karl Lentini is a 2nd Dan Black Belt and Certified Instructor in Hapkido. He began his Hapkido journey in the spring of 2001 at Grand Master Bong Soo Han’s International Hapkido Federation Headquarters (IHF) in Santa Monica, CA. He trained for five years, attaining the rank of brown belt. Mr. Lentini had the good fortune to be a part of the Black Belt Program taught by Grand Master Bong Soo Han. Grand Master Han impressed upon Mr. Lentini that the mental aspect of Hapkido was more important than the physical one, and that making the decision to become a Black Belt required a focused mind. Although Mr. Lentini took a break in 2006, he applied what he learned in Hapkido to focus his mind on writing, producing, directing, acting in, co-editing, and scoring his own feature film production, which took several years of his life to accomplish. In 2014, Mr. Lentini resumed his formal Hapkido training under Grand Master Eric Friske at Mushin Hapkido in Santa Monica, CA. In 2016, Karl moved to Austin,TX, where he continued training at Zen Hapkido with Mr. Davis. Mr. Lentini looks forward to continuing his studies and teaching, as achieving the level of Black Belt is just the beginning of a new Hapkido chapter.
Michael Lobel is a 2nd Dan Black Belt and Certified Instructor in Hapkido. His journey in to the martial arts began at the age of 14 with Hapmudo, a mix of Hapkido and other martial arts, under Grand Master Yong Sung Lee in Rockville, MD. Mr. Lobel was introduced to some of the techniques of Hapkido and the philosophy of martial arts for world peace, and competed on a national sports karate circuit in sparring and forms. His martial arts training took a pause in 2011 after moving to Chicago for university. After graduating, he moved to Austin to work in the startup and technology scene. In 2014 Mr. Lobel resumed studying martial arts with Mr. Davis at Zen Hapkido, learning more about the art of Hapkido as passed on by the late Grand Master Bong Soo Han and earning his 1st Dan under the International Hapkido Federation in 2019. Mr. Lobel has enjoyed exploring the roots of Hapkido and the refined curriculum under Mr. Davis. Mr. Lobel is passionate about martial arts for self-defense and self-improvement and making the arts accessible to all communities. Outside the dojang he enjoys Barton Springs (any time of year) and doing software development for clients, friends, and fun.
Chase Anderson is a 1st Dan Black Belt and Assistant Instructor. His journey in Martial Arts began at an early age with some informal training from his father, who was a dedicated Karate practitioner and a defensive tactics instructor for The State of Texas Law Enforcement Agencies. Chase has always had a great fascination with Martial Arts and his informal training as a young man always left him wanting more from a Martial Arts experience. It wasn't until much later that he found himself making a commitment to formally learning a style of his choosing. Shortly after meeting Mr. Davis in the summer of 2016, Mr. Anderson signed up to train under him in the art of Hapkido. Mr. Anderson has a great passion for the transformative nature of Martial Arts. He believes in their ability to reshape a person’s mind, body, and spirit for the betterment of the individual and those around them. Mr. Anderson is also an avid musician who sings, plays multiple instruments, and writes and produces songs across multiple genres.
Jon Wheeler is a 1st Dan Black Belt and assistant instructor. He first entered the martial arts in the early 2000's, training in Tai Chi. He trained with Master Gohring for 2 years before moving out of state. After returning to Texas, he found himself missing something in life and sought out martial arts once again. After a conversation with Mr. Davis, he decided to start taking classes and dedicated himself to training in Hapkido, thus finding the missing part of life he was looking for. It is his belief that the mental aspect of Hapkido is equally, if not more, important than the physical aspect. Mr. Wheeler has always enjoyed physical activities and has played multiple sports throughout his life. He has been a professional cabinet maker and carpenter for nearly 30 years and a small businessman for most of his adult life.
Schedule your first class and you'll work one-on-one with an assistant instructor to learn about Hapkido and our program.
