The earliest martial artists were Buddhist monks, who developed the skill to defend themselves as they traveled throughout all corners of the orient spreading their teachings. Over the centuries, many distinct schools emerged. In Korea, the TaeKwon style came into being around 600 AD. After a long surge of interest lasting nearly a millennia, it declined in popularity until it was nearly extinguished by the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1910. After World War II, it was reformed by the masters that had kept it alive outside Korea and when combined with Karate and Kung Fu, today’s TaeKwon-Do was created in 1955.

General Choi Hong Hi, the founder of modern TaeKwon-Do, was one of these masters. He was also one of Grandmaster Grasso’s personal teachers. Grandmaster Grasso and Universal TaeKwon-Do is continuing this lineage, unbroken, that began so long ago.

Universal TaeKwon-Do provides traditional TaeKwon-Do training. No frills. No extras. Just good, solid, basic martial arts instruction – simple, but complete.

We are a non-contract school. Our purpose is to preserve, not to destroy. It takes no real skill to hit an opponent, but great skill and self-control to strike within an inch of a moving target. That is the skill we strive to instill in our students.

Grandmaster Grasso instructs out of his personal studio – Universal TaeKwon-Do Federation World Headquarters. There are currently 40 Black Belts within the Universal TaeKwon-Do system, all of which have been certified by Grandmaster Grasso. Several of these Black Belts have trained with Grandmaster Grasso on a weekly basis for up to 26 years. They are high level, highly skilled, competent and serious martial art instructors. 10 of those Black Belts currently teach out of the World Headquarters.

Universal TaeKwon-Do Federation has three branch studios and affiliate studios. All are owned and operated by Black Belts trained and certified by Grandmaster Grasso. All branch owners and Black Belts teaching at the World Headquarters meet regularly for continuing training in TaeKwon-Do and teaching techniques. During their training, they are carefully groomed to nurture beginning students—to correct, not criticize—and challenge advanced students to reach their full potential.

With four schools in the area, Universal TaeKwon-Do Federation offers continuing training in the event a student moves from one town to another. Many people do not realize that any one TaeKwon-Do school’s curriculum is different from—and not transferable to—any others. With Universal TaeKwon-Do, each school’s training is uniform so students can move from one to another without loss of rank. This flexibility is unique in the Northern Nevada/North-Eastern California area.

Grandmaster Grasso was a personal student of General Choi Hong Hi, the founder of modern TaeKwon-do. Grandmaster Grasso trained at the home of General Choi Hong Hi in Canada. In keeping with this particular tradition, Grandmaster Grasso has built a beautiful studio next to where he lives in order to give students this same opportunity. This gives Grandmaster Grasso the opportunity to be more available to all students at all times. Grandmaster Grasso teaches all levels and all ages of students.