Tae Kwon Do Club at UCF

Chris Ekberg is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in both ITF and Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do. He began training in Tae Kwon Do in 1994 under Master Gary Wayne, and had the opportunity to earn his instructors certification with Master Wayne and the IIA. Upon going to college, he was able to found the Tae Kwon Do Club at UCF in 2001 and serve as the head instructor for 5 years. During this time, he has had the opportunity to train students of a broad range of ranks, and to learn from the diverse backgrounds the has been brought to the group. He has also competed and officiated extensively in the AAU at the local, state, national, and international levels and trained students who have. Major interests in martial arts include forms (patterns), self-defense, teaching techniques, and the history of martial arts. He currently trains with Mr. Franceshi at OSC martial arts and is currently serving again as the head instructor of the Tae Kwon Do Club at UCF.

Mr. Caine began his training in Tae Kwon Do in 1996. Received his black belt in January of 2000 from Master Wayne of Mount Dora, FL. Began competition in open Tae Kwon Do tournaments at age 14 and held the Mens Board Breaking championship for three years starting at the age of 16. Mr. Caine joined the club his summer semester of his freshman year and has been active since.

Master Andrew Dimalanta is a 4rd Dan Black Belt and has been a part of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) since 1992. Aside from the club, he also studies under Grandmaster Jae Hak Lee of Master Academy in Tampa and Gainesville, Florida and Master Hyun Wook Moon of Moon's U.S. Taekwondo College in Spring Hill, Florida. He has also had the pleasure of training with members of the Korean National Team and the Keimyoung University Demonstration Team. Under the tutelage of Master Moon, Master Dimalanta was Captain of the Master Academy Demonstration team for 6 years. In 2004, he led the team to the semifinals in the World Taekwondo Hanmadang held annually in Korea.

Kelly Link started Tae Kwon Do when she was five years old at Harmony Martial Arts and later on at Weiss School. She gained black belts in both of her schools and got her 2nd degree in 2004. She’s competed in WTF and ATA competitions in forms and breaking. She started volunteering and teaching WTF classes at age 13. She’s also taken classes in Krav Maga, Jujitsu, Aikido, Capoeira and Boxing. She joined the UCF TKD club in the fall semester of 2009 and hopes to continue for the rest of her college career.

Nicki began training in taekwondo with the club during her freshman year during spring of '07. She trains under the instruction of Master Andrew Dimalanta and tests under Master Anthony Clark and Grandmaster Jae Hak Lee of the Master Academy in Tampa and Gainesville Florida. She hopes to continue her testing as well as expand and refine her knowledge and technique of taekwondo and other martial arts.

Megan has been a fan of martial arts for many years but has only recently decided to take up the life style of a martial artist. She looked high and far for a martial art that would fit her best and stumbled upon Tae Kwon Do. Due to class fees at other schools she was unable to pursue Tae Kwon Do until she found this very club at UCF in late summer of 2009. While her journey has just begun, she is willing to put forth the dedication and effort to spreading the tenets and competitive spirit Tae Kwon Do has to offer.