About UTC
In the early 2000s, Grandmaster Byrne began discussing the possibility of a loosely-knit confederation between various Tang Soo Do schools, including those of Grandmaster Charles Ferraro, Master Peter Oien and Grandmaster Dominic Giacobbe, as well as his own, to provide mutual support for the organizations and the art of Tang Soo Do. At the same time, his world-wide reputation was gathering interest from schools overseas who desired to associate themselves with Grandmaster Byrne and the kind of support that the ATA provided to Tang Soo Do schools, instructors and practitioners in the United States.
In the process of working with several schools in Europe, however, Grandmaster Byrne perceived an understandable hesitancy on the part of some to subject themselves to an American organization. Because of that, the United Tang Soo Do Congress was born, under the leadership of Grandmaster Byrne, to provide the same services and support of Tang Soo Do and Tang Soo Do practitioners outside of the United States as the ATA provides in the United States.
The first official United Tang Soo Do Congress took place in Wiesbaden, Germany, in May of 2006, as Grandmaster Byrne and three other members of the ATA traveled to Europe for an international seminar. The seminar was hosted by Grandmaster Benedetto Stumpf, President of German Tang Soo Do, and executive director of the newly-official UTC. The first UTC promotion took place at this event, as Master Theo Ketelaar of Holland Tang Soo Do was promoted to 4th Dan by Grandmaster Byrne.
