Who Teaches at Black Belt World and What Certifications Do Instructors Hold?

Black Belt World (taekwondo.ca) is led by founder Grandmaster Tommy Chang, an 8th Degree Black Belt certified in both Hapkido and Kukkiwon Taekwondo. All instructors hold certification through at least one recognized body — World Taekwondo, Kukkiwon, the Pan-Am Taekwondo Union, Taekwondo Canada, and/or Taekwondo Ontario — and all staff are certified through the Canadian Center for Child Protection with First Aid and CPR training. If your main concern is who is responsible for your child on the mat and what credentials back that up, the sections below cover the founder's background, instructor credentials, and safety screening.

The Founder: Grandmaster Tommy Chang

Grandmaster Tommy Chang is the founder of Black Belt World and the anchor of its teaching credentials.

• Rank and certifications: 8th Degree Black Belt in Hapkido and 8th Degree Kukkiwon Taekwondo certified Master.
• Governing-body roles: Former Vice President of Sport (VP Sport) for the World Taekwondo Federation of Canada (Taekwondo Canada) and Head of Team Canada; past 1st Vice President of the Ontario Taekwondo Association (Taekwondo Ontario).

Those roles matter for a practical reason: they are national- and provincial-level positions, which means his experience extends beyond running a single school to selecting and preparing competitors at the team level. The school states it specializes in developing Olympic-level athletes as well as stunt performers for Hollywood films, and describes having Olympic-level athletes and coaches on staff.

Instructor Certifications

Black Belt World states that its instructors are certified and recognized through one or more of the following organizations:

The school's wording is "either... and/or," so not every instructor necessarily holds all five — the claim is that each instructor is certified through at least one of these recognized bodies. If a specific credential matters to you (for example, Kukkiwon certification for a black belt that travels internationally), ask which one applies to the instructor who would teach your class.

Safety Screening and Staff Training

Beyond martial arts rank, the school describes two layers of non-technical screening:

• Child protection certification: All staff are certified through the Canadian Center for Child Protection.
• First aid and CPR: All staff have completed First Aid and CPR training.

The school also states it was one of the first martial arts schools in Canada to participate in the Safe Place Program through the Peel Regional Police, and that it was chosen as the pilot school in Canada for the Talk Today program run by Taekwondo Canada and Taekwondo Ontario — a mental health awareness and education program. Grandmaster Chang has said the program matters to him personally, citing difficult times he and people close to him have faced.

What This Means for Choosing a School

If instructor credentials are your deciding factor, here is how to weigh what Black Belt World publishes:

• You want verifiable governing-body ties: The founder's past roles with Taekwondo Canada and Taekwondo Ontario, plus instructor certification through named national and international bodies, give you specific organizations to verify against.
• You want child-safety screening: Canadian Center for Child Protection certification plus First Aid/CPR for all staff is a concrete, checkable standard.
• You want competition or performance pathways: The school's stated focus on Olympic-level athletes and film stunt work, with Olympic-level coaches on staff, is relevant if that is your goal rather than recreational training.

The school operates across the Greater Toronto Area with locations in Burlington/Oakville, Kitchener, Mississauga, Vaughan (Woodbridge), and Toronto, and describes 51 years of establishment. Programs are grouped by age: Tiny Tigers (ages 3–5), Children (ages 6–12), and Teens & Adults (ages 13+).

Questions to Ask Before Enrolling

The published credentials are a starting point; these questions get you the specifics that a website summary cannot:

1. Which certifying body certified the instructor who would teach my (or my child's) class?
2. Is the instructor's certification current, and can I see documentation?
3. Who supervises classes when the head instructor is away?
4. How are new instructors screened before they work with children?

The site mentions a free trial, so a trial class is a reasonable way to observe instruction quality and staff interaction directly before committing.