Our Instructors & Staff Members

Our Instructors have spent many years devoted to training in the art of Taekwondo and other martial arts and have attained a certain level of expertise to qualify them as teachers and also mentors.

Through extensive testing, certification and tournament level competition, our staff has attained mastery in this martial art and now enjoy sharing their skill and passing it on to their students.

Here are a few of Vuong's Taekwondo Center's instructors and other staff members, starting with Chien Vuong:

Chien Vuong  (6th Dan)  Master Vuong started practicing Taekwondo at the age of 14 and has participated in many state and national tournaments. He has won awards that include North Carolina's Bantam Weight Championship for the years 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and the Junior Olympic Bantam Weight gold medal in 1985. He studies under Master Chico De La Garza, 6th Degree Black Belt and Master Kyong De La Garza, 5th Degree Black Belt, Master Instructors in Fayetteville, NC. Master Vuong founded Vuong's Taekwondo Center in 1992 and is the President-Elect of the Maryland Taekwondo Association (MSTA). He also received the Maryland Instructor of the Year from the United States Taekwondo Union in 1999-2000.

Nury Criollo  (Instructor) Nury is 21 years old and a Junior at Howard University. She began her TaeKwonDo training at the age of 8. At the age of 12, Ms. Nury earned her Black Belt from Grand Master Seuk Kwan Ha. She is now a 4th Degree Black Belt and is excited to continue working towards earning her Masters Degree in Architecture.

Michael O'Brien  (Instructor) Mike O'Brien has been involved in martial arts since he started with Master Chien at the age of 5. He is a second degree black belt and full time instructor at the school. Mike competes at the amateur level in MMA and currently holds a record of 1-0, winning his fight by TKO in the second round. Mike graduated from Salisbury University with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Athletic Coaching. He uses this degree to train the Vuong's Junior Olympic Team who brought home 26 medals in 2012.

Kat Howard  (Assistant) Kat is 18 years old and a Freshman at AACC. She began training at Vuong's Martial Arts at the age of 8 and received her black belt at the age 16. Kat loves working with children.

Chuck Howard  (Master) Chuck began training in the martial arts at the age of six in the arts of Kenpo and Ju-Jitsu, the later under the tutelage of his father, an accomplished Ju-Jitsu master who studied extensively in Japan. Chuck has studied Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Judo and Aikido. He competed as a member of the US Naval Academy Judo Team, and later was a founding member and senior instructor of Aikido of Annapolis. Chuck has taught numerous seminars in self-defense and law enforcement defensive tactics. He holds a Master (Black Belt) rank in traditional Japanese Ju-Jitsu and is a senior instructor with Water’s Edge Aikikai at Vuong’s.

Meg Bower  (Sensei) Meg has studied Aikido for more than 18 years. She started her practice at Columbia Aikikai in Columbia, South Carolina and continued at Aikido of Central New York in Syracuse. Since moving to the Baltimore area in 2000, she has studied in the DC area at Capital Aikikai, served as the chief assistant instructor at Aikido of Annapolis, and helped several other peers start dojos in the area. Although her training is founded on the teachings of the United States Aikido Federation, Meg’s travels have allowed her to visit dojos and attend seminars around the country, and her technique includes concepts from the Ki Society, Seidokan Aikido, and the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. She is the chief instructor at Water’s Edge Aikikai at Vuong’s.

For more information about the Vuong's Taekwondo Center staff or training programs, please contact us at (410)721-4400 or by clicking here.