For ten years, Brentwood’s Tae Ryong Taekwondo studio—anchored on the corner of San Vicente by Wilshire Boulevard—was more than a martial arts school; it was part of the neighborhood’s rhythm. Parents waved through the front windows, siblings tumbled across the mats and Master Nickie Quan stood at the center of it all, building a space that felt like an extension of home. His two children grew up inside those walls, their cribs tucked into the back room while kids of all ages—and often even adults—practiced their moves. It became a place where families lingered, friendships formed and a deep sense of belonging took root.
Quan’s own journey began in Somis, a small agricultural town outside Camarillo. His parents arrived in the United States in 1979 after fleeing Vietnam by boat and were sponsored by a local family to build a new life. Their energetic son was born one year later. “I was a hyperactive kid,” Quan recalls. “And super into Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies. When I was six, my parents knew I needed some structure and turned to Taekwondo.” Quan’s father found a newly opened studio run by a young Korean instructor named Yong Shin—now known as Grand Master Shin—whose strict, character-building training style left a lasting mark. “When we walked in for the first time, Master Shin was teaching a young kid to do knuckle push-ups while he sat there counting with a big stick,” Quan says. “My dad knew he was the one.”
Camarillo in the ’80s was a quiet farm town, but the dojang forged by Grand Master Shin became an intense, disciplined world of its own. Quan trained regularly, eventually becoming one of the studio’s most dedicated students. Years later, Shin—now in his late seventies and retired—funded Quan’s business degree and chose him to help grow the Tae Ryong organization. Today, a small group of Shin’s disciples, including Quan, run the eight Tae Ryong schools across Southern California.
The westside Los Angeles chapter began when Quan’s friend and fellow instructor, Master Scott Hutchinson, opened a Tae Ryong location in Westwood. As the program grew, Hutchinson realized how many Brentwood families were drawn to it but reluctant to cross the 405. Quan remembers being told simply, “Brentwood needs its own school.” So, in 2014, newly married and expecting his first child, he signed the lease on a large San Vicente space—bigger and more expensive than planned, but full of possibility. “It was really a go big or go bankrupt situation,” Quan says. “I had nothing but motivation and energy.” Thankfully, it was embraced by the Brentwood community almost immediately. “Often the idea of a martial arts class is really militant, but we had a true family vibe,” Quan says. However, he also offered the discipline and structure that so many parents were seeking for their kids. Quan recalls one prominent CAA agent, telling him: “My daughters live incredibly comfortable lives. I want them to experience something that challenges them and helps them grow.”
Part of what made the studio so special was the clear developmental arc children entered. It began with the Little Dragons, the three- to five-year-olds learning balance, coordination and respect. Those years were less about technique and more about teaching children how to line up, listen, follow instruction and build confidence. As students progressed from white to yellow belt and beyond, they entered the multi-year journey that slowly shapes them into confident young leaders, from the middle belts to the rigorous black belt testing process. “The achievement families often celebrate most isn’t the belt itself,” Quan says. “But the transformation that happens along the way.”
As the Brentwood studio flourished, Quan opened a new spot in Ocean Park, Santa Monica, while Hutchinson introduced a location in the Pacific Palisades, which quickly also became neighborhood hub. When that studio was tragically destroyed in the Palisades Fire, the loss echoed through the community. Quan and Hutchinson joined forces and quickly regrouped, opening a new space on Montana Avenue in May, which has been thriving since day one. “The Montana community has been so welcoming,” Quan says, adding that they hope to rebuild in the Palisades when the time is right.
Meanwhile, Quan faced challenges of his own in Brentwood. After a decade on San Vicente, changes in building management forced him to relocate the studio he had poured his life into. The timing overlapped with the school’s ambitious biennial summer trip to Korea—a two-week immersion with about 80 students and parents through Seoul and Busan to the international Taekwondo headquarters—and the pressures mounted.
With the help of a local parent, Quan found a new home at on the first floor of Coral Plaza near the Brentwood Library. “I loved that the space was filled with light and there was plenty of space for families to sit outside,” Quan says. After some minor construction, the new studio emerged this fall—bright, modern and ready for its next decade. These days, Quan drives in from Mar Vista, where he lives with his family, but the imprint of those early years living directly across the street remains at the core of how he runs the school—hands-on, family-centered and community-first. “Brentwood will always be my home base, even as we open more schools,” Quan says. “This studio has my heart.”
This February marks a meaningful moment in that new chapter: the Tae Ryong Cup—founded decades ago by Grand Master Shin—will be held in Los Angeles for the first time at Stephen Wise Temple. Hundreds of competitors of all ages from Taekwondo studios across Southern California—not only Tae Ryong—will gather for a full day of sparring, teamwork and achievement. For Brentwood families, many of whom have watched their children advance over years, the tournament will be a powerful and emotional culmination of their journey.
Now a seventh-degree black belt continuing to train toward his eventual eighth-degree test in Korea, Quan remains deeply rooted in Brentwood. After a year marked by fires, relocations and uncertainty, the rhythm of the community has settled into the new studio, where children race in after school with the same enthusiasm that filled the original space. The spirit of Tae Ryong Brentwood hasn’t just survived the transition—it has grown stronger, steadier and even more connected. “I’ve already been here ten years,” Quan says. “And in so many ways, it feels like I’m just getting started.”
Tae Ryong Taekwondo Brentwood
11812 San Vicente Blvd., 1st floor
310-826-5425
brentwood.trtkd.com
“The achievement families often celebrate most isn’t the belt itself, but the transformation that happens along the way.”
“I’ve already been here ten years, and in so many ways, it feels like I’m just getting started.”