Master Penny Mitchell is the Vice President of
the American Tang Soo Do Association (ATA) and a 7th
degree Black Belt, making her one of the highest
ranking American women in Tang Soo Do.
She began training under Grandmaster Richard
Byrne on March 23, 1978. In 1981, shortly after
earning her Cho Dan, she began teaching. Since
then she
has promoted over 300 students to the rank of 1st
degree Black Belt, ten of
whom have gone on to achieve the rank of Master.
A former top tournament competitor, she accumulated more trophies and awards than
any other student in the
35 year history of the ATA. She has also studied
and achieved the rank of
Master in the Korean sword art, Haidong Gumdo.
Master Mitchell was the first to be inducted
into the ATA’s Black Belt Hall of Fame (1990)
and has appeared in Black Belt Magazine. She is
also co-author
of the book “This Is Tang Soo Do” with
Grandmaster Richard Byrne.
