Our Instructors...
Sun Yi’s Academies where founded over 48 years ago by internationally recognized Grand Master Chae Sun Yi, our academies have expanded across the U.S. – in Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina and California – where Grand Master Yi regularly travels to lead classes and attend promotional testings.
Grand Master Yi
From the start of his Tae Kwon Do education in South Korea in the late 1950s, Sun Yi eventually began teaching – eventually going on to become Captain of the National Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Tae Kwon Do team, which won the South Korea National President’s Cup during his tenure. During this time he also trained U.S. Army officers and instructors for service in Vietnam.
In 1973, Sun Yi traveled to the United States with the desire to expand the knowledge of Tae Kwon Do outside his native Korea. In 1973 and 1974 he taught at Iowa State University before opening one of the first Tae Kwon Do schools in Topeka, Kansas, in 1975. In that same year, Grand Master Yi began teaching at Kansas State University. His instructors continue to teach there to this day.
Grand Master Yi went on to serve as director of the 1988 AAU National Junior Olympics for Tae Kwon Do and has been director of the American Invitational National Tournament for the last 33 years. He is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Sun Yi's Academy and President of the Traditional Tae Kwon Do Association.
After teaching for 50 years, Grand Master Yi continues to educate, inspire, and practice.
North Carolina Black Belt Class with Grand Master Yi
Jr. Grand Master Randy Berger
Jr. Grand Master Randy Berger received his 1st degree Black Belt in 1981.
After receiving his 2nd degree Black Belt in 1985, Master Berger moved to North Carolina to help Master Follick start the state’s first Sun Yi’s Academy. With help from Dr. E. Knowles as NCSU faculty adviser, Master Berger taught the Tae Kwon Do Club at NCSU from 1987 to 1994 before turning it over to his Assistant Instructors. In 1995, he opened the first traditional Tae Kwon Do school in Wake Forest, where he still teaches to this day.
As a Black Belt competitor Master Berger has won many gold, silver and bronze medals. He was the director for the NC AAU Championships. He was the Assistant Director of the North Carolina State Games from 1989 to 1991.
In December 2017, Grand Master Yi promoted him to the rank of 8th Dan, Jr. Grand Master.
Throughout his instructing career, his proudest accomplishment has been to watch the growth of his students as they learn and develop into martial artists and Tae Kwon Do Masters.
North Carolina Instructors
Outstanding Instructors
At Sun Yi’s Academy, we do not hire instructors from other schools to teach for us. All of our instructors started as beginners at Sun Yi’s Academy and have worked hard to obtain their black belt degrees leading to the Master level. They are nationally certified Instructors under the Traditional Tae Kwon Do Association and have a minimum of 8 years of experience. We have the highest-ranking instructors of any schools in the United States. They are committed to maintaining the teaching standards of our system. As a new student you will benefit from their dedication and experience as they pass on the tradition to you.
If you would like to become part of this history, please contact us today.
Master Mounib Aoun, 6th Dan
A native of Lebanon, Master Aoun is the epitome of a self-made businessperson. – exuding a great outlook for the future combined with winning attitude, all of which, he says, are derived from Tae Kwon Do spirit. As a young man, he came to the U.S. in early 1985 with almost no money, not a word of English, but with a heart full of dreams to achieve and succeed. While a student at NCSU in 1988 he joined the Tae Kwon Do Intramural Club with a desire to learn self-defense and has never looked back.
Master Aoun says that Tae Kwon Do – the tenets of perseverance and indomitable spirit – brought him through a life-threatening health crisis, and subsequently endowed him with great health and success. Asserting that “my whole life, survival, and all my accomplishments” result from his practice, Master Aoun tested for his current rank in October 2014. His three children are all Sun Yi’s black belts as well. When not traveling on business, he teaches part-time at the Raleigh branch.
Master Chris Peters, 6th Dan
From age 5, Chris Peters strongly desired to practice Martial Arts. However, his parents were apprehensive about him learning it, fearing that he may misuse the skills. Despite their disapproval, Master Peters' passion for the art of Tae Kwon Do grew stronger. At 14, he started accompanying his best friend to Sun Yi's Academy lessons and soon began practicing Tae Kwon Do under Master Berger. He continued training, and earned his 1st-degree black belt in 2000. In October 2014, he tested for his current rank of 6th degree Master. Before pursuing Massage School, Mr. Peters taught at his own school in Garner for several years. He holds an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Health and Fitness Science and currently works as a dedicated massage therapist. He is also a devoted husband and a father of 5 children.
Master Will Leaming, 5th Dan
After having taken Judo and Karate previously, Will Leaming knew Sun Yi's TKD was “something different” when he stepped onto the mat at the Tae Kwon Do Club at NCSU in 1988. After becoming an Instructor, a career move led him to Florida, where he started a Sun Yi’s school – something he considers one of his proudest accomplishments. “It was very difficult, but very rewarding. The impact on the students was obvious as I saw them grow and mature.” More career changes brought him back to North Carolina where, after testing for his current rank in September 2013, he helps teach at the Raleigh branch.
A veteran of the Banking industry for over 20 years, Mr. Leaming has held many different roles including CEO of a savings bank in Florida. He is a self-described “avid car nut” and enjoys autocross racing with his two sons.
Master Dawn Felton, 5th Dan
Dawn Felton is the highest-ranking woman in the North Carolina Sun Yi’s system. She reached her current rank in December 1, 2018, but, she says, “it wasn’t easy”.
Health issues in the mid-1980s led her doctor to tell her she “had no choice but to start an exercise program” – so in 1987 she chose Tae Kwon Do because her son was already practicing. “I really fell in love with it – and I love doing it now more than ever.”
Though she earned a Master’s degree in Engineering, she says she is personally more proud of achieving her black belt. “It was much harder” than her academic and professional achievements in Information Technology (specializing in databases and business intelligence). “I’m not naturally athletic and it took a LOT of dedication and hard work.”
Ms. Felton’s current teaching responsibilities are to help out in the Wake Forest class and substitute teach when needed.
Jr. Master Sean Canale
