At Omega Martial Arts we are proud to continue a 60+ year tradition of teaching Texas Tae Kwon Do, or as some call it, Texas Tough Karate.

In 1956, Jhoon Rhee came to Texas from South Korea and brought with him the martial art he had studied in Seoul at the Chung Do Kwan (Blue Wave School). When he began teaching in Texas he called his style “Korean Karate”. He followed the lead of other Korean systems in 1960 by changing the name to “Tae Kwon Do”, Making him the first Tae Kwon Do instructor in the United States. As Mr. Rhee’s students become Black Belts, the little known sport of martial arts begins to grow.

In 1962, Allen Steen became the first black belt to be promoted by Jhoon Rhee in America. Soon after, Allen opened his first martial arts school in Dallas. Within a few years he grew to operate a large network of schools all over Texas which taught the Chung Do Kwan style.

Months after Allen Steen earned his black belt, J. Pat Burleson of Ft. Worth also earned a black belt under Master Rhee. When Master Rhee moved to Washington, DC, Steen and Burleson took over the reigns as the fathers of Tae Kwon Do in Texas, enhancing the traditional TKD curriculum with the best parts of other systems, such as boxing and Japanese karate.

Because of this growth under Steen and Burleson, Texas becomes one of the most important and prolific martial arts areas in the country. The American style of Tae Kwon Do practiced there soon became nationally recognized for its bruising style of fighting and was often referred to as “Tex Kwon Do” reflecting its Texas roots.

It was in this hard-hitting environment that John Worley, Larry Carnahan, movie star Chuck Norris and many others of that era earned their stripes and would eventually spread martial arts across the country.