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Senior Instructors of Boulder Taekwon Do
Jonas A. Pologe
Paul J. Hultgren
Mr. Jonas A. Pologe, VIII Degree, Master Instructor
Mr. Pologe was introduced to the martial arts in 1970 when he was
befriended by a Judo instructor in the local YMCA in New Jersey.
This brief introduction led him to seek out instruction in the martial
arts and his Taekwon-Do career began in 1973 at The George Washington
University under the instruction of Master Instructor, Soo Young Cha, who was an
early student of General Choi, the father of Taekwon-Do. Mr. Pologe
trained and competed in Washington DC, New Jersey, and Boston, under
a variety of different instructors and styles of Taekwon-Do before
moving to Boulder Colorado in 1980. After searching for the best the
area had to offer in Taekwon-Do instruction, Mr. Pologe found Mr.
Walt Lang of the United States Taekwon-Do Federation (USTF). He was
teaching at the University of Colorado and Mr. Pologe was struck by
the excellent technique of the students and the quality of the
instruction. He joined this class immediately and trained under
Mr. Walt Lang until he turned the class over to his senior student,
Mr. Rob Tobin in 1985.
Master Instructor, Robert M. Tobin
Mr. Pologe continued to train under Mr. Tobin until, tragically,
in 2003, Mr. Tobin died of Leukemia. In a ceremony orchestrated by
Mr. Tobin himself, and performed after his passing, Mr. Tobin's
Katana was passed on to Mr. Pologe along with the responsibility for
the care and instruction of the University of Colorado Taekwon-Do
club. Mr. Pologe had been the head student and assistant instructor
for Mr. Tobin for the previous 18 years and now moved into the
position of head instructor. At the start of 2004 the class moved to
the Flatiron Athletic Club in Boulder and with its new location gained
new energy and a new name. It became Boulder Taekwon-Do.
Testing to Master Instructor in December of 2003, Mr. Pologe became
the 32nd Master Instructor in the USTF, dedicated to carrying on the
art of Taekwon-Do as created by General Choi and taught to him by
General Choi, Mr. CE Sereff, Grand Master Instructor and the president
of the USTF, Mr. Lang, Mr. Tobin, and Mr. Cha, over more than 45 years
of dedicated training in the art.
From left to right, Walter L. Lang, General Choi
Chong Hi, Charles Emmett Sereff, and Robert M. Tobin
Promoted 8th degree Master Instructor in March 2010, Mr. Pologe has a
collection of skills and interests that extend outside the martial
arts. He is an electrical engineer, designer, and inventor in the
field of medical devices, a skier, climber, and scuba diver, and as a
hobby studies wildlife biology. Mr. Pologe met his wife, Dr.
Irene Schauer, in 1987 and they were married in 1993. She is his
greatest source of strength and peace and selflessly supports him
in all his endeavors including the long hours he dedicates to
Taekwon-Do.
Mr.Pologe shares a quiet moment with a friend.
It is Mr. Pologe's belief that anyone can learn how to perform
powerful, and potentially dangerous, techniques but Taekwon-Do and a
good instructor can teach a dedicated student how to grow, find his
or her own path, and gain a measure of peace with the world.
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Dr. Robert D. Ito, VII Degree, Master Instructor
Instructor
Born in 1953, Robert Ito obtained his PhD in physical chemistry in
1983 and a Master of Science in Computer Science in 1989 at the
University of Colorado in Boulder. Dr. Ito's interest in the martial
arts perhaps goes back to childhood, when his parents would take him
and his three sisters to Japanese movies (often Kurosawa's classic
samurai movies). While there had been some curiosity about learning
self-defense for a long time, his interest was finally piqued during
a trip home for Christmas in 1985, when he went with one of his
sisters to watch her taekwondo class. (She reached the rank of brown
belt in Jhoon Rhee's taekwondo organization.)
Returning to Colorado after the holidays, he happened upon a table in
the University of Colorado student union, where the CU Taekwondo club
(now Boulder TKD) was handing out coupons for free classes. He tried
his first class in January of 1986, and to make a long story short,
has been training continuously ever since then under the club's head
instructors, master instructors Rob Tobin and then Jonas Pologe. The
quality of instruction is one reason for all the years of training.
Also, taekwondo is excellent training for both mind and body, always
with new things to learn, and there are all the people you meet in the
larger family of this martial art.
Dr. Ito also trained under Grand Master C. E. Sereff, President of the
United States Taekwondo Federation, for over twenty years, spending
many Wednesday evenings at the gym in Broomfield, and working out with
many high-ranking black belts.
Dr. Ito also had the privilege of training at several seminars taught
by General Choi Hong Hi himself, including the final seminar the
General taught even though he was, at the time, terminally ill with
cancer.
Very few students in anything are as dedicated in their training as
Dr. Ito. In the 30 plus years that he has been active in the martial
arts he has only on very rare occasions missed a class and virtually
never been late. In fact he is so consistent that just to tease him
one evening we started class early (when Dr. Ito had not yet arrived)
just so he could have the experience of being late! Dr. Ito’s
dedication to the art and depth of knowledge in Taekwon Do are an
excellent example to all TKD students.
Dr. Ito being promoted to VII Degree,
Master Instructor, by Mr. Pologe on 5/18/2015.
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Mr. Paul J. Hultgren, VI Degree, Assistant
Instructor
Mr. Hultgren became curious about the martial arts after watching
demonstrations on television in 1965. The interest persisted, and
later his roommate and he joined the university judo club. As his
martial arts interest developed, he became intrigued with Taekwon-Do.
In 1971, he began training at Iowa State University under Master
Instructor Mook Kim who was trained by General Choi Hong Hi, the
father of Taeakwon-Do, in the Republic of Korea Army. After graduate
school, moving to Colorado, and developing his career, Mr. Hultgren
returned to Taekwon-Do in 1989. He encouraged his friend, who was a
police officer, to consider martial arts training, and together they
joined a local Taekwon-Do class affiliated with the United States
Taekwon-Do Federation (USTF) at Front Range College. After observing
students at testing and in tournaments from other USTF classes,
Mr. Hultgren visited a USTF class at the University of Colorado
taught by Mr. Rob Tobin and senior student Mr. Jonas Pologe. He was
impressed by the instruction, technique, and instructor-student
interactions, and he asked Mr. Tobin's permission to join class that
evening. Mr. Hultgren has trained under Mr. Rob Tobin and later
under Mr. Jonas Pologe since 1990.
Mr. Hultgren receiving some one-on-one instruction
from Grand Master Instructor, Mike Winegar
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