KJN History

Competition Record

** All certificates, awards, medals and Trophies  can be viewed at the academy.

Awards, Achievements & Citations

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KwanJangnim Spillmann

GMA Director / Advisor

KwanJangNim Spillmann has fostered children, worked with many youths in poverty stricken areas in the USA, India and throughout the world, assisting them in becoming outstanding citizens and future leaders. He has also raised thousands for charity over the years with his amazing block breaking strength and even holds a record for breaking over 411 concrete blocks for Saint Jude’s Children's Cancer Research, shattering all his previous records.  In late 1987 he broke 250  (3x8x16)  Endcap Blocks in under 48 seconds for D.A.R.E.  He also continues to help raise funds for local charities, schools and fundraising events.  KwanJangNim  Spillmann, overcoming many struggles and a challenging childhood, has received many trophies and medals for competing in martial arts competitions and awards for his dedication to martial arts and teaching.

He has also written several business manuals and a martial arts business book to help other school owners teach, structure and run professional academies.  KwanJangNim Spillmann has served on the advisory boards of a University and several private companies and because of his skills has held several vice president positions for several major martial arts organizations. He has won many martial art competitions, received community awards, a state commendation for public service and even a national and a state senate award. KwanJangNim Spillmann additionally received many other citations for dedication to the martial arts community.

KwanJangNim Spillmann has worked hard to achieve the levels of Grandmaster 8th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo, 7th Degree Black Belt Grandmaster in HapKiDo, 4th Degree Black Belt Master in Karate, Black Belt in Rocian Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he holds ranking in the IBJJF and several other martial art styles.  KwanJangNim  Spillmann is also Vice President of several organizations and is one of the highest ranking Instructors in the country; he has produced hundreds of Black Belts, champions and many school owners worldwide.
 
If you have the golden opportunity to learn and earn a Black Belt under KwanJangNim Spillmann or one of his certified masters it will be a life changing experience.  KwanJangNim Spillmann has produced many superior black belts, national champions, top competitors, life champions, and changed many children's and adults' lives. Through his black belt leadership methods taught at his academies for several decades, students have gained wealth, happiness, health and have gone onto many top universities and fantastic careers.
 
He says his program works best when parents treat his program as a life education not just a seasonal sport, and when students attend on a regular basis and work hard to achieve a black belt.

My Family - My Students - My Friends

By: KwanJangNim Spillmann

Looking back, the past was a terrific teacher, but I do not live in the past. If you spend your time in the past there is no room for your future. I am not perfect and I have fought my own fears, many challenges and had to overcome so many obstacles and prejudices in my life to rise to my current level and become vice president of several top organizations. I am a good martial artist, great teacher, loving husband and a loving father. I am not rich or poor and even my family like many others in this world have experienced many hardships. However I am blessed not with money but with my wonderful martial arts family, my wife, children, foster children, grandchildren and many wonderful friends.
 
My hero are my parents (my father passed in 2015)  they tried their best during tough times and always loved us. I also was blessed with my Grandmasters military toughness and philosophy which helped me survive and overcome so many obstacles. Then there is my wife who is my strength, she has been struggling for several years with serious asthma and food allergies. She has a big heart and is a blessing to everyone that knows her and she has the true never give up attitude. Even with all her struggles she is a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and martial arts master instructor. Even on the worst days she continues to put on her uniform, ties her belt, smiles and runs an excellent demonstration team till this day. To me she is an example for all children and adults of the never quit or give-up attitude.
 
I am additionally blessed to have wonderful children that helped and given up so much and worked hard to be the best they can be in the dojang and academically. They always did their best to set an example for others. Even with life's struggles our family will never lessen our dedication or sacrifice towards our martial arts family, friends, school owners or any of our thousands of students all over the world.  We sleep well at night knowing we have always given our best and have been more than fair and kind with everyone we have met.
 
There might have been one or two people in the past who said unkind words about us online to gain students, However we forgave them and the few that took advantage of our kindness and trust to make a dollar off our backs. We always tried to share everything we made and sometimes even more. Only a business owner understands the struggles of running a martial arts school and the sacrifice required to excel above others. We even opened our home on holidays for instructors and students that had no families so they would not be alone on those special days, sharing with them what we had. I want everyone to remember sometimes what one person sees as wealth is not wealth but kindness and years of sacrifice. We take comfort from the love of our family and the respect of our children, friends, students, peers and the many Grandmasters. Masters and Instructors that we are blessed to know.
 
We as a family are mindful that every person who enters our academy does so for a different personal reason. We will continue treating students as family and working to change their lives in a positive way based on each individual’s personality, needs and goals. Martial Arts are about developing stronger leaders for a peaceful tomorrow and overcoming life’s negativity, evil and injustice. We will also continue helping the community area schools, the less fortunate children and sponsoring children's cancer research. We will all do our best to continue improving and growing for our students and seeking to pass on all our traditional martial art knowledge. 
 
My desk and dojang is always open to all my students and all our friends. As a family we believe in being fair to all our students; so to be fair we have all our academy rules and tuition policies posted at all our schools. These rules and policies can also be viewed online at our website and are listed on your registration paperwork.  I expect these polices and rules to be followed by all students to keep fairness and unity among all family members. 
 
"You are our family, you are our friends my home and school is always open to you if your heart is true" GMS

Area Masters & School Owners

Our Organization of Schools

I invite any school owner that would like to be part of American Training Centers USA to join and grow with us as a friendship school. I will help you with all my knowledge and the love I have for martial arts. I also invite anyone to come and sit with me and talk and share ideas, my door is always open to all martial art masters and students.
 
American Training Centers USA - ATC Martial Arts USA - GMA Martial Arts

Haters are jealous people who are so obsessed with everyone else's business but their own and thrive off of everyone else's  hard work.

Tennessee  Move:

In 2010 after decades of working with several large organizations and operating many academies in the United States and overseas, KwanJangNim Spillmann decided it was time to move to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren and just operate a smaller academy. So the wheels were set in motion. As his wife also wanted to be closer to her parents, the natural transition was to move their family to Gallatin, Tennessee to be closer to relatives, spend more time with the family and to live with his family in a closer-knit community. They both also wanted to focus on Taekwondo/ Hapkido union activities, giving more time to their community and their continued educational and writing goals. This is what brought the Spillmann family to the wonderful Sumner County Area. 
 
KwanJangNim Spillmann's  family opened the Gallatin academy in 2011 to focus on all students as a closer knit family and push them to become the best they can be.  That is why the academy limits the amount of students who can join. This way the school instructors can focus on the students and give them excellent training and teach them true martial arts while developing stronger students.
 
The Gallatin Martial Arts School under the tutelage of KwanJangNim  Spillmann will be operated by his sons, Master Andrew Davis Spillmann, a 4th Degree Black Belt and assisted by Master Kurt Spillmann 4th Degree Black Belt, Sabumnim Joanne Spillmann a 4th Degree Black Belt, his daughter, Instructor Anastasia Spillmann, a 3rd Degree Black Belt.

Family History - Early Years

The Spillmann family from Austria dates back centuries. KwanJangnim Spillmann's grandfather was a famous paleontologist  (Click Here) who named many species and helped to open many museums during the 1930s-1970s.  His father was a architect who worked on many high-rise buildings in New York City and other big cities in the United States and throughout the world.  
 
As the son of immigrants, they were very strict and tough at times. KwanJangNim Spillmann was at times a difficult child and needed discipline and focus, so his parents started him in Judo and Korean Karate at the local  YMCA in New Jersey in 1960’s at the age of four. Learning the martial arts helped him focus and redirect his energy.
 
Because of his family's work, vacations and KwanJangNim Spillmann's seminar travels, he has visited many countries and practiced several martial arts overseas (Peru, Brazil, Spain, Austria, England, Ecuador, Chile, Korea, Puerto Rico, Panama).  At the age of 6, his family was on summer vacation in South America.  KwangJangNim Spillmann almost died while playing on an 8 foot wall. He fell, hitting his head which caused his brain to shift developing slight memory loss and future speech impediment issues. In elementary school in NJ,  the parochial teachers did not treat him well because of his speech impediment and focus problems. They paddled him often and ridiculed him in front of the other kids, even one time bashing his head on the chalkboard calling him stupid.  
 
The teachers asked his mother to assist in teaching him at home, but at the time, his mother being Peruvian was still learning English and it was tough on her.  KwanJangnim as a child spoke little englishand  he had no one to talk with him at school. He was bullied at times because of his speach issues but he tried to keep positive even under hard times. The inner happiness he felt was from martial arts movies and his TaeKwonDo classes. After speech therapy and several caring teachers, he moved forward academically and his speach issues improved. 

Living In Peru - The Coup D'etat

Things where tough economiclly in the 1970's and his father, an architect searching for work and a better life, decided to move the family from New Jersey to Peru for his new job. His parents then enrolled KwanJangNim Spillmann in Markham College, a British boys academy, causing issues, a culture clash and further punishments for fighting back against the school bullies.  As an American child in South America, the teasing in the neighborhood grew so bad that a group of boys  playing with fire, as a bad  joke, set his hair ablaze causing singed hair. No matter how hard things seemed, he always found peace of mind by training in martial arts and other sports.
 
Due to serious political socialist  turmoil in Peru, the Spillmann family hopped on a plane and moved back to New Jersey. Upon landing in New York, the weather was so cold and his family did not have any winter clothes, a home or a car or much money in their pockets.  KwanJangNim Spillmann remembers standing there with his family feeling anxious over what would be next.  It was so cold and they had no place to go. At the last minute, his mother told his father make some calls and a friend offered his father a job in Florida.  That evening, they boarded a plane and flew to Jacksonville, Florida.  They eventually ended up in Daytona Beach, Florida in the 1970's where they stayed many months in a hotel while his father commuted. His parents enrolled KwangJangNim Spillmann and his brothers at a private school, and he continued his training in Martial arts while playing tennis, baseball and football.

Being Bulllied

KwanJangNim knew what it was like to be bullied as a  child. There was a time where several kids where being bullied on the bus and called names daily, however his resolve and martial art training kept him moving forward. He tried to blur out the taunts and constant attacks.  He was always taught to walk away and talk away and did not want to hurt anyone or upset his parents or martial art instructor. Then the worst thing that could happen; he was forced to sit on the bus next to the same four bullies who taunted him and hit him daily. The bullies started  relentlessly teasing him and punching him. Like the scene from a movie he made a fist and with a single yell,  he punched one of the bullies in the face knocking the bully to the ground and then he struck the other three. In his heart, he knew he had done the right thing and even the bus driver told the school it was a justified action of self defense. Those bullies never again bullied him or taunted him, and he gained respect of others for standing his ground.
 
That altercation was a changing point in KwanJangNim Spillmann's life. Martial arts gave him the confidence and strength to defend himself and fight back. That night he swore nobody would ever disrespect him or bully others again. This set him on his pathway to becoming a martial art teacher and a fighter for what is right. He decided to dedicate his life to teaching others how to overcome the past, inner pain and life's obstacles. At times, people still judge him, but with his years of martial arts training and his christian upbringing he has learned to forgive unkind people. 
 
He has overcome many hardships and negativity in his life and became a master of building confidence, life self defense, goal setting and changing negativity to positive energy. He also believes in teaching others to talk away, walk away and if needed, stand your ground and win. In the end, KwanJangNim Spillmann took negativity  and turned it into strength, perseverance and determination. He believes martial arts training is for everyone of all ages, sizes or race and is a must for anyone who wants to overcome the past, change their lives, get healthier, build a stronger mind and give them a winning edge in life.

Formation of Schools - Struggles of health

At a young age, KwanJangnim Spillmann had to overcome educational struggles, serious health issues and serious allergies.  Due to his allergies and fluctuating weight issues, he was put on many weight lose programs at a very young age including weight watchers, strict organic diets and many other programs just to stabilize his health and prevent further hives and allergies. He was taken to Gainesville, Florida at the age of 10 where he spent time at Shands Childrens Hospital because of endocrine issues. Even with all these struggles he kept pushing forward and maintained his positive attitude.
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Everything in his life was looking great:  a nice company house, a company car and a great job. In 1988 while training for a fight and weightlifting, KwanJangNim  Spillmann fell very ill and almost died. He was put on 60 day quarantine and lost almost everything as the quarantine caused him to drop college classes and lose all his income. He then found out he had liver damage caused from taking a supplement that ended up being pulled from the market several months later. To this day because of his child hood sickness and with his liver damage, he has experienced struggles in his life and constant weight problems.

As always thinking positive he pushed forward and things eventually became better.  He went back to teaching, training, attending college and doing what he loves the most: martial arts. In November of 1992, he decided to move to California to be closer to his ex-wife's family. So he took a job at a local academy in sales and teaching. The Master he worked with was a great person and they worked together as a team. The job was great for several months until the academy owner replaced the Master with a relative. The new academy Master had drinking issues, arrived to work drunk and was abusive towards the students.  He vented his concerns to the owner and was shocked when he was told to ignore the unprofessional behavior and just focus on growing the school. So after just 90 days of working for that company, he gave written notice to the owner explaining all his serious concerns and then quit. 
 
Needing a job, he started interviewing with several companies and was offered a job teaching USSD Karate. The school was one block away from the other owner.  Out of respect for the actual owner, instead of taking a job with a local competitor,  KwanJangNim Spillmann decided to open his first "Karate" academy 8 miles away in the small town of Aliso Viejo, CA.  KwanJangNim  Spillmann with his Grandmaster’s blessing, opened his first martial arts school in February 1993. KwanJangNim Spillmann sold his motorcycle and satellite dish to raise the funds to open his academy and negotiated 2 months free rent. He did not have money for a car or to rent an apartment, so he sent his wife to live with her mother 7 hours away in Turlock, California.  He had no money and knew he only had 4 months to make it or fail; failure was not an option.
 
KwanJangNim Spillmann slept in the school and bathed in the sink for almost six months.  He taught all classes and executed all promotions and sales. In 1993, there was nothing in Aliso Viejo but a sandwich shop and a gas station. KwanJangNim Spillmann knew if he worked hard and pushed forward that he would attain his goals. So he walked miles, did his own promotions on foot and did his own demonstrations. His first five students were a 4-year-old named Jennifer,  a 3-year-old named Bobby and three adults; Scott, Randy and Chuck. Many of those students still train and rank with GM Spillmann and they can be found on his academy Facebook. In a small town of 6000 people, he eventually built his academy to over 300 students and started demonstration and promotion teams.
 
In 1993-94 while running his academy in Aliso Viejo, Kwanjangnim Spillmann met his Jiu-Jitsu brother Rocian Gracie, Jr., rented him some space and trained with him for many years. On December 12th, 2000, Spillmann received his Black Belt in Rocian Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Master Gracie then returned to open RGBJJ academies in Brazil and build a large, worldwide organization. Master Gracie's and Spillmann's friendship has grown over the years. Rocian Gracie and his wife Roberta honored KwanJangNim Spillmann by naming their son after him, "Conrado" Gracie.
 
In 1993, KwanJangNim Spillmann tested for his 5TH Dan Black Belt in TaeKwonDo and received his certification from his Grandmaster.  In 1999 while in Korea, he completed "The World TaeKwonDo Academy Kukkiwon" Training Course under Grandmaster Lee and then received his 6th Dan Black Belt from his Grandmaster.  He has continued advancing over the years achieving an 8th Dan Black Belt in TaeKwonDo, 7th Dan in HapkiDo, 4th Dan in Karate and Black Belt under Rocian Gracie Jr.  He continues ranking in other martial art styles (Wing Chun - Kung Fu - MT) and top organizations, all in order to bring his students the best possible training. He worked for over 25 years to build christian outreaches overseas, large organizations and a network of professional martial art schools offering top martial arts training. When he has time, he continues to visit Korea, Brazil and teach self defense and business seminars in other countries and within the USA.
 
KwanJangNim Spillmann has had the golden opportunity for the past 46 years to train with and working with many famous boxers, fighters, martial art masters and grandmasters. He has trained in Korea and spent a couple of weeks studying with monks and grandmasters on his many travels to Korea. Until this day, KwanJangNim Spillmann is still working with many of his original Grandmasters and martial art friends to further the martial arts in a positive way.
Grandmaster Y. K. Kim
Grandmaster S. J. Kim
Grandmaster C. W. Lee
Grandmaster K.S. Myung
Grandmaster J. M. Park
Grandmaster K. H. Lee 
Grandmaster (Ajaran) Nelson Siyavong
Grandmaster Don Wilson
Grandmaster M. Lind
Grandmaster Prof Bill Dewart
Master Rocian Gracie, Jr.
Master Richard Mane 
Sifu William Vardeman

Martial Arts is for Everyone

Even with the struggles in his life,  KwanJangNim Spillmann has always tried to stay positive.  He learned to turn the negatives into positives, and he truly understands the emotions behind being bullied as a child.  Until this day, he has never forgotten, but has gained tremendous knowledge and spiritual strength from his past hardships.  He understands what it is to be a child born with struggles  and working to overcoming life’s ongoing obstacles.
 
In today’s world with all the medications and fake food it has even become a greater challenge for most people, and our politicians only seems to care about companies that push medicines, soy fillers, GMO's and preservatives which harm us. His advice is, “Have fun, exercise and eat natural foods.  Weight is secondary and even skinny people die of strokes, cancer and heart attacks.”  He says sedentary people of all sizes risk dying earlier. So be active, have fun and love who you are. 
 
Just get up and keep moving, walk, play and set new goals. Achieving a Black belt is a great start to a stronger positive life. He articulates that at his academy, we all focus on positive energy, self defense and self health.  All sizes and ages are welcome and nobody judges.  We are all here to improve our lives.  He says he learned a long time ago to ignore the ignorant.  You cannot fix stupid.  Just because you are a big, does not make you stupid or lazy, no more than if you are skinny makes you a genius and/ or a hard worker.  He knows plenty of lazy, unintelligent people of all sizes. Either way, it does not give anyone the right to belittle others. In fact many people at times have to work much harder to achieve in a world of indifferent negative people.  Set big goals in life, work hard and never give up on your dreams. Our doors are open to everyone you are our family. 
 
GM Spillmann is a registered ASEP strength and conditioning coach.

 "Happiness starts within our hearts and that positive energy spreads to others, become a voice of love not hatred" GMS