Meet Our Instructor
Sahbumnim Ed Highland, 5th Dan
In 1967, SBN Ed Highland’s Taekwon-Do journey started in the US Army while he was stationed in Korea. He and a few other servicemen practiced Taekwon-Do (TKD) seven days a week. Before Ed’s tour ended, he trained for 18 months and attained his senior red belt.After serving in the Army, Ed settled into his career as a backroom operations manager for several banks and financial institutions. With his operational background, Ed secured a position in New York City as a lending service operator, where he helped lending servicing companies make their operations more efficient. After 47 years of working for a number of organizations, Ed retired in 2012.
At the age of 65, Ed restarted his TKD training as a white belt at The Villages Taekwon-Do dojang. In March 2023, SBN Ed earned his fifth Dan black belt and the Sahbumnim designation – which means master-level teacher. He’s been an instructor for the black belt students since 2015.
In June of 2023, SBN Ed turned 76 and is in great physical shape. He says that TKD training has many benefits to keep a person healthy and fit. He feels his strong mind and body are because of TKD. Also, TKD has taught him self-defense and situational awareness – both very helpful attributes in today’s world.
SBN Ed’s advice for a Villager who is thinking about pursuing Taekwon-Do is to start. It doesn’t matter how old you are or if you are a man or a woman. However, you must have the desire to improve your mental and physical abilities as best as you can. What matters is that you continue attending class with the intent of making small improvements. It doesn’t matter how long it takes because each time you attend class, the better you’ll feel.
Teaching TKD students is very satisfying for SBN Ed. He likes teaching and has a natural ability to help students improve their technique and perform their forms/patterns. “I can’t make people practice, but I can inspire them and guide them on their path to improvement.” Seeing people progress and being promoted to a higher level is an honor for SBN Ed.
Ed and his wife have been living full-time in The Villages since 2010. They have two children and five grandchildren. One of his granddaughters has attained a junior black belt in TKD in San Antonio, Texas, after attending a summer class here in The Villages.
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