Headmaster Michael T. Dealy
Mike Dealy started practicing martial arts as a child and became seriously involved in regular training in the 1960’s and has been in regular training ever since. His experience was wide range initially. Once focused on Chung Do Kwon Tae Kwon Do, he has stayed dedicated to that medium since. He has taught Tae Kwon Do at such institutions of learning as West Point Military Academy, Princeton University, Brown University, Providence University, Fordham University, CW Post, Cooper Union, St John’s University, and many other schools including elementary and secondary schools.
He is the author of Martial Arts Therapy, a book about the philosophical underpinnings of the martial arts which conveys a strong message about the origins and purpose of the life of a martial artist. In competition, he was a first place champion in many tournaments throughout the country including two tournaments at Madison Square Garden in the 1970’s and 1980’s. He has been dedicated to the application to the martial arts mentality of self-discipline, control and humility and the martial arts belief that challenges are there to help us grow.
In answering such challenges he has accomplished interesting feats. With his martial arts training, he has completed 27 New York City Marathons. Through his Tae Kwon Do in the Mountains programs, he has lead courageous groups of martial artists to the north country of New York State, into the Catskills and Adirondacks, to experience the power of nature and practice in a variety of challenging settings like mountainous terrain, during rainstorms, slippery hills, and during blizzards. He has used these experiences to train more than 1000 black belts to devote their energies to helping those less privileged than themselves. Mike has been instrumental in setting up and teaching many community based martial arts programs helping inner city children and families throughout the years. As he so often says “One of the true strengths of a martial artist is that he has the courage to be a servant to those in need.” One of his recent exploits is rather amazing. He went on an expedition to Antarctica, the coldest, windiest continent on earth. There, he walked out on a glacier just in uniform in frigid temperatures and freezing wind and demonstrated his form on camera.
He is presently a 9th degree black belt and Headmaster of the World Martial Arts Association with 100’s of schools in the United States. His organization has spread to schools in such places as Bagdad, Iraq, Afghanistan and Budapest, Hungary where his loyal instructors spread the good will of the true martial arts in order to bring people together and make the world a better place. He has also felt that the martial artist should educate himself in everything possible. So with all these accomplishments he has gone on to earn a Bachelor’s of the Arts degree in English Literature from Fordham University, a Masters in Semi-Comparative Literature at Fordham University, a Masters of Science from Pace University, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from Fordham University. He is presently an adjunct professor of psychology and literature at several universities in the metropolitan area. He is also a volunteer emergency medical technician and an expert in crisis intervention consulting with a variety of institutions. He never hesitates to say that he brings his martial arts acumen to all these endeavors. He has been called by some a “Renaissance man.”