With the blessing of his mentor and instructor Grandmaster Dr. Clifford Thomas, Adrian H. Seemangal is carrying on the legacy of We Lead By Example, Inc./Tae Kwon Do Ramblers Self-Defense Systems as the President, CEO, and Head Instructor of the nonprofit. Dr. Thomas considered the traditions of tae kwon do--as taught to him by his instructor Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, considered the father of tae kwon do in the United States--to be sacred. However, he always kept an open mind and expanded his knowledge whenever possible through studying and incorporating different martial arts into his system. As Dr. Thomas did before him, Mr. Seemangal will uphold the traditions of tae kwon do while introducing new concepts and skill sets from other martial arts.
In 2006, at the age of five, Mr. Seemangal began studying tae kwon do under Dr. Thomas. He had been eager to start learning this Korean martial art after watching a news segment with his mother and recalls he was enthralled after the first day of rolling and bombarding instructors with questions. Over the years, this intense interest developed into a focused, lifelong commitment to martial arts. On September 22, 2018, he earned his black belt. After his test, the panel of judges felt no need to deliberate on whether he passed, and they gave their decision moments after the test had concluded.
He is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Data Science. During his fall and spring semesters, he is an undergraduate research assistant in the Bill Fagan Lab at the University of Maryland. During the summer he pursues internships relevant to his studies. He has a passion for empowering people of all ages through martial arts, as well as promoting academic excellence at all grade levels. He has interests in tae kwon do, muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, and boxing. His primary martial arts research areas include cross-style competencies and discovering unifying mechanical/tactical principles across all martial arts disciplines.
Accomplishments
2021
- Awarded the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's RGi Scholarship for Geospatial and Engineering. Only one undergraduate student is awarded this scholarship per academic year.
- Successful amateur Full Rules Muay Thai debut at the WKA US Nationals Tournament, securing two wins in his weight class.
