A local karate school has been recognized for excellence from more than 400 studios in a worldwide karate organization. The World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA), an international organization with more than 100,000 members, recently announced that M.A.S Tang Soo Do locations at the Mission Bay Montessori Academy and UCSD have been selected as “Studio of the Month” for May. The M.A.S studio is lead by Miguel A. Soto, a fourth degree black belt and will be promoted to fourth Dan Master in October. Soto teaches Tang Soo Do, a traditional form of Korean karate that can be traced back 2000 years. He began his own training at the age of 7 and excelled to become the regional grand champion in his division four times. He now teaches his own 7-year-old son who you can often find in M.A.S. Classes.
Soto carries on lessons learned from local Tang Soo Do Masters Larry Dercole, Ken Purnell, Kelly Goodwin, and Patrick Marsch. His own studio started small – taking over classes of young children taught at the Mission Bay Montessori Academy in 2010. He graduated to include UCSD recreation students last year. The UCSD recreation courses are open to anyone over the age of 15 and have become very popular to college students and community members. Soto plans to expand offerings to include a separate studio in the beach community by the end of the year. For more information, visit www.MASTangSooDo.com.