Master Garth A. Cooley
Founder and Director of Indy Cup Taekwondo Championships

Master Garth Cooley, a 6th Dan Kukkiwon Certified Black Belt, has been practicing Taekwondo since 1981 under the direction of Grandmaster Chul Koo Yoon – Founder of Korea Taekwondo Academy (KTA).  He is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis where he majored in Business Administration and double minored in Marketing & Economics/Finance.  He has been teaching Taekwondo full time since 1995 and part time since 1985.  Master Cooley has instructed and promoted over 500 KTA students to the Black Belt level.

Since 1996, Master Cooley, along with the assistance of several other senior Black Belts and Instructors of KTA, has hosted the Indy Cup Taekwondo Championships.  His goal is to provide a quality tournament that caters to both   experienced Black Belt competitors, as well as developing color belts that have higher goals in mind.  Schools from fifteen states and Canada have attended Indy Cup over the years.  Each year, Master Cooley and staff strive to provide a tournament with the most current rules with the goal of preparing athletes for National and International competition; giving them the best experience possible.

Master Cooley successfully competed and represented Indiana and the United States since the mid-1980s.  His accomplishments include:  Eight - time Indiana State Champion (1986 - 1993), Two - time U.S. National Champion (1989 & 1993), Three – time US National Team Member & Team Captain (1989,93-94), Two - time U.S. Olympic Festival Champion (1990 & 1991), Two - Time National Collegiate Silver Medalist (1989 & 1990), National Collegiate Taekwondo Team Captain (1990 - 1991).  Master Cooley also qualified and competed at both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Team Trials. 

In 1993, Master Cooley was awarded the United States Male Athlete of the Year for Taekwondo by the United States Olympic Committee.

Internationally, Master Cooley won Bronze medals for the United States in the following championships recognized by WTF:  1989 World Games (Karlsruhe, Germany), 1994 Pan American Taekwondo Championships (Heredia, Costa Rica), 1994 Goodwill Games (St. Petersburg, Russia), & 1994 IOC Centenary Seoul International Taekwondo Championships (Seoul, Korea). 

Additionally, he represented the United States at the 1990 World Collegiate Taekwondo Championships (Santander, Spain), 1993 World Taekwondo Championships (New York, USA), & 1995 Pan American Games (Mar del Plata, Argentina).

Since retiring from sparring competition in 1995, Master Cooley has focused his energy on his do-jang and students, as well as the overall development of Taekwondo as a martial art and sport in his community.  He served as the Indiana State Taekwondo Association President of USTU (now USAT) from 2000-2003 where he and his dedicated administration significantly increased membership and participation in Indiana.  Indiana was recognized with awards by USTU including:  Best Dressed State at the Junior Olympics (2000) and the Presidents Award in both 2001 & 2002.  Master Cooley has also written articles both as an athlete and as State President that have been published in the USA Taekwondo Journal.

In 1998, Master Cooley was awarded Instructor of the Year by USA Taekwondo for his leadership, support and development of Taekwondo.

Master Cooley participated in the 43rd WTF International Referee Certification Seminar in 2002 in Quito, Ecuador.  He successfully passed all the requirements becoming certified as an International Referee (IR-3).  He has taken the knowledge acquired from this and other educational opportunities and passed it on to his students and other members of the Taekwondo community with the continual goal of bringing the art and sport of Taekwondo to a higher level in his region.

Master Cooley continues to coach and develop athletes and has produced countless state and regional champions over the past decade.  Additionally, his students have won National Collegiate Championships and medaled at U.S. Nationals, Junior Olympics and the U.S. Open.  Master Cooley's goal is to see his students excel and become more successful than him both competitively and in life.   

Due to his strong belief in the importance and value of Poomse practice and competition, Master Cooley entered the U.S. National Poomse Team Trials in 2006 and was successful in making the 1st U.S. National Poomse Team which competed at the 1st World Poomse Championships in Seoul, Korea in September of 2006.  Although he did not medal, Master Cooley was one of two United States team members to advance to the final selection round of this historical event.

Master Cooley competing at the 1st World Poomse Championships (Seoul, Korea -  September 5, 2006)

Currently, Master Cooley is one of two individuals in the United States who holds the distinction of having represented our country in both Poomse (forms) and Kyoroogi (sparring) at an international level.

Master Cooley and his wife, Julie married in 1994.  They are blessed with two beautiful children, Grant and Jillian.  He considers family and faith his first priority and cherishes the time spent with his wife and children each day.