Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas DuScheid.
Hi Thomas, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey in Tang Soo Do began on January 17, 1995, when I was a kid growing up in suburban Pittsburgh. At the time, the Power Rangers and Batman had me convinced I needed to become a karate kid, so my parents signed me up. What started as childhood excitement turned into a lifelong passion.
I’ve been training under the same instructor, Master Joe Bruno, and our Federation’s leader, Grandmaster C.S. Kim, for nearly my entire life. Grandmaster Kim is well known in the martial arts community—he’s been featured in Black Belt Magazine and even helped train Chuck Norris early in his career. They are not only remarkable martial artists but also incredible role models.
Tang Soo Do has helped me immensely: confidence, eye-hand coordination, discipline, resilience, friendships, and a sense of purpose. It has kept me grounded and given me a community to belong to across every stage of my life.
When I was preparing to attend Virginia Tech, Master Bruno encouraged me to start a karate club there. It gave me a chance to earn money, gain leadership experience, and build my resume since I planned to major in management and marketing. The club flourished and continued long after I graduated—almost 15 years. One of my former students, now Master Bill Reilly, runs a Tang Soo Do program in Blacksburg that traces back to that original club.
In 2015, I moved to Raleigh for a job. I continued training, but I missed teaching. After starting small programs through the Cary community centers, and with encouragement from fellow instructors in my Federation, I decided to open my own school. Triangle Karate opened in August 2019—about six months before the world shut down for COVID.
Despite the timing, we pushed through. We ran online classes, outdoor training, and eventually small indoor sessions as restrictions eased. The community stuck with us, and we actually grew throughout that period.
Today, Triangle Karate is thriving. Looking back, it’s been a journey that started with Power Rangers and turned into a lifelong commitment to teaching, leadership, and helping people grow through martial arts.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road — but I’m not sure entrepreneurship ever is. Even early in my martial arts journey, I wasn’t naturally talented. I struggled with confidence, coordination, and focus. I was a terrible student, and Master Bruno yelled at me all the time (rightfully so!). Ironically, those challenges ended up shaping how I lead today, because I know exactly what it feels like to start from zero.
But the biggest challenge of my professional life came during COVID. Running a martial arts school is built around in-person training, community, and human connection — and overnight, people were afraid to leave their homes. We had to reinvent everything: online classes, outdoor classes, small-group training… anything to keep people moving and connected.
What made it especially difficult — and I think it’s important to be honest about this — was the lack of effective support for small businesses by our state’s political leaders during that time. I don’t bring politics into my karate school, but I also watched firsthand as many local businesses closed their doors forever. The policies and mandates impacted small businesses far more harshly than large corporations. It created the largest redistribution of wealth in my lifetime — from small, community-based entrepreneurs to big businesses that had the resources to weather the storm.
Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. They’re the ones who hire local teenagers, sponsor school fundraisers, and keep money circulating locally. When they collapse, neighborhoods collapse. Watching how little support was available during COVID made me realize how urgently we need to rethink how small businesses are treated during crises and in general.
That period forced me to become incredibly adaptable — teaching outdoors in the heat, running Zoom classes from my living room, managing constantly changing rules. But it also deepened my commitment to advocating for small businesses. I have tremendous respect for every owner who fought to survive that period.
We made it through, and in many ways became stronger, but it was far from a smooth road. It was a lesson in resilience, leadership, and the importance of standing up for the small businesses that hold our communities together. I also consider myself so lucky to have survived with the amazing support of my students and their families who stuck with me during the most challenging times.
As you know, we’re big fans of Triangle Karate. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Triangle Karate is a community-focused Tang Soo Do school in Apex that specializes in helping students build confidence, discipline, and real-world life skills through traditional Korean martial arts. While we teach kicks, blocks, and self-defense, what we’re really known for is developing strong character—helping students become confident, respectful, resilient people inside and outside the dojang.
Our specialty is traditional Tang Soo Do taught the right way: high-quality instruction, strong technique, and an encouraging atmosphere where every student feels seen and supported. What sets us apart is the combination of authenticity, personalized attention, and a culture rooted deeply in the values I learned from my instructors—Master Joe Bruno and Grandmaster C.S. Kim—who have shaped my training since 1995.
A major part of our school’s identity comes from being part of the International Tang Soo Do Federation (ITF). The Federation provides structure, credibility, and a lineage of excellence from Grandmaster C.S. Kim. They hold extremely high standards for technique, conduct, and instructor training, which ensures that every student at Triangle Karate receives authentic and consistent instruction. For example, they send a Technical Advisory Committee member to each of our best tests to judge and ensure high standards. Beyond the technical side, the Federation offers a tremendous community—schools across the country and the world that support one another, share knowledge, and uphold the same core values. This level of connection and accountability sets us apart from many independent martial arts schools.
We are especially proud of how welcoming our school is. Kids, teens, and adults train together like a community. Parents often comment that Triangle Karate feels different from other programs—they notice how intentionally we teach confidence, focus, and respect, and how those lessons show up at home, in school, and at work.
Another defining part of our brand is our commitment to quality over speed. We don’t rush students through belts; we help them truly earn them. That sense of achievement builds genuine self-esteem, not the temporary kind.
Today, we offer traditional Tang Soo Do classes for children, teens, and adults, along with community programs, leadership development, and special events throughout the year. But more than anything, I want readers to know that Triangle Karate is not just a place to practice martial arts—it’s a place to grow, to build confidence, and to join a community grounded in tradition, excellence, and purpose.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The quality that has contributed most to my success is determination. I’m someone who stays focused on a goal and keeps moving toward it, even when the path gets difficult or unpredictable. Although I’m a proud Virginia Tech alumnus, I often think of Jimmy V’s famous quote from NC State because it captures my mindset perfectly: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://trianglekarate.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trianglekarate/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trianglekarate
