Mr. Michael Martyn, 8th Dan

Head Instructor

Mr. Martyn is the Owner and Head Instructor of Pacific Rim Martial Aarts Academy.  He is also the Founder and President of Zen Ei Kan International Association.

Mr. Martyn began his martial arts training in 1981 and joined Pacific Rim Martial Arts Academy in 1982.  Since 1993, Mr. Martyn has traveled extensively throughout the North America and Asia and trained with numerous martial arts experts.  Mr. Martyn currently holds the following black belt ranks: 8th Dan Ju Sool Kwan Hapkido, 7th Dan Chung Do Kwan TaeKwonDo, 5th Dan Judo, 4th Dan Nihon Jujutsu, 3rd Dan Aikido, and 3rd Dan Ryushin Shouchi Iaido. He is Soke of Ju Sool Kwan Hapkido, Shihandai to Tadayuki Satoh, Shihan for the All Japan Aikido Federation and Jun-Shidoin to Kunikazu Yahagi, Soke of Ryushin Shouchi Ryu.

Mr. Martyn has held a number of senior level positions in international martial arts organizations.  From 1994 to 2014, Mr. Martyn served in a variety of roles for the World Oriental Martial Arts Federation, including Director of the Judo and Jujutsu Divisions and most recently as Vice-President of North America. During his time with WOMAF, Mr. Martyn received 3 Distinguished Service Awards, an Instructor of the Year Award, and a Master Instructor Appointment in 2011.  From 2012 to 2021, Mr. Martyn served the Kokusai Budoin (International Martial Arts Federation) as a Regional Director and Branch Director for the Americas Division.

In 2017, Pacific Rim was chosen as the first International Training Center for USA Judo, and Mr. Martyn was named Director of the program.  In 2019, he was appointed as Vice President of Operations for Renaissance Yawara, an international association dedicated to the practice and preservation of the principles of Jigoro Kano as originally taught and the pedagogy of Kenji Tomiki.

In 2021, Sang Cook Kim appointed Mr. Martyn as his full successor and inheritor of Ju Sool Kwan Hapkido, with ultimate authority regarding promotions, curriculum, and doctrine.

In his professional practice, Mr. Martyn is the Founder of SISU Consulting Group (www.sisucg.com), an award winning international consultancy supporting organizations throughout North America, Central America, and Europe. Prior to founding SISU, Mr. Martyn worked in the private equity arena, successfully turning around companies in both manufacturing and service industries. This approach, described in his book Own the Gap (www.ownthegap.com) has been used by more than 500 organizations since it publication in 2012 and won the Shingo Prize for Research and Professional Publication.

In addition to his work with clients, Mr. Martyn is a Senior Curriculum Advisor and Director Emeritus for the Shingo Institute (www.shingo.org).  In 2015, Mr. Martyn was also inducted as a Lifetime Member of the Shingo Academy.  The Shingo Institute conducts global research and education on management system best practices, and its model for operational excellence has developed into the world standard for helping organizations develop world-class continuous improvement cultures. The institute also recognizes organizations through the administration of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. To date, SISU has assisted 47 organizations in achieving Shingo Prize recognition, more than any other consultancy in the world.