The Early Years
Mr. Santos Rivas hails from the Central American country of El Salvador. He spent his formative youth as a student in Boston, USA. In 1994, he began his Taekwondo training at the Jae Hun Kim Taekwondo Institute, never expecting that the teachings he received from Grandmaster Kim would fundamentally and completely change his life.
Under Grandmaster Kim’s wing, Mr. Rivas proved to be a talented and dedicated student, spending any free time when he was not working and studying to train at the Taekwondo school. Within a few years, he earned his 1st Dan black belt under Grandmaster Kim and soon started teaching at the school. He was also already an accomplished competitor, having won many major US national- and state-level competitions, such as the US Cup and Massachusetts and New York State Championships.
Since founding the JH Kim Taekwondo Singapore Network in 2003, Mr. Rivas’ passion for teaching Taekwondo has grown stronger day by day. In fact, he is the only one among the handful of 5th Dan masters under Jae Hun Kim who has opened more than 20 schools. His classes have also been renowned for their relevance, innovation and sound technical principles.