Jeff Smith at the Jhoon Rhee Institute, 1970–1985

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From 1970 to 1985 Grand Master Jeff Smith was one of the senior executives of the Jhoon Rhee Institute in the Washington, D.C., area. He rose from instructor to vice president, trained the organization’s instructors and managers, and ran the business systems that Nick Cokinos later spread nationally through the Educational Funding Company.^1,2,3 The Washington Post identified him as “vice president of the Jhoon Rhee Institute” in 1982.²

What was Jeff Smith’s role at the Jhoon Rhee Institute?

Smith moved from Texas to Washington in 1970 at Jhoon Rhee’s invitation and finished his business degree there.^1,4 MAIA’s profile, based on an interview with Smith, gives his progression: instructor, program director, office manager, head instructor (teaching the other instructors), general manager (teaching the other school managers) and vice president.¹ Who’s Who and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery list him as Senior Vice President from 1970 to 1985.^5,6 Smith recalls four schools when he arrived and twelve over the next three years.⁴ Locations named in the record include Annandale, Alexandria, Falls Church and Woodbridge in Virginia and Hyattsville and Kensington in Maryland.^7,8

Which systems did Jeff Smith introduce?

MAIA’s interview-based profile credits Smith with these operating practices at the Institute:¹

Continued testing between degrees. A structured path from 1st to 2nd Degree, with testing continuing after the first black belt. Smith tried it at the school he managed, got “30 upgrades in the first month,” and the system was rolled out to Rhee’s other schools.
A Masters Club above the Black Belt Club, a premium membership tier for senior students.
Retention tracking: attendance and retention cards, call lists and callbacks, with a student counted as a potential dropout after one week’s absence. The Institute reported a 90 percent retention ratio.
Statistics sheets and manager competition: weekly numbers, a competition among managers and homework for staff.
An academic requirement for junior black belts: “Ninety-five percent of our students earned a patch for the Academic Team,” Smith said.
An instructor pipeline: Smith hired more than 25 instructors from Rhee clubs around the country, many of whom went on to open schools of their own.

How did Jeff Smith develop managers?

Martial Arts Wealth Mastery describes a manager-development method from the Rhee years: send the manager to the worst school, turn it into the number-one school, use it as the staff-training site, then move the manager to the next weak location.⁹ Mark Glazier’s career follows the pattern: Smith hired him as a Jhoon Rhee Institute manager and moved him through Annandale, Alexandria, Hyattsville and Kensington, “which allowed [him] to train with many of Smith’s top instructors and Black Belts and become involved in the business.”⁷

Jeff Smith and Nick Cokinos

Smith’s own account, quoted by Martial Arts Professional: “Nick Cokinos… helped Grandmaster Rhee initiate the [business] systems.” Rhee’s brother-in-law, K.K. Chung, handled business, marketing and accounting.^3,1 Martial Arts Professional puts it this way: “Jhoon Rhee supplied the vision; Cokinos supplied the business systems; Jeff Smith helped develop and implement them.”¹⁰

From executive to owner

Rhee gave Smith company stock as a retention incentive, and in about 1982 Smith exchanged it for ownership of two of Rhee’s schools, continuing to train staff for the rest of the organization.^1,11 That became World Champion Jeff Smith Karate, founded in 1981.¹² The arrangement is an early example of a founder turning a key executive into an owner-operator instead of losing him to a competitor.

In The Washington Post

In May 1982 the Post described a Jhoon Rhee “martial arts ballet” performance attended by “her husband, Jeff, vice president of the Jhoon Rhee Institute and a beaming Jhoon Rhee himself.”² In June 1986 it reported congressmen receiving black belts from Rhee alongside “former national champs Jeff Smith and Michael Coles.”¹³

Frequently asked questions

What was Jeff Smith’s title at the Jhoon Rhee Institute?

He rose from instructor to vice president; The Washington Post called him “vice president of the Jhoon Rhee Institute” in 1982, and Who’s Who lists him as Senior Vice President, 1970–1985.^2,5

What business systems did Jeff Smith run at the Jhoon Rhee Institute?

Continued degree testing after black belt, a Masters Club tier, attendance-card retention tracking with a one-week absence rule, weekly statistics with manager competition, and an instructor pipeline from Rhee clubs nationwide.¹

How many schools did the Jhoon Rhee Institute have?

Smith recalls four schools when he arrived in 1970 and twelve over the next three years.⁴

Work with Grand Master Jeff Smith

School owners can book a free Growth Diagnostic: 30 minutes with Grand Master Jeff Smith and 30 minutes with Grand Master Stephen Oliver. See how it works.