Robert N. McLain

Robert McLain began his martial arts training in the 1970s under the guidance of his father, Paul McLain. Paul McLain studied during his active duty years in the US Air Force (1964-1968) and under Master Kim Pyung-Soo in Houston, Texas in the late 1960s, before passing on some of his knowledge to his son. Later, Robert became a direct student of Grandmaster Kim Pyung-Soo. Robert had a fascination with film as a youth and often made small films with his father's Super 8mm film cameras. This later grew into video projects when his family bought a video camera. In 1994, Robert re-located from Houston to Arlington, Texas to study at UT-Arlington, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. During this time, with permission from Grandmaster Kim Pyung-Soo, Robert opened a branch of The International Chayon-Ryu Martial Arts Association in Arlington, Texas. Robert was assistant instructor of the Arlington school from 1994 to 1996. He became the chief instructor from 1996 - 2020. The Arlington school closed in 2020 due to the Covid outbreak. A study group from the original school is still active as of 2023. As of 2021, Robert resides in Okinawa, Japan with his family where he continues to practice daily and act as representative of The International Chayon-Ryu Martial Arts Association. He is ranked as 7th degree black belt and is contracted to teach self-defense for the US Army at Torii Station on Okinawa. He remains a correspondent to Black Belt Magazine and Totally Taekwondo Magazine.