In the early 2000s, Grandmaster Byrne began discussing the possibility of a loosely-knit confederation between various Tang Soo Do schools, including those of Grandmaster Charles Ferraro, Master Peter Oien and Grandmaster Dominic Giacobbe, as well as his own, to provide mutual support for the organizations and the art of Tang Soo Do. At the same time, his world-wide reputation was gathering interest from schools overseas who desired to associate themselves with Grandmaster Byrne and the kind of support that the ATA provided to Tang Soo Do schools, instructors and practitioners in the United States.

In the process of working with several schools in Europe, however, Grandmaster Byrne perceived an understandable hesitancy on the part of some to subject themselves to an American organization. Because of that, the United Tang Soo Do Congress was born, under the leadership of Grandmaster Byrne, to provide the same services and support of Tang Soo Do and Tang Soo Do practitioners outside of the United States as the ATA provides in the United States.

The first official United Tang Soo Do Congress took place in Wiesbaden, Germany, in May of 2006, as Grandmaster Byrne and three other members of the ATA traveled to Europe for an international seminar. The seminar was hosted by Grandmaster Benedetto Stumpf, President of German Tang Soo Do, and executive director of the newly-official UTC. The first UTC promotion took place at this event, as Master Theo Ketelaar of Holland Tang Soo Do was promoted to 4th Dan by Grandmaster Byrne.

Grandmaster Richard Byrne - 9th Dan - is the President and Founder of THE AMERICAN TANG SOO DO ASSOCIATION and Byrne's Tang Soo Do Karate Studios. He began his illustrious career in 1969 while stationed in the military in Korea. His training began with the study of Tang Soo Do at Osan Air Force Base. Not only is he a Master of the style Tang Soo Do, but also holds black belts in Shotokan and Tae Kwon Do.

Grandmaster Byrne no longer competes professionally but he was a world shoot fighting champion and competed regularly in Japan. He has gained world-wide recognition as an expert in board breaking. As such, he holds three world records, including 10 boards with a knife hand chop, 8 boards with an instep round kick, and 15 boards with an elbow strike. Master Byrne has shared his expertise with an international audience through his book The Complete Art of Breaking and his video tape The Basics of Breaking, both of which provide a comprehensive learning aid to their users.

As of 2006, Grandmaster Byrne has promoted well over 1000 students to the rank of Cho-Dan (Black Belt). Many of these students have gone on to spread the art of Tang Soo Do through teaching and have also achieved the level of Master.

Grandmaster Byrne has captured public acclaim by extending his career into many varied areas. He has starred in several action movies including When Death Comes Quickly which also features Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Professor Toru Tanaka and in Distant Justice with George Kennedy and David Carridine. He has also appeared on local and national television including such shows as Spenser For Hire and Against the Law. He has also written for every major martial arts magazine in the country as well as appearing on the cover of the premiere issue of Traditional Tang Soo Do Illustrated.

Grandmaster Byrne's multi-faceted martial arts background has established him as one of the most respected men in his field today and one of the major leaders of Tang Soo Do in the country. In 2008, Grandmaster Byrne received his 9th Dan from Grandmaster Benedetto Stumpf and the German Tang Soo Do Federation.

Recently promoted to 7th degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, Master Mitchell is Vice President of the ATA and one of the highest ranking women in Tang Soo Do in the country!

She began training in 1978 under Grandmaster Richard Byrne. Since then she has promoted over 30 students to Black belt, 5 of whom have achieved the rank of Master. She has earned more trophies and awards (at last count over 100!) than any other student, male or female, in the 30 year history of the ATA.

She is a former national women's sparring champion and the current chairperson for the ATA Technical Advisory Committee. In 1990 she was the first inductee to the ATA Black Belt Hall of Fame. In 1996, she was selected as Traditional Tang Soo Do Illustrated's Martial Artist of the Year.

10th Dan Grandmaster Benedetto Stumpf is the Founder and President of the German Tang Soo Do Federation. He is also the newly appointed Executive Director of the United Tang Soo Do Congress. He was a Tang Soo Do pioneer, basically introducing TSD into Germany, where he founded the German TSD Federation in 1987.

Grandmaster Stumpf is a life-long martial artist, having been introduced to "Budosport" by his grandfather at age 4. Over the years, he has trained in many different arts and styles, Japanese, Korean, Okinawan and Chinese. In addition to his Black Belt (8th Dan) in Tang Soo Do, he is a 10th Dan in Kempo Jiu Jitsu, a 9th Dan in Okinawan Karate Do and an 8th Dan in Hapkido as well as a Master's Belt in Tae Kwan Do.

Grandmaster Stumpf, in addition to his work with the German Tang Soo Do Federation and the United Tang Soo Do Congress, is a much sought after member of the Martial Arts community. He is currently the President of the World Nibuikai Budo Federation, and the President of the Euro-Independent Federation of Russian Kempo.