The Masters Behind Blackhawk TaeKwonDo.
At Blackhawk TaeKwonDo, students train directly with Grandmaster Anthony Iannone and Master Cristina Iannone, the owners who lead the school, shape the curriculum and personally teach the classes.
That consistency is one of the biggest differences at Blackhawk. Students are not passed from one rotating instructor to another. The people responsible for the standards of the school are the same people on the floor helping students develop.
Grandmaster Anthony Iannone
Grandmaster Anthony Iannone began training in TaeKwonDo in 1982 and earned his 1st Dan Black Belt in June 1987. More than four decades later, TaeKwonDo remains a central part of his life. His background spans traditional martial arts, national competition, instruction, military service and combatives training, all of which have helped shape the standards and philosophy behind Blackhawk TaeKwonDo.
His early training included instruction under five-time welterweight champion William Ergle and Grandmaster Y.K. Kim. In 1987, Grandmaster Anthony competed in the Pre-Olympic Games at the Bob Martinez Sports Complex in Tampa Bay, Florida, winning Gold in the Men’s Sparring Division in a competition that included 167 competitors over five days.
He went on to win the Florida State Tournament of Champions in 1988 and became a five-time National Sparring Champion.
In 1989, Grandmaster Anthony became the youngest Certified Instructor with the American TaeKwonDo Federation. He also became the organization’s youngest Certified Referee and Examiner, beginning a teaching career that would eventually become one of the defining parts of his life.
Years later, he returned to competition at the 2010 Iowa State Championships, earning Gold in both sparring and forms.
Today, Grandmaster Anthony is a Certified 5th Dan Black Belt with the American TaeKwonDo Federation and holds a 7th Dan Black Belt and the rank of Grandmaster with the World JiDoKwan Federation in Seoul, South Korea.
His martial arts development has also been closely connected to his military service. Grandmaster Anthony served 17 years in the United States Army and spent significant time in South Korea. His experience there included service with the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, training alongside members of the Korean National TaeKwonDo Team, and two years of training with the Republic of Korea Special Forces.
That combination of traditional TaeKwonDo, competition, military service and combatives shaped the way Grandmaster Anthony teaches today. He believes TaeKwonDo is far more than a sport or a collection of kicks and punches. Students should understand not only how a technique is performed, but why it works, how it applies in the real world and when it should or should not be used. Technique must be supported by awareness, control, judgment and personal responsibility.
Grandmaster Anthony also believes accomplishment has meaning because something was required to earn it. Students will succeed. They will also struggle, make mistakes, receive correction and sometimes fail. Those moments are not something to avoid. They are part of the training.
One of the most important lessons Grandmaster Anthony has carried throughout his life is that success is not always our greatest teacher. How a person responds to failure and defeat often reveals far more about their character than how they respond when everything goes their way.
At Blackhawk TaeKwonDo, students are expected to learn from those moments, continue working and become stronger because of them. Rank, medals and recognition should represent effort, growth and achievement rather than simply participation.
- Training in TaeKwonDo since 1982
- 1st Dan Black Belt earned in June 1987
- Trained under William Ergle and Grandmaster Y.K. Kim
- 1987 Pre-Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Men’s Sparring
- 1988 Florida State Tournament of Champions winner
- Five-time National Sparring Champion
- Youngest ATF Certified Instructor, Referee and Examiner
- 2010 Iowa State Championships Gold in Sparring and Forms
- American TaeKwonDo Federation Certified 5th Dan Black Belt
- World JiDoKwan Federation 7th Dan Black Belt and Grandmaster
- 17 years of service in the United States Army
- Training with the Korean National TaeKwonDo Team
- Two years training with the Republic of Korea Special Forces
- Founder of Blackhawk TaeKwonDo
Master Cristina Iannone
Master Cristina Iannone’s path into TaeKwonDo began very differently from Grandmaster Anthony’s, and that difference is an important part of her story.
Master Cristina first came to Blackhawk TaeKwonDo as a parent.
She experienced the school from the same perspective as many of the parents who walk through Blackhawk’s doors today. She watched classes, learned the culture of the school and saw firsthand what traditional TaeKwonDo could offer a student. Eventually, Master Cristina made the decision to step off the sidelines and onto the mat herself.
What followed became much more than a casual interest.
There was a period in her development when Master Cristina was training as much as eight hours a day, five days a week. She trained under Grandmaster Anthony from white belt forward, committing herself not simply to earning rank, but to understanding the art, competing, teaching and continually improving.
That dedication quickly carried into competition. In 2018, Master Cristina competed in the Midwest TaeKwonDo Championship, placing first in both forms and full-contact sparring. She also competed at the Illinois State Championships, again placing first in forms and full-contact sparring.
In 2019, Master Cristina competed at the Iowa State Championships and placed first in forms. Olympic-style sparring was not offered at that tournament.
Her desire to become a better martial artist and instructor eventually led her to study another discipline as well. In 2021, Master Cristina completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Karen Weber and became a 200 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance.
She did not pursue yoga simply as something separate from martial arts. Master Cristina saw it as another opportunity to better understand mobility, balance, flexibility, body awareness and recovery so she could bring that knowledge back to the students she teaches. TaeKwonDo can be physically demanding, and through yoga Master Cristina developed an even greater appreciation for creating balance alongside the intensity of martial arts training and for helping students better understand how their bodies move.
In 2023, Master Cristina tested for her 4th Degree Black Belt, reaching a milestone that became part of Blackhawk TaeKwonDo history. She became the first student at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo to test into the rank of Master and the first and only woman to achieve the rank of 4th Dan Master at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo.
Her development did not stop there. Master Cristina is a Kukkiwon Certified 4th Dan Black Belt, a 4th Dan Black Belt with the United States National TaeKwonDo Federation, and a 5th Dan Black Belt with the World JiDoKwan Federation.
In 2024, the World JiDoKwan Federation recognized Master Cristina’s dedication to TaeKwonDo, instruction and the continued development of her students by naming her Master of the Year.
Master Cristina is also a U.S. Army Veteran. As Co-Owner and Master Instructor of Blackhawk TaeKwonDo, she brings together perspectives that very few people can bring to a martial arts school: veteran, parent, student, competitor, yoga teacher, instructor and Master.
She has also been involved in the operational and financial side of Blackhawk, giving her an understanding of the school that reaches far beyond what happens during class.
But the most important part of Master Cristina’s story is not simply the list of ranks, medals or certifications she has earned. It is her connection with the students and families.
Master Cristina understands what it is like to sit and watch your child train because that is where her Blackhawk story began. She understands what it is like to walk onto the floor as the new student who does not yet know the terminology, techniques or expectations. She understands what it feels like to struggle through training, to be corrected, to compete, to win, to lose, to test, to teach and to continue showing up when something is difficult.
That journey gives Master Cristina a unique relationship with the parents and students she teaches today. Her passion for TaeKwonDo is visible in her classes, in the standards she expects and in the way she interacts with the families at Blackhawk. What began with bringing her own family into the school eventually became a commitment to TaeKwonDo, to Blackhawk and to helping other students discover what they are capable of achieving.
- Began her Blackhawk journey as a parent
- Trained under Grandmaster Anthony from white belt forward
- At one point trained up to eight hours a day, five days a week
- 2018 Midwest TaeKwonDo Championship — 1st Place Forms
- 2018 Midwest TaeKwonDo Championship — 1st Place Full-Contact Sparring
- Illinois State Championships — 1st Place Forms and Full-Contact Sparring
- 2019 Iowa State Championships — 1st Place Forms
- Completed 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2021
- 200 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher • Yoga Alliance
- Kukkiwon Certified 4th Dan Black Belt
- USNTF 4th Dan Black Belt
- World JiDoKwan Federation 5th Dan Black Belt
- First Blackhawk student to test into the rank of Master
- First and only woman to achieve the rank of 4th Dan Master at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo
- 2024 World JiDoKwan Federation Master of the Year
- U.S. Army Veteran
- Co-Owner and Master Instructor at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo
Two Different Paths. One Life Built Around the School.
There is another part of the story behind Blackhawk TaeKwonDo that cannot be separated from the school itself.
Blackhawk is where Grandmaster Anthony Iannone and Master Cristina Iannone met.
What began through TaeKwonDo gradually grew into a partnership in martial arts, the school and life. Master Cristina’s journey from parent to student, competitor, instructor and Master happened alongside Grandmaster Anthony’s continued work building and leading Blackhawk. Over time, the two became partners not only in teaching and operating the school, but personally as well.
On August 6, 2026, Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina were married.
Today, they lead Blackhawk TaeKwonDo together as husband and wife. They share responsibility for the school, personally teach the classes and continue developing Blackhawk around the values that have shaped both of their lives: discipline, loyalty, respect, integrity, perseverance, responsibility, courage and service to others.
Their stories are different. Grandmaster Anthony’s began as a young martial artist and eventually passed through national competition, military service, combatives, decades of teaching and the founding of Blackhawk TaeKwonDo. Master Cristina’s began by walking through Blackhawk’s doors as a parent and eventually becoming a student, competitor, instructor, Master, co-owner and one of the people responsible for carrying the school forward.
Those two paths eventually became one. Today, the students at Blackhawk are taught directly by the two people whose lives have become so closely connected to the school itself.
The People Who Set the Standard Are the People Teaching Your Class.
Blackhawk does not use a rotating instructor model. Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina personally teach the classes, which creates consistency from the first trial class through each stage of a student’s development.
Consistent Expectations
Students hear the same standards, terminology and expectations from the people responsible for the curriculum and culture of the school.
Direct Mentorship
The Masters get to know how students learn, where they struggle and what they need to work on instead of seeing them only occasionally.
Accountable Progress
The people promoting a student are also the people watching the student’s day to day effort, technique, attitude and development.
High Standards. Personal Instruction. Earned Progress.
Blackhawk TaeKwonDo is built around the belief that students should be challenged without being lost in the crowd. The goal is not to make training easy. The goal is to teach students how to work through difficulty with discipline, confidence and control.
Training for Every Stage of Life.
Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina teach students across Blackhawk’s age specific programs in Carpentersville.
Experience Blackhawk With the Masters.
You do not have to decide whether Blackhawk is the right school based only on a website. The One Week Trial lets you experience the instruction, environment and expectations firsthand.
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Choose the Right Program
Review Little Hawks, Kids and Teen Taekwondo or Adult Taekwondo.
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Start the One Week Trial
Use the One Week Trial page to select the program and send your information directly to Blackhawk.
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Train With the Masters
Come experience a real class with Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina and decide from the training itself whether Blackhawk is the right fit.
Questions Students and Parents Ask.
Who actually teaches the classes at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo?
Grandmaster Anthony Iannone and Master Cristina Iannone personally teach the classes at Blackhawk TaeKwonDo. Students are not passed between a rotating group of outside instructors.
Do the Masters teach children and adults?
Yes. Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina teach across Blackhawk’s age specific programs, including Little Hawks, Kids and Teen Taekwondo and dedicated Adult Taekwondo classes.
Will we meet the Masters during the One Week Trial?
Yes. The trial is designed to let you experience the actual Blackhawk environment and instruction. Because Grandmaster Anthony and Master Cristina personally teach the classes, the trial gives you the opportunity to train with the people who lead the school.
Why does Blackhawk emphasize Master taught classes?
Consistency matters. The same people who set the curriculum, standards and expectations are also watching each student’s development, correcting technique and deciding when progress has been earned.
How do I start training with Blackhawk?
Begin with the One Week Trial. Choose the program that matches the student’s age, submit the trial form and Blackhawk will help you get started with the appropriate class.
Come Experience the School They Built.
Blackhawk TaeKwonDo is located at 2333 Randall Road in Carpentersville, Illinois. Students and families visit from Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Algonquin, Gilberts, Huntley, Pingree Grove, Elgin, South Elgin, Crystal Lake and surrounding Fox Valley communities.
The One Week Trial is the simplest way to meet the Masters, see the school and experience the training before deciding whether Blackhawk is the right fit.
Blackhawk TaeKwonDo
2333 Randall Road
Carpentersville, IL 60110
Veteran owned • Family first • Traditional Taekwondo
Train With the Masters Who Own the School.
Start with a One Week Trial and experience Blackhawk TaeKwonDo directly with Grandmaster Anthony Iannone and Master Cristina Iannone.
One full week. No pressure. No automatic enrollment.