Grandmaster
Keith Winkle

The students who made the first school possible

Inspire’s story begins long before the Inspire name. When Keith needed a $10,000 loan to open his first school, the banks said no. Then eight of his students went to a local bank manager and spoke up for the teacher they believed in. Their support helped turn a calling into a full-time mission.

Keith has never forgotten that beginning. It taught him that a martial arts school is not built by one person. It is built by people who believe in one another and are willing to step forward when it matters.

Finding strength, direction and purpose

Keith’s childhood included five years in foster care and a great deal of uncertainty. He began martial arts in 1985, around age 20, searching for the confidence and capability he did not yet feel in himself.

What began as a way to become stronger became something deeper: a path for building discipline, creating direction and helping other people recognize what they were capable of. By 1988, he was teaching at Southside Virginia Community College. He later moved to Richmond and committed himself to teaching full time.

Building more than martial artists

Keith went on to lead Martial Arts World, a Virginia organization that grew to nine schools. He also served as senior vice president and chief of staff of the American Tae Kwon Do Federation.

The growth mattered, but the number of schools was never the real point. Keith’s focus was helping students carry what they learned beyond the mat—into their goals, relationships, responsibilities and everyday decisions.

See the person. Teach the person.

One early newspaper story featured Keith teaching a martial artist who used a wheelchair. His belief was simple: every student deserves to participate as an equal and measure progress against the person they were yesterday.

That principle still shapes Inspire today. Great teaching does not force every student into the same box. It sees the individual, adapts the path and keeps challenging that person to grow.

Using martial arts to serve

Keith and his students turned their training into service, raising more than $200,000 for Easter Seals through Kick-a-Thons and community events. He received the Peter N. Pastore Award for supporting people with disabilities in central Virginia.

In 1997, Governor George Allen presented a proclamation naming March 1 Keith Winkle/Martial Arts World Day in Virginia. Keith’s greatest pride, however, came from watching students discover that their strength could make a difference for someone else.

Starting over—and building Inspire

After years of success in Virginia, Keith moved to California and started again. Inspire opened in early 2009, in the middle of a recession. Rebuilding was difficult, but Kati, their team and their students helped turn that uncertain beginning into a new community.

The experience reinforced one of Inspire’s central beliefs: the lessons practiced on the mat matter most when life gets hard.

The work today

Today, Grandmaster Winkle continues this work through Inspire Martial Arts & Fitness in Burbank, California, and Longwood, Florida. He is also the author of books for children, parents and adults, all built around the same practical mission: help people become stronger, more confident and better prepared for real life.

The method is straightforward. Learn from correction. Take responsibility. Practice consistently. Keep moving toward something meaningful—and use what you gain to lift someone else.

Create Your Best Life.

Be Better Every Day.

Personal development made practical

Grandmaster Winkle helped develop Il Il Shin into a systematic personal-development practice built from decades of martial arts, teaching, meditation, movement, and honest reflection.

The Il Il Shin Mastermind is separate from Inspire’s live classes. It brings people together online for deeper lessons, live sessions, accountability, and a community committed to practicing “Be Better Every Day” in ordinary life.

Explore the Il Il Shin Mastermind