Edward Mezerewski

Master Mezerewski began training in Tae Kwon Do in 1975 at the age of 15. He studied under Grandmaster Chae Bok Rhee at the Chae Rhee Institute of Tae Kwon Do Milford, CT. Master Mezerewski earned his black belt in 1979 and then began assisting Grandmaster Rhee with instructing students both at the Milford school and at the newly open Bridgeport, CT school on Main St. In 1979 the Bridgeport school moved to 908 Wood Ave. Master Mezerewski faithfully continued his training and also became an accomplished fighter, winning numerous local and regional competitions. In 1985 Master Mezerewski bought and took over Chae Rhee Institute of Tae Kwon Do in Bridgeport.

In 1989 Master Mezerewski renamed the school East Coast Academy of Tae Kwon Do. Soon after the school began to flourish and became well known in Bridgeport as a place where students of all ages, skill levels and personalities could train and attain their goals. East Coast Academy of Tae Kwon Do provided a warm, caring, and safe environment where the children of Bridgeport found an escape from life on the streets. Master Mezerewski helped shy children become confident and assertive; overactive children find patience and self-control; and children of every kind found the discipline to resist drugs and achieve personal goals like physical fitness, military service, college, careers and families.

But East Coast Academy also became known a fiercely competitive school as well with the toughest and most successful students around. Master Mezerewski sent numerous students to regional and national tournaments for many years. Including Billy Petrone, who not only was the #1 ranked men’s middleweight in the country from 1991 to 1997, but was also one of the top ranked competitors in the world during this time. To this day East Coast Academy of Tae Kwon Do is still the only martial arts school in CT that has produced a member of the US Men’s National Tae Kwon Do team (Olympic team).

During the past 30 years Master Mezerewski has produced thousands of black belts and has influenced the lives of tens of thousands of people in the greater Bridgeport area, including the lives of his two sons who train under him and have learned to apply the skills learned from him into their everyday lives.

In 2011, now a 7^th Dan Black Belt, and with his sons both grown men, Master Mezerewski decided that it was time to take the next step. East Coast moved from its Wood Ave location of 32 years (the longest that any martial arts school has survived in one spot in the city of Bridgeport) to it new Fairfield, CT location. This new location is nearly double the size of the Wood Ave school and includes the latest safety gear, updated men’s and women’s locker and shower rooms, a larger more comfortable waiting area and better parking; as well as easy access from I95.

East Coast Tae Kwon Do is not an MMA school or a “Fight Club”, but rather a traditional martial arts school. Grand Master Mezerewski’s teaching philosophy does not focus on fighting and violence but rather on achieving personal goals and reaching inner harmony and balance in a world that is beyond our control. Like the masters of old, Grand Master Mezerewski believes that with the right guidance and teaching, the more proficient one becomes at the martial arts, the less violent and aggressive they should become. Grand Master Mezerewski still believes that Tae Kwon Do is an excellent way to build confidence, self-discipline, and self-control; maintain physical and mental health and to learn self-defense. Grand Master Mezerewski continues to positively affect the lives of ordinary men, women, and children every day.