The Villas – A Growing Taekwondo Family Powerhouse

When people think about legendary families in martial arts, they often consider the Gracies in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Nurmagomedovs and their extended family in the UFC, or the Lopezes in Taekwondo. Well, there’s been another family in Taekwondo building a case as one of the greats: The Villas.

“I’ve had some coaches say that ‘You guys are like the Gracies of Taekwondo,’” Master Gus Villa, owner of Villa’s Taekwondo in Los Angeles, said. This compliment doesn’t come without validity. 

The Beginning of the Journey

The family’s Taekwondo journey begins with the founder of Villa’s Taekwondo, Master Octavio Villa. Octavio competed at an elite level, earning a spot on the Mexico National Team and winning a World Cup bronze medal. From there, his legacy continued with his sons, Master Gus and Master Damián Villa. 

Octavio quickly introduced his sons to his world. When Gus was three years old, Octavio brought him to Mexico City while he trained with the national team. That experience was very influential in him and Damián pursuing Taekwondo.

“Already from right there I started seeing it a lot… being around the environment and ultimately it kind of pushed me towards it.”

Gus began training at four years old, but it was only a few years later, when he fully committed to Taekwondo when his dad opened Villa’s Taekwondo in 1995. He and Damián quickly grew into high-level students but weren’t able to present their growing skills. Gus began competing in local and state competitions as a teenager, but rarely traveled internationally due to expenses. After a few years, that all started to change.

Gus and Damián’s Competitive Success

“At 16 or 17 [years old], I started traveling nationally and internationally, competing every year at nationals. From there, I started thinking and setting a goal for myself to be on the national team. I wanted to go to world championships. I wanted to represent the United States or Mexico – one of my two countries.”

Then at 19 years old, Gus made his first big mark in the world of Taekwondo – winning the USA National title, his first of three USA titles. That honor was the culmination of 15 years of hard work and dedication.

“I felt that most of my life’s hard work [came together] at the moment. Taekwondo’s basically the only sport I actually knew apart from playing sports with my friends but not on a team or anything that had given me the result that I was working all those years for. I felt very proud of myself, very proud of my family. I think it also motivated me to try to get more.”

From there, Gus collected two more USA titles along with four Mexico National titles and a variety of other medals. Meanwhile, his younger brother was right alongside him. Damián grabbed multiple silver medals while representing the USA and Mexico just like Gus. He was even the top-ranked Taekwondo athlete in the world in 2014. Even after all their individual success as competitors, they were able to share a special moment. 

In 2009, the brothers took part in the trials to make the Mexican National Team in Guadalajara. It was a simple process: the athletes who made it the furthest would make the team. And this wasn’t just the two brothers competing; it became a whole family affair.

“Since the trials were in Guadalajara and my family’s hometown was only 2 hours away, they actually rented an entire bus to go see us fight. My grandma was there, my dad was there, everybody was there. So it was this big celebration after because that was the first time that we officially made it to the national team and it was like a full circle for my family because my dad had done it many, many years before that.”

It wasn’t an easy task for either of them. Damián had to take on and defeat an Olympic gold medalist, while Gus won against a bronze World medalist. The brothers sent themselves to represent their home country in front of their loved ones, leading to Damián earning silver at the World Championships in Copenhagen.

Gus and Damián left their mark on competitive Taekwondo, similar to their father. But the Villa story doesn’t stop there.

Younger Generations of Villas

In a short time, the next generation of the Villa family has already started climbing the ranks. Gus has many cousins, nephews, and nieces who are competing and winning in the US and Mexico. One of those family members who Gus and Damián have personally trained is their sister, Soraya. 

“We’re monitoring her training closely and she’s doing great where she’s at. I don’t think we need to make any changes at the moment.”

At 19 years old, the same age Gus won his first USA title, Soraya has become the rising star of the family. She has already won the USA Nationals in July 2026 and is now on the national team. She has even taken her skills beyond North America, winning a bronze medal at the 8th Asian Taekwondo Indonesia Open.

Simultaneously, Gus, Damián, and Soraya have a younger 11-year-old half-sister in Mexico who won nationals as a black belt. Nevertheless, there are even more Villas in the waiting.

The next member of the Villa family to get kicking in Taekwondo is Gus and Blanca’s son. At just two years old, he has already begun training. Early on, he’s showing great signs in his physical development beyond what was expected. Still, this wasn’t necessarily the plan.

“[The plan was] not [to start] this young. We wanted to actually just get him into some obstacle courses and motor skills classes just to get him started and maybe like 20-30 minutes just because he’ll get bored. He’s doing a lot better than other kids that are like four or five years old. So, I don’t think we need the [introduction] class for that since he’s already in the official class.”

While Gus has had an extensive family history, it was Blanca who was extra enthusiastic about getting their son started. He may be another member of the storied Villa family to take home medals in Taekwondo, but it’s not their plan to pressure their son either.

“I wanted him to do Taekwondo as well but it’s not an easy journey. It requires a lot of commitment, a lot of sacrifice so I wanted him to start Taekwondo for the discipline, for the Tenets of Taekwondo, the background of how to be a good person basically… I don’t want to put it on him like, ‘You have this expectation’ because if he thinks that I put that on him that he has this expectation to fulfill, he will always be pressured. He will always think that he’s not doing enough and I want it to come naturally from him if he wants to do it.”

As the family continues to grow within Taekwondo across North America, the school has seen a lot of growth as well.

School Competition Success

In 2015, Octavio handed down ownership of Villa’s Taekwondo to Master Gus. In the beginning, Master Gus and his wife Blanca (who won the US National Taekwondo Championship in 2015) led the way with Blanca teaching beginners and Master Gus coaching black belts.

After a while, Master Damián joined, providing competition instruction for higher-level students, further evolving to Master Gus offering 1-on-1 training for these students. The family had built a systematic approach to guiding the next generation of competitive students at Villa’s Taekwondo. And the results showed quickly.

Many of their students (including Soraya) have gone on to compete on the national and international level, making their claim as one of the most accomplished Taekwondo schools there is. The school has won multiple awards for its exceptional results in Taekwondo competitions in the United States, including Taekwondo School of the Year in California for four consecutive years. This a great honor for them, but also requires them to continue to work hard.

“It’s more of an expectation now. It’s a little bit more pressure, but of course, for us, we have the mentality that when you are champion, the hardest thing is to stay a champion. You have to keep working harder. So, we’re always looking forward to the challenge and we have a very huge group of talented and competitive athletes that are going to help us win those titles year after year.”

Alongside their detailed curriculum, the Villa’s Taekwondo team has equipped their school with the best resources possible to help students to take their skills to the next level. These include:

• State-of-the-Art Equipment
• Four Different Training Systems
• High-Level Seminars
• Monthly Competitions
• Twelve Hours of Daily Competition Classes

There are so many students who have been a part of the Villa family – blood-related or not – who have thrived in the competitive Taekwondo landscape. Everyone is doing their best and constantly working to stand out from the rest. It takes more than talent to become a dynasty.

“It’s not for everybody. Because obviously, like other people, I like to enjoy my vacations. But if you want to accomplish something, then you have to outwork other people as well, and we tend to do that.”