Seventeen years after opening his first Tae Kwon-Do center in Philadelphia, Red Tiger studio founder Mario Cancelliere has finally settled into a headquarters he is comfortable with.

Two weeks ago, the Cancelliere clan -- all black-belt tae kwon-do experts -- realized a family dream when the newest Red Tiger dojo opened at 1912 Welsh Road, in the Bustleton-Welsh Shopping Center, after months of construction.

The 3,400-square-foot facility is Cancelliere's third martial-arts school in Philadelphia. But it's also the first that can adequately accommodate the space requirements that he and his instructors need to properly demonstrate techniques, noted the sixth-degree black belt.

The space, built to Cancelliere's specifications, is horizontally rectangular. That enables students to be positioned in rows near the instructor so that flawed techniques can be easily spotted and corrected.

"We want to be as close as possible to the students so we can instruct. We also designed the waiting-room area so parents can see the progress of their children," Cancelliere said in his thick Italian accent. "In the other school, we were very confined."

The Cancellieres' road to this country, and their prominence as the area's first family of tae kwon-do, is an American success story.

Patriarch Mario Cancelliere, 53, a native of Isernia-Molice, Italy, moved with his family as a young boy to Buenos Aires, Argentina, shortly after World War II.

Living in an impoverished and dangerous section of the South American city, Cancelliere turned to boxing and wrestling as self-defense options. But they did not hold his interest, and the young man turned elsewhere -- to martial arts, namely the Korean art of tae kwon-do.

By the early 1970s, Cancelliere had married and had two children with his wife Monica -- Marcello and Veronica.

in search of opportunity

Between those births, the tae kwon-do master relocated his expanding family to Philadelphia in search of a better life. Throughout, Cancelliere remained devoted to martial-arts training in the International Tae Kwon- Do Federation style.

In 1982, he moved his family back to Buenos Aires and established his first martial-arts studio. A few months later, the Cancelliere family returned to the Quaker City, where Mario established his Red Tiger school on the 4600 block of Frankford Ave., his first martial-arts studio in this country.

Four years later, the school graduated its first black-belt students. That same year, 1986, Cancelliere established the United States Tae Kwon-Do Center. Within a year, the organization had grown to the point that black belts who had graduated from Cancelliere's program established their own schools under the auspices of USTC.

At present, 15 schools throughout the region are members of the umbrella organization.

Those schools are headed by former students who became instructors and established their own schools. In 1987, students from those schools participated in an inaugural tae kwon-do tournament that today is known as the Red Tiger Cup.

Later, he moved his Red Tiger studio to a site at 7410 Frankford Ave.

In recognition of his work to promote the martial-arts form, the president of the United States Tae Kwon- Do Federation appointed Cancelliere as the Pennsylvania state director in 1989.

Cancelliere, who trains instructors and advanced students at his Red Tiger studio, isn't the only family member to excel in tae kwon-do. His wife is a fifth-degree black belt, and daughter Veronica has attained the rank of fourth-degree black belt, though her five-month pregnancy has forced her to take a break from training.

he knows his tae kwon-do

Perhaps the most accomplished member of the family, aside from Mario, is son Marcello, who was part of the 20-member Federation team in 1994, 1997 and 1999.

The 28-year-old black belt, a Temple University grad, has traveled to Kuala Terrengganu in Malaysia, the Russian city of St. Petersburg, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a representative of the U.S. team.

He was unanimously voted captain of the team during its 1997 and 1999 campaigns in Russia and Argentina.

Marcello won a bronze medal in 1997 and a silver during the 1999 tournament for his precise executions of tae kwon-do patterns, which he describes as "a series of choreographed movements."

Between those international competitions, the younger Cancelliere won a gold medal in 1998 for his pattern routine at the world championships in Birmingham, England.

When he first competed on the international level in 1994, Marcello Cancelliere had the distinction of being the only Philadelphia resident ever selected to the national team.

Today, that has all changed.

Several black-belt Red Tiger students qualified for the 1999 tournament in Argentina, said Marcello, who teaches many classes at the new Bustleton dojo.

The emphasis at the martial-arts studio, however, is not on global competitions, earning a black belt or becoming an instructor.

"We have plenty of instructors experienced in international competition if younger students have a desire to represent their country," explained Mario Cancelliere.

"But," added his son, "we understand that not every student wants to be that. Some just enjoy putting on a uniform each week and training for a few hours."

The important thing, he continued, "is to foster confidence, self-esteem and physical fitness in our students."

Though the Cancellieres have been a globetrotting family, they are most comfortable in the Bustleton neighborhood where they live and work. In fact, it was the support of the neighborhood's civic group that helped to pave the way for Cancelliere to open his dream studio in his own back yard.

In March, the Greater Bustleton Civic League approved his plans for the tae kwon-do studio and sent a letter of endorsement to the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment, which considered his request for a zoning variance.

"We try to keep all of our operation in the Northeast because most of our student base is in the area," said Marcello Cancelliere.

Even now, he and his family members continue to refine their mastery of tae kwon-do.

"We train every day," Marcello said. "And all of our instructors understand that we are students first and instructors second."

For more information about Red Tiger, visit www.red-tiger.com or call 215-969-9962.