Co-Head of Ori-MAUL & MiNi Instructor

Wendi Bacon is a 5th Dan Black-belt in both World Taekwondo (WT) and International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) styles. As a kid, she trained in ITF Taekwondo with her father, 4th Dan Duane Bacon. He created a free Taekwondo program for under-privileged youths at the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrenceville, Georgia.

After training there, Wendi continued the legacy by creating and, for four years, running a free Taekwondo program at the Geneva Boys & Girls Club in New York. There she also met and trained under 7th Dan Master Tina Felice in WT and ITF Taekwondo, eventually assisting with classes and grading in the WT style. She eventually moved to Cambridge, UK to continue her scientific career and found MAUL. She co-led MiNi-MAUL with Instructor Layla until the first MiNi-MAULers achieved their blackbelts. Wendi particularly focuses on instructor development and blackbelt training.

An avid believer in confidence-building through leadership, she developed the Junior Instructor programme originally in New York, and then applied it within MAUL in both the kids & women’s classes. This initiative led to the MAUL standard of having multiple instructors teaming up to teach. 

In 2016 she tore her ACL training in Jiu Jitsu, and after knee reconstructive surgery returned to martial arts to earn her 3rd Dan black-belt in 2017 with Master Tina. In 2019, Wendi underwent surgeries due to hip impingement. She graded for her 4th Dan in 2020, and achieved her 5th Dan Masters in 2024, with Master Tina visiting MAUL for the first time.

Wendi also holds various colour belts in Japanese Jiu Jitsu, two styles of Aikido, Soobahkdo, and Tang Soo Do.