Master D. S. Shinn started Taekwondo at the age of 6 in Seoul, South Korea. His father felt the importance of martial arts education for his son and enrolled him in a local Chung Do Kwan Taekwondo school. Master Shinn immediately fell in love with the art and started training every day.

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Master Shinn continued training throughout his teenage years, and credits Taekwondo for confidence and strong mental discipline, which helped him through life's challenges as an immigrant teenager and later engineering student. He earned his Master's Degree in Inorganic Materials Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now known as Missouri University of Science & Technology). While at the university, he established the university's official Taekwondo Club and was the head instructor for 7 years.

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Master Shinn admits that he was not a very athletic person.  However, his love of the art and constant pursuit of the excellence in the art/sport of Taekwondo eventually led him to success.  After many tournaments where he lost early, he finally won his first sparring gold medal as a junior in high school. From that point on, successes were more frequent. He won the U.S. Collegiate Nationals and won a spot on the World University Team.  He also spent 16 months at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as a permanent resident athlete to prepare for the 1988 Olympics.  He was a finalist in the 1988 Olympic Trials. In November of 1988 he was voted the National Collegiate Coach of the year. To this day, he is the youngest recipient ever of this award.  Having achieved much success while being "not that athletic" gave Master Shinn the belief and confidence that one can do anything with the proper motivation and belief system.  He wants to be a role model and motivator for that message through Taekwondo.

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While working as an engineer, Master Shinn decided to teach others the art of Taekwondo that benefited him so much in his life.  Soon, it snowballed, and he gave up his engineering career to pursue a Taekwondo teaching career full time.  Now, Taekwondo is his life.  Master Shinn feels that he can identify with persons of average athletic ability. Coupled with his patience, he can help his students achieve great things.

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Master Shinn continues to improve his teaching and technical skills. He recently achieved highest certification and became World Taekwondo Federation International Referee (IR) in Poomsae (Forms) in addition to IR in Gyoroogi (Sparring). He is the only person from Michigan to hold IR status in both Poomse and Gyoroogi.

Master Shinn is tournament director of the Great Lakes Cup tournament which he has hosted annually since 1996 and which is one of the premier Taekwondo tournaments in Michigan.

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From 2013-2020, Master Shinn has served as President of the Michigan Sport Taekwondo Association  the organization responsible for selecting the Michigan team for Nationals, a qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

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Since 2018, Master Shinn is serving as President of the Michigan Chapter of U.S. Taekwondo Committee, an organization promoting martial arts side of Taekwondo. USTC hosts Hanmadang, a festival of taekwondo events that include forms, breaking, demo team and creative form with or without weapons. Since 2018 Master Shinn has hosted Michigan Hanmadang annually.

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In July 2025, Master Shinn competed in World Hanmadang in Anaheim California 8th degree Black Belt Division and won Gold Medal in Poomsae.

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In September 2025, Master Shinn tested for 9th dan Kukkiwon Black Belt in Korea and became the youngest 9th dan in Michigan. 9th dan Kukkiwon is extremely rare in the U.S. and is considered the highest accomplishment. There has not been a 9th dan Kukkiwon in Michigan in last 20 years.

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Master Shinn is currently serving as a Vice President of US 43 States Kukkiwon Branch.

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