Grandmaster Portante began his Taekwondo training in August 1978 with Grandmaster Byung Min Kim at the Martial Arts Institute of America in Monsey, NY.

On June 27th, 1983 he attained the rank of 1st Dan Black Belt and became a part time instructor.

In November 1989 Grandmaster Portante was hired by Grandmaster Kim to serve as his head instructor and school manager at the White Plains, NY branch.

In May 1990 he opened East Coast Martial Arts, and at the same time, began training with Grandmaster Byung Sung Cha at the USA Martial Arts College in Ridgewood, NJ.

Grandmaster Cha promoted him to 2nd Dan Black Belt on November 28th, 1991 and 3rd Dan Black Belt on July 19th, 1995.

On June 8th, 1999 the World Taekwondo Federation recognized Grandmaster Portante as a 4th Dan Black Belt Master.

He was then promoted to 5th Dan Black Belt on March 20th, 2004 and 6th Dan Black Belt on April 20th, 2009.

On May 28th, 2017 he was promoted to 7th Dan Black Belt by Grandmaster Cha thereby attaining the title of Grandmaster.

His training with Grand Master Cha is ongoing.