International Instructors

I started my Taekwon-Do training in 1996 with Martial Arts America in Detroit, Michigan, aged 6 and since then have been totally hooked. After moving back to the UK, I soon joined the GTF-UK at a club in Balsall Common under the mother-son duo June and Anthony Nash and was among the club’s first seven black belts in 2003. Regular training and commitment lead to selection for the GTUK England junior squad in 2006 and an international debut that year at the ITF European Championships in Wetzlar, Germany. In 2008 I moved to Loughborough for university and had a great time training with two of my England coaches and many great Taekwon-Do practitioners. During my final year there in 2012 I was named by the squad coaches as the male captain, after taking a leading position within the team throughout that year, and have continued to lead the team to various successes, one being our double world silver feat in 2015 at the UITF World Championships, where we lost narrowly to a strong and experienced Argentinian team.

Over the years I have trained and competed across Europe, Asia and North America. I have been very fortunate to train under many reputable and world renowned masters and grand masters, as well as European and World Champions, and always try to take on board this wide variety of experience and attributes. To mark my 20th year of Taekwon-Do in 2016 I went on a 3-month training adventure across the Far East, where I trained in Shaolin Kung Fu and Jeet Kune Do at a school in China as well as Taekwon-Do in Malaysia and North Korea.

As a competitor I have received national and international medals of all colours and continue to push myself in training to keep this up and achieve more. Competition has opened many doors for me over the years and has proved a great way to make friends all over the world. As an instructor I opened my first club in 2012 at the Woodlands Academy in Coventry, the site of the first civilian club in the UK back in 1967, but unfortunately this club had to be closed down after a year of struggling with membership. After that I took over the post of instructor at GTUK Balsall Common and then at the University of Warwick Taekwon-Do and both clubs have been keeping me extremely busy for the last three years!

Achieving my fourth degree black belt in 2015 and seeing my seniors continue to progress has made realise how little I really know and I am now ever keener to continue to develop my understanding of all aspects of Taekwon-Do while passing on my knowledge and experience so far to the next generation of the GTUK.

Promoted to 5th Degree November 2021