65th Birthday of Taekwon-Do

On 11th April 65 years ago Taekwon-Do was officially named and accepted as a Martial Art by the Korean government. Prior to this, Taekwon-Do had many different names: Dang Soo, Gong Soo, Taek Kyon, Kwon Bup etc. The name was suggested by General Choi Hong Hi, who is universally known as the founder of Taekwon-Do. General Choi formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation in 1966, with a vision to spread Taekwon-Do all over the World. During the 1960s, General Choi sent instructors to all corners of the globe to teach Taekwon-Do. Taekwon-Do was first brought to the UK in 1967 By Rhee Ki Ha

The beginning of my journey of Taekwon-Do in Northampton

I started my training in Taekwon-Do in Northampton at the age of 6. I was an extremely energetic child and spent many hours wrestling and play fighting with my younger brother. So it was decided that I would need an outlet for my energy so that it could be channelled constructively. I instantly fell in love with Taekwon-Do and never looked back since starting. A few years later my brother started his journey in Martial Arts in Northampton also. I entered my first competition aged 7 and managed to achieve a gold medal. This would be the beginning of a long competition journey which is still ongoing and that has taken me all around the world.

I began training under Master Horan 7th Degree at the age of 8 in a demonstration team called Golden Dragons which is now known as HSTS Squad. I entered my first European Taekwon-Do Championships aged 12 in Barcelona, Spain where I managed to come out with a Silver and Bronze medal. Since then I have competed Internationally, representing Great Britain at 3 European Championships and 3 World Championships, becoming World Champion 3 times and European Champion twice along with many silver and bronze medals along the way.

Taekwon-Do Masters 

Despite my interest in competitions, I have always loved Taekwon-Do training regardless of the subject and I think it is definitely fair to say that if competitions didn’t exist, I would still be training in Taekwon-Do. I wanted to become a Taekwon-Do instructor from a very young age so when the opportunity to take my BTC instructors course arose I didn’t hesitate to do so. I am fortunate enough to train with Master Glenn Horan 7th degree every week and I have also trained under Grand Master Trevor Nicholls 9th Degree, President of the United Kingdom ITF and Vice President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, and President Choi Jung Hwa, President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation and son of Taekwon-Do founder General Choi Hong Hi.

Amity Taekwon-Do in Kettering, Northampton and surrounding areas

In 2019 I started Amity Taekwon-Do in Kettering. Our school prides itself on teaching true, original ITF Taekwon-Do as laid out by Taekwon-Do founder General Choi Hong Hi and serving Taekwon-Do in Kettering, Northampton and the surrounding areas. Amity Taekwon-Do is the only UK ITF registered Taekwon-Do school in Northamptonshire. We are also the only school teaching Taekwon-Do in Northamptonshire under the guidance of the President Choi Jung Hwa, the founders son, who continues to guide his fathers legacy as the President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. Amity Taekwon-Do is also the only Unified Taekwon-Do Association Taekwon-Do club in the Northampton and Kettering area.