Club Ethos

In teaching Taekwondo I have attempted to bring traditional and contemporary practices into a harmony and balance of style. I was taught when I was nine years old by then Master Fred Lee 4th Dan (He is Grand Master 8th Dan now).  I was a scared child, afraid of any new situations or interacting with new people. Fred Lee liked the way I performed straight away as I was able to copy everything he did. His assistant teacher was Audric Pegg, a huge Korean 1st Dan. Audric was my regular teacher while Fred was busy setting up other clubs around London in the 1970's and 80's. I trained four night a week and loved every minute of it. The two instructors were such a massive inspiration to me that they gave me confidence and self belief.

I achieved three consecutive double gradings followed by single grades until I was graded to Black Belt 1st Dan in 1974 aged 10. I was often partnered up with either a boy from Malaysia named Yip or Wayne Gates who both trained at the Rayners Lane club in North West London. Yip was at least 4 years older than me and always way better, stronger and more confident than me. Yet, Fred saw us as a good sparring match. Yip always aimed to kick me in the head and before long I realised I could duck under his kick and immediately follow up with a turning kick and catch him. I applied this to anyone who tried to kick me in the head and it often worked.

One day I asked Audric why he was only 1st Dan when he was so good. He replied, "When you are a Black Belt there is nothing more other than training". His words struck a chord with me and so I continued my training without further dan grading. I didn't realise the significance of this decision until in my later years when I started teaching. Audric is right, the dan grades make little difference outside of the context of teaching. In order to be recognised in WTF Taekwondo it is necessary to be a 4th Dan Master to run your own Association. This is if you want to enter your students into National or World competitions. For your students to become tournament officials or participate in any way they have to be registered to an official organisation that complies with Kukkiwon rules. In some instances it is necessary to obtain an official Kukkiwon dan certificate at a very high price.

In 1988 I took my 2nd Dan with Dung Le Van while he took his 3rd Dan. He is now Grand Master 8th Dan and teaching in the Philippines. Grand Master Le Van is still my Instructor and I continue to teach in his ways. Grand Master Le Van is also a good friend and was constantly trying to encourage me to start teaching. I resisted until my own son turned 8 and wanted to try it. I regret I did not start until then as it has been so incredibly fulfilling. I started training with Grand Master Le Van in 1985 having not trained for six years after both Fred Lee and Audric had moved on. I went to him with a determination to loose my boyhood fear of everything. I faced sparring full on and was determined to find a way to not be afraid. With Dung's excellent teaching, his desire to learn about different ways of doing things, his technical excellence and courageous fighting, I overcame my fear. He mostly won our fights but occasionally I could surprise him especially when I freed my mind and used spinning as a form of distraction.

I have used all my years of experience and of training with many Masters and contemporaries to form the ethos of my teaching today. I assess every individual as they train. I look at their character as a person first and then as a potential martial artist. I search for their weaknesses and watch their strengths. I teach each student individually even in a big class. That said, I teach fairly small classes from 5-20 students. I want to help those who lack confidence and reign in those who's abundant confidence allows them to get ahead of themselves. Sometimes it feels like I'm fine tuning an orchestra. I never loose sight that each student is an individual and must be taught and listened to as such. Yet, within this is a wonderful group consciousness that sees the group feeling as one. Every class ends with an exercise Grand Master Dung shared with me, where we form an inward facing circle, with fist in hand, rise on our toes three times breathing in and out with each rise leading to a co-ordinated punch and ki-up to the ground in harmony releasing the energy as one.

I invite new students to share our joy and passion of training in Taekwondo. We fight, learn patterns, exercise, fall down, get back up, keep going, return for more week in and week out. Improve our bodies and our minds, become stronger, more confident, do things we never knew we could do. We are humble, proud, courageous and determined. Our tenets are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control and Indomitable Spirit. I took these vows in 1974 aged 10 and continue to teach their meaning today. 

Matt - 2nd Dan 

27-08-2022