HISTORY
I moved to Manchester in 1998 and started the first Trident Club in David Lloyd Trafford Park in 1998.
We have gone from strength to strength with our excellent retention rates and results in competitions at all levels. We were part of the GTUK (Global Taekwon-Do United Kingdom) run by Master R Oldham (Now Grand Master). The GTUK was also part of the UK ITF and under this group in 2004 we went to the 1st ITF World Championships to be held in Korea. This was a great historic mild stone. I was coaching the UKITF female team and the Trident Group had great success with Claire Kershaw winning silver in heavy weight sparring, Emma Mulgrew winning bronze in middle weight sparring and Ben Noble being part of the Junior Male gold medallist team.
We left the UKITF soon after the World Championships in Korea. Still part of the GTUK we have spent most of our time competing in the UK, Ireland & Norway.
In 2011 we wanted to gain more International recognition and we wanted to give our students more opportunity. A group of us decided that we would leave the GTUK as they had no interested in being part of the ITF and we thought that it was the best way forward. In January 2011 we formed a new association called Taekwon-Do UK and under this name we joined the ITF.
Founder
James Miley who started training in Taekwon-Do in June 1985 with the UKTA (United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association) up in Elgin, Scotland. His instructor was Mr John Williamson (3rd Dan black belt at the time now Grand Master).
He spent a lot of time travelling around as he was in the Royal Airforce. James finally settled in St Andrews, Scotland in the early 90's and started training seriously with the GTF (Global Taekwon-Do Federation). His instructor was Mr Alan Cunningham whose club was based in Cupar, Fife. Under his tuition James gained his 1st Degree Black Belt and with his guidance he decided to open his first club in St Andrews.
James was lucky enough to make the Scotland Team and entered the GTF European Championships in Glenrothes, Scotland in 1996 winning a gold medal in team power breaking. In 1997 he entered the GTF World Championships in St Louis, USA were James won a bronze medal in patterns.
In 1998 James moved from Scotland back to his home city of Manchester where he started to build the Trident Taekwon-Do Group. The first club was opened at the end of 1998 in Manchester Health and Racquets Club where he was a personal fitness trainer in Trafford Park (now a well-known David Lloyd Health Club). WHAT IS TAEKWON DO?
In Korean, tae means “to strike or break with foot” kwon means “to strike or break with fist” and do means “way”, “method”, or “path”. Therefore taekwondo may be loosely translated as “the way of the hand and the foot.