Inducted into the A.M.A.H.O.F.(Inc) for 2012
Instructor of the Year – Taekwondo Australia
Inducted into the W.K.U.H.O.F. for 2012
Instructor of the Year – Taekwondo Australia
Website: https://www.southernitf.com/
Steve Weston, is the Sixth degree black belt International Instructor/Examiner of Southern ITF Taekwon-Do. He has been teaching Taekwon-Do for twenty five years. Apart from his professional qualifications as a medical scientist and science teacher he has also completed courses in fitness instruction, coaching and first aid. He is the current Vice-President of the Tasmanian Martial Arts Council and the Secretary General of ITF Taekwon-Do (Australia) and has been involved with setting up and running a coaching course for Martial Arts instructors in Tasmania. He is a keen Bushwalker and environmentalist and has climbed Federation Peak, Frenchmans Cap and Mt Ossa in Tasmania.
He began his martial arts career in 1983 in Rhee Taekwon-Do (Australia) and achieved the rank of first degree in November 1986. In 1993 he joined the ITF and performed a recognition grading for first degree. He has subsequently passed grading’s for 2nd and 3rd degree and was graded for fourth degree in 1999 and fifth degree in January 2003 by Master Choi Jung Hwa. He tested for 6th degree under the ITF Technical committee on the 27th July 2008. Since Joining the ITF he has attended five International courses with General Choi, one with Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha, four with Master Choi Jung Hwa, one with Master Nestor Gallaraga and more recently four with the ITF Technical committee and many national seminars with International Instructors.
Steve has also competed in National and International competitions and has consistently won medals each time he has entered. In 1996 he took out the gold medal in the black belt patterns division of the Australasian Championships. He has also coached many students that have won significant events in competition including several Australian, Australasian and Oceanic champions. Many of his students have also competed in the ITF World Championships with three winning medals at this level. He has acted as the Australian Coach in Argentina in 1999 and as a World Championship referee/umpire in Italy, Quebec, Mar del plata and Wellington. In 2000 he was awarded a medal by the Australian government for his contribution to sport in Australia.
As senior instructor for Southern ITF Taekwon-Do he has personally enrolled over 500 students and trained over 50 black belts. He runs classes each week night at a dedicated dojang in Lutana, Hobart.
Despite his competition awards Steve believes that apart from its obvious self defence aspect, the purpose of Taekwon-Do is to allow students to develop self confidence and attain their chosen goals. As General Choi points out “Though it is a martial art, it’s discipline, techniques, and mental training are the mortar for building a strong sense of justice, humility and resolve. It is this mental conditioning that separates the true practitioner from the sensationalist content with mastering only the fighting aspects of the art”.