GRANDMASTER

Grandmaster Stephen Washington
President & Founder

In 1966 at the age of 16 KJN Stephen Washington's study of the martial arts began and his life was changed forever, 50 years on and the founder of the Asia Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation's love for the art is as strong today as it was back then. Having had the opportunity to travel the world training and researching the arts at length with some of the greatest martial arts and spiritual masters, a few of them still alive today. The extent of his training ranges from the grandmasters of the Korean, Chinese and Japanese systems.

His philosophy is that we must embrace the precious heritage of spirit and tradition by not letting it be endangered by politics, exploitation, commercialism and improper motivation, sometimes we forget that its roots lie in a highly effective combat system, one that has survived the changes of society in which it was developed.

Today a generation of martial arts teachers are emerging that have grown up entirely in a sports environment that have never been through T.A.C and K.C.C courses or learned the proper techniques, which although part of their heritage, regrettably conflict with modern sport rules and therefore are regarded as irrelevant.

Only a few of the truly great pioneers of martial arts are left today, the loss of the direct lineage linking the oriental arts with the training methods, philosophy and spirit to their ancestors and proper origins, has greatly weakened the way of the warrior. Poor standards and a lack of qualified masters who truly understand the nature of their art from beginning to end have caused confusion in many sincere students aspiring to follow in the footsteps of the ancient arts.

Using this knowledge KJN Washington has taught seminars at numerous locations around the world including several parts of Europe, United Kingdom, North and South America, Mexico, Africa, Central Asia, Fiji, New Zealand, Korea, China and South East Asia, and has been recognized for the expansion of numerous Tang Soo Do studio's and clubs locally, interstate and overseas, ranking him amongst the leading figures in the martial arts world.

KJN Washington personally oversees the technical training of the instructors and staff, tutoring them to grow to their full potential by successfully creating a syllabus that works in to-days modern society, ensuring that the traditional values of the art will not be lost to future generations.

During his career he has certified and helped certify over 2000 blackbelts, several Master and Senior Master Instructors in Australia, Asia, United States, Europe, England and around the world, of which he is very proud of this accomplishment. He acknowledges his former Master Kim, Sung Hwan (deceased 1985) for his vision, knowledge and expertise in the traditional art of Tang Soo Do which was so generously passed on to his senior students, so they may gain from his wealth of wisdom and knowledge, these values became the foundation on which the Asia Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation was born. KJN Washington also gives a special thank you to two other visionary martial artists that he trained with and was a personal student with for over 20 years. KJN Shin, Jae Chul (deceased 2012), KJN Lee, Young Gu (deceased 2010) for their invaluable teachings and generosity.