Mark Guest Biography

Mark Guest started training in Taekwondo at the age of 12 years in 1977; in his home town of Thorne near Doncaster, which was a small Taekwondo school affiliated to the United Kingdom Taekwondo association. Being part of the club for 4 years he tested for all is Gup grades under Master Rhee Ki Ha and successfully competed in tournaments within the association winning his first national title in 1979. In 1981 he joined the Merchant Navy for a period of 10 years while serving in the Navy he was under contract by the Ministry Of Defence and served on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships in the Falklands and Persian Gulf War zones, aswell as travelling all over the world, While he was in the service he trained in un-armed combat and self-defence and when home on leave he would  compete in Taekwondo tournaments throughout the 1980's. On leaving the Merchant Navy in 1991 he joined a local Taekwondo club and during the early 1990's competed on the open martial arts tournament circuits winning numerous titles over the years. In 1996 he opened 3 schools in the Doncaster area and affiliated them to the Action International Martial Arts Association under the charter of North Of England Tae Kwon Do Academy with the Guidance of Grandmaster Hee Il Cho. In 1997 he travelled to Los Angeles to train at AIMAA HQ and to test for 2nd Dan. In 1998 while competing in the UKTA (ITF) British Championships in Scotland in the final round of the Black Belt sparring he clashed legs with his opponent and broke the shin bone in his right leg, putting him out of training for six months. After making a full recovery in 1999 he travelled to Pittsburgh to train with Grandmaster Cho and Master Philip Ameris (AIMAA Master) and in the same year captained the AIMAA England team to victory against USA and Ireland in Arizona. In 2000 he successfully tested for 3rd Degree in Dublin under Grandmaster Cho and also in Dublin that same year became AIMAA World Champion in sparring. In 2001 he retired from competition and now continues to promote Taekwondo in many martial arts magazines which he as wrote over 40 articals and appeared on the front cover of Martial arts illustrated also he as promoted many martial arts tournaments and kickboxing shows, as well as hosting Grandmaster Hee Il Cho's England seminar in 2002. Most of his efforts now are put into his own school, he as very loyal students, which train with him 3 times a week and have done so since he opened the school in 1996. In 2008 he was awarderd the rank of 5th Dan Mark Guest is a family man with a wife Edith, and five children Liam, Aaron, Rhys, Paige and Brooke, and two pet German Shepard dogs called Tae and Kwon, his spare time is devoted to his family, and he as a great passion for golf, he trains regular himself, he believes that the instructor should be able to do everything he asks his students to do, he teaches by example. Yours in Taekwondo, Mark Cawkwell Friend and student.