Black Belt Interviews

Stephen Tapilatu Personal information Nickname The Dragon Nationality Dutch Born March 17, 1972 (age 52) Groningen, Netherlands Sport Country The Netherlands Sport Taekwondo, MMA, kickboxing Rank Teakwondo ITF 7 Dan Club Sportcenter tapilatu / Teakwondo Groningen(TKDG) Team Golden Glory (MMA) Now coaching National team, ITF Netherlands Achievements and titles World finals Canada 1990, Malaysia 1994 Regional finals 1990 Davos, 1992 Koszalin Updated on 8 February 2013 Stephen Tapilatu (born March 17, 1972, in Groningen) is a prominent Dutch martial artist who has achieved success at the highest level primarily in ITF but also in WTF taekwondo. He began taekwondo at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his black belt father, Wijnand Tapilatu. He became ITF World Champion in 1990 and 1994[1] and won two European titles, in 1990 and 1992.[1] In 1991 he won a silver medal at the WTF World Championship in Athens.[2] Tapilatu fought his way to victory in the prestigious King of Taekwondo competition in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995 and 1996.[3] After completing his taekwondo career he took up kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), notably challenging leading figures including Dutch karate champion Ronny Rivano, Brian Lo-An-Joe[4] and the former kickboxing world champion Perry Ubeda. From 1999 to 2008 he was a member of Team Golden Glory,[5] alongside one of the most successful fighters of all time: Semmy Schilt. Stephen Tapilatu is a member of a large and successful taekwondo family headed by his father Master Wijnand Tapilatu, who was a member of the winning Dutch team that took the 1984 World Taekwondo Championship. His sister Bianca and his cousins Django and Patiparu have also won many ITF titles. Bianca Tapilatu is married to Tomaž Barada, three times ITF World Champion and six times ITF European champion. He retired from competitive martial arts in 2008. Since that time he has taught taekwondo with his father at Tapilatu's sport center in his home town of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is also much in demand as a personal trainer, and in 2012 played a key role in the return to form of the footballer Género Zeefuik, who began his career at Ajax and currently plays for FC Groningen.[6][7] Stephen Tapilatu was appointed national coach of ITF Netherlands in November 2012.[8] In July 2022 Tapilatu was promoted to the rank of 7th Dan black belt, joining an elite group of only 2 other ITF taekwondo practitioners currently holding this rank in the Netherlands.[9]

Mr Anslow began his martial arts journey around 1986 (whilst still at high school), dabbling in arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun and even Ninjitsu. At college he studied both Judo and Fencing, before finally settling on Ch'ang Hon (ITF) Taekwon-do in early 1991 at Wembley Taekwon-Do School, under the instructorship of Master David Bryan (then a 5th degree) and Mr John Pepper, 2nd degree. During his formative years in Taekwon-do, he also got the opportunity to study some Jiu-Jitsu as well as training along side his friend (Dave Arnold), a Shotokan black belt, for many years. He graded to black belt in Taekwon-do in early 1994 under the B.U.T.F. and gained his 2nd degree in 1996. In 1999 he founded Rayners Lane Taekwon-do Academy, which ran in the same location until 2007, when the hall was demolished and we move into the newly built dojang (training hall), just a few hundred years away, continuing to run there ever since. In 2000 he graded to 3rd degree under Master Juan Mahai of the KTA (Korean Taekwondo Association), as well as winning a gold and silver medal at the AIMAA World Championships. In 2002, along with a couple of friends in the USA & Canada he founded IAOMAS (International Alliance of Martial Art Schools), which continues to flourish under the guidence of Mr Colin Wee, to this day. Stuart Anslow - Chief Instructor In 2003 he was inducted into Combat magazines 'Hall of Fame' & in 2004 he graded to 4th degree whilst in the USA, as well as 7 of his students becoming World Champions (2 as double world gold medallists) at the 2nd AIMAA World Championships. In 2005 he started writting his first book (Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul, Vol. 1), which was released in 2006 to critical acclaim to Taekwon-Do students around the world. Also in 2005, he went from part-time instructor, to full-time instructor, establishing Harrow Martial Arts. Having written for and been interviewed in many martial arts magazines over the years, in early 2009 he started his own magazine; Totally Tae Kwon Do magazine, a global Tae Kwon Do magazine loved by all that read it, which he editted and ran free for 40 issues and is still going strong today. In 2010 he graded to 5th degree (along side fellow instructor Mr Vikram Gautam who was grading for 3rd degree) under legendary Taekwon-do pioneering Master, Willie Lim, 8th degree. Also in 2010 he released a further 3 books (The Encylopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns, Vols. 1, 2 & 3), all of which were received extremely well and became top sellers Also in 2010 Mr Anslow was awarded a citation from Dr. Chungwon Choue, (then) President of the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation), South Korea, recognizing his 'outstanding contribution to the development of Taekwondo'. In 2012 he released the second volume of Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul, which so many had been waiting for. Again, it was very well recieved. In 2013 he released his sixth book, From Creation To Unification, which is adored by many due to its in-depth historical contents regarding Taekwon-Do, in 2015 his first book (Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul, Vol. 1) was released as a Spanish version as well and in 2017 he released his 7th book, 'Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-Do Hosinsul' which was a detailed look at the self-defence aspect of Taekwon-Do (known as Hosinsul). In 2022, as well as his daughter gaining her 1st Degree black belt, he graded for 6th Degree, under Master Hay Harris, 7th Degree (Himself a Master promoted by Grandmaster Willie Lim, 9th Dan) Over the years he has taught numerous seminars (both home and abroad) on the applications of Taekwon-do's patterns (as well as other aspects of the art, such as knife and gun defence) and in 2015 he travelled to South Korea with one of his senior students, where he not only got to experience the fantastic culture of Korea and many historically relevant places, but also taught Taekwon-do in the homeland of the art, over the course of 10 days. And he returned in 2018, with another of his students, Matthew Baxter. Mr Anslow has 4 lovely children and continues to run the Academy. To him, Taekwon-Do is not a hobby or a part-time job, its not even a full-time job; it his his career that he devotes his life to, both developing excellent students, whilst continuing to promote and develop that art he loves.

Master Mariusz is a 8th degree black belt and professional ACE (American Council on Exercise) Certified Personal Trainer and sports coach, currently based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He has been into sports since his early teenage years, following his greatest passion, ITF Taekwon-Do, which he has been studying ever since. He has over 30 years of experience in training and coaching including a successful competitive career that includes 3 gold medals from the ITF Taekwon-Do European Championships (1996, 1997, 1999) and 6 gold medals from the Polish Championships. Most notably, he has coached Finland and Vietnam’s national teams. Under his lead, Finland rose from the far-middle of the list in the general classification to 5th in the World and 2nd in all of Europe. His Finnish and Vietnamese athletes have won 8 Gold medals from World Championships and dozens from the European and Asian Championships.

Part 1 of my interview with Master John Mcilvaney from Scotland. 👊 Master Mcilvaney is able to tell us of his 44 years in Taekwon - Do. The interview includes many anecdotes and accounts of his early days and experiences with FGM Rhee Ki Ha and other  Pioneers of Taekwon-Do. 👊 Master Mcilvaney talks about how he and his fellow students embraced the “Martial” side of training as they were lead by highly impressive hard core instructors that walked the walk.  👊 He takes us right up to the present times and what he is most passionate about today. Master Mcilvaney and several other instructors from around the World are contributing massively to the ground breaking work in Additional Sporting Needs and inclusivity within Taekwon-Do, highlighted by a recent demonstration at the European championships, which brought the crowd to their feet with several standing ovations. 👊 Master Mcilvaney, has faced and stood up to many threatening physical challenges from his years as regular doorman in Glasgow. However, he is able to tell us about this and more with wit and humour. Altogether it makes for a great podcast.

Mel Steiner is a Martial Arts instructor and competitor with a 9th Dan in TaeKwon-Do. Among his many accomplishments he is listed on Who’s Who in American Martial Arts, and also included in Marquis’ Who’s Who in the South and Southeast. Grandmaster Steiner is a Certified International Instructor, as well as a Certified International Umpire. In 1989, he was inducted into the International Karate Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was one of only five in the U.S. to be recognized by the International Taekwon Do Federation as “Outstanding Instructor” Grandmaster Steiner began his Martial Arts training in 1969 and began teaching in 1974. He opened Chi Taekwon Do school in 1981. His articles “Condition the Hand the Eastern Way”, “Martial Co-Ops, The New Wave” “China in Search of Roots”, “How to Measure Stances” and others have appeared in the Tae Kwon Do Times Magazine. Accomplishments 1969 – White Belt 1974 – B.A. from Florida International University 1981 – Opened TKD commercial school. 1984 – 1st to demonstrate TKD at the Honan Shaolin Temple in China International TKD Federation-I.T.F. 1986 – Promoted to 4th Degree #A-4-102 1988 – Certified as ITF International Instructor #419 1989 – Promoted to 5th Degree #A-5-37 1994 – Promoted to 6th Degree #A-6-21 1999 – Promoted to 7th Degree Master #A-7-14 2001- Feature cover Taekwon-Do Times Magazine 2003 – Promoted to 8th Degree Master ICTF #1 2007 – Promoted to 9th Degree- Grandmaster * I.T.F. school plaque #301 * Class “B” I.T.F. National Umpire #281 * Class “A” I.T.F. International Umpire #542 * Re-established I.T.F. governing body in ­ Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela & Nicaragua * Hosted the 5th I.T.F. Instructors Course in the U.S., #35, taught by the founder of Taekwon Do – Gen. Choi Hong- Hi, in 1991 * Hosted the 1st ever I.T.F. Instructors course taught by a non-Asian Grandmaster C.E. Sereff – 9th Dan * Participated in thirteen I.T.F. International Instructors Courses and taught two * One of only five in the US ever to be awarded “Outstanding Instructor Award” by the I.T.F. in 1995 * Met with Nicaraguan President Chamorro to promote Taekwon-Do in the Army and public schools * Designed, published, copyrighted a unique method of measuring stances * Inducted into the “International Karate Hall of Fame” * First President of Organizacion Chi Taekwon-Do Venezuela and U.S.A.