Frank Murphy
| 
| 
Frank Murphy Taekwondo Master
Author, Martial Arts consultant, and former Irish international, Frank Murphy, recently promoted to 7th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, has enjoyed a colourful and varied career since he began training in 1974. As a fighter and coach for numerous Taekwondo teams in both Ireland and the UK, he is one of the privileged few to have been promoted to Black Belt by the founder of Taekwondo General Choi in 1977.
While these exploits earned him coverage in Irish, English and American Martial Arts magazines, his real gift has been a sharp wit and flair for public speaking. These past few years has seen him emerge as speaker, consultant and mentor to many instructors and school owners.
During a career spanning 36 years he has won nine national and three international titles, opened one of the first full time martial arts centers in the UK in1996, chaired the GTI Taekwondo Association, produced the student “Grapevine” magazine, was a columnist for Martial Arts Illustrated, and Martial Arts Success, trade and wholesale magazines.
He produced a series of Traditional Taekwondo Videos in 1999, and in 2000 became one of the first Europeans to graduate from the American Council of Martial Arts, Instructors Training Course in Florida. He was a speaker at most major martial art business seminars in the UK from 2001 to 2005, and was invited as guest speaker to the World Martial Arts Industry Association Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003. He was voted Instructor of the year by MAI in 2004, and received a lifetime achievement award for over thirty years of training and development for his many contributions by the combined UK and US, College of Martial Arts in Birmingham in 2005.
His trademark dynamic teaching style has gained testimonies from martial art instructors worldwide. With his wife Catarina, he has pioneered and modernized martial arts industry standards of professionalism with various Instructors courses.
Throughout his career he has suffered from a recurring back injury and this prompted him to develop a system of martial arts and fitness training that is specifically geared for the more mature martial artist. Since 2003, both he and Catarina, who has a master’s degree in Physical Education from Loughborough University, have been working and testing a martial arts fitness system, known as Kaizendo Fitness, that he feels passionate about and was launched with the promotion of 22 new Black Belts in the Republic of Ireland this April 2011.
His latest project is the development of a website www.frankmurphysmasterclass.com which is a training resource for anybody involved in martial arts, no matter what level. It is all about training and he invites you to subscribe to his free newsletter, which will give regular training tips and information.
When he is not training, he enjoys Tai Chi, cycling and swimming, and is a keen musician.
Master Training for Black Belts & Instructors
Today Frank Murphy is primarily involved in the training and coaching of Black Belts and Senior students. He is a consultant and mentor to Instructors helping them open, run and maintain their schools.
He also specializes in Black Belt gradings, whereby one of the criteria in to certify, is attendance at his training sessions at any of these venues near Dublin, Cork, Killarney in Ireland and Liverpool in the UK.
He is also runs Seminars and Small Group Training sessions.
Some of Frank Murphy's past achievements:
Click on the link to see a Newspaper clip of Frank Murphy and the Irish team prior to their participation in the ITF World Taekwondo Championships 1981, Argentina.
Click on this link to see Frank Murphy and the Irish Taekwondo team after their return from Argentina.
Click here to see Frank Murphy giving a Taekwondo jumping twist kick breaking demonstration to his students prior to the Cork City Taekwondo Championships, 1981. Lucky he doesn't ask you to try this one at home these days!
Click on this link to see a Newspaper clip showing Frank Murphy with the competitors who represented Ireland in the European Taekwondo Championshipsat Crystal Palace, London, 1980.
Click on this link to see a Newspaper clip about Frank Murphy and his participation in the Irish Open Black Belt Championships 1983.
Below: Frank Murphy and his Team Mates at the ITF World Taekwondo Championships, 1981.
Below: Frank Murphy and a Junior Competitor at the ITF World Taekwondo Championships, 1981.
If you cannot open the PDF file, please click here to download Adobe Reader
