Message from Master McPhail

Dear Warrior TKD Members & Friends,
In the last newsletter, Ms. Dillen shared that she is stepping down from her position at Warrior TKD and introduced me as the new owner and head instructor.  I know some of you may have mixed feelings about this, as Carolina built the club from the ground up and has been a great instructor and mentor to many of you.  So it is with some trepidation that I take this position - but also with great excitement about the challenge of following in Carolina's footsteps!

I first met Carolina in 1997 and later had the pleasure of being her coach on the New Zealand National Team in 2002. Carolina went on to become a multiple time World Champion and the mastermind behind New Zealand's largest Taekwon-Do centre - Warrior Taekwon-Do.

I have tremendous respect for Carolina as a Taekwon-Do student, athlete and instructor.  She has taught me invaluable lessons over the years of our friendship, and it is with that attitude, the attitude of a student, that I come to the Warrior.  I want to work together with the staff, instructors, members and families to learn how to make sure Warrior remains a club that other clubs respect and admire and aspire to be.

I started Taekwon-Do nearly 40 years ago.  I taught my first children's class in 1978 and I became a professional instructor in 1985.  I currently manage Paul M Papakura, which has over 160 students and 25 active black belts.  Two of our black belts are current ITF world champions.  It is one of my goals to build up the senior end of Warrior TKD so that all of our members have a secure "career path" for whichever direction they wish to take their Taekwon-Do.

While I enjoy the tournament side of Taekwon-Do but my real passion is with the martial art itself and its instruction.  I am the Technical Advisor for iTKD, as well as the author of the syllabus and handbooks we use in New Zealand.

I also carry out the following roles in our organisation:

- Chairman of the Advisory Panel (senior masters who over see the organisation)
- Chief Examiner and Examiner trainer
- New Zealand representative on the Oceania Taekwon-Do Federation
- Webmaster for the iTKD website
- Creator, editor and production manager for Taekwon-Do Talk Magazine
- Coordinator for KiwiSport in Counties Manukau
- Past High Performance Manager for New Zealand
- And others

Over the next weeks I hope to be able to introduce myself to and become acquainted with the club members. I will be instructing classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.30 - 8pm from Tuesday 8th April.  All past and present members are welcome to come and train in my class, as well as those who normally train at that time.

Good luck to everyone with your pre-gradings and gradings over the next few weeks and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Kind regards


Master Paul McPhail
8th Dan