Welcome to Trident Taekwon-Do

At Trident Taekwon-Do, we take pride in delivering professional, high-quality instruction in a welcoming and motivating environment. Our instructors hold recognised Taekwon-Do degrees, instructor certifications, and umpire qualifications — many also hold international credentials. Every instructor is DBS-checked, insured, and first-aid certified to ensure your safety and peace of mind.

We've built an academy where ambition and community go hand-in-hand — a place where students of all ages grow in skill, confidence, and friendship. Whether you're seeking self-defence, discipline, or a fitness boost, you'll find something here for you.

Our students regularly represent Trident at ITF British, European and World Championships, as well as national trials — proof that dedication and teamwork thrive here.

Trident operates a full-time academy, a network of local clubs, and school-based programmes. You can find venue details on our Locations page.

Here at Trident Manchester Taekwon-Do Academy we offer a range of classes for the whole family of all fitness levels. You're welcome to pop along to our club and take part in a Taster Class where you will get a true insight into the family fun environment. We have several family members; parents and their children that have bonded from this joint passion.

As a regular member of our club you will also:

• Improve your Physical fitness and wellbeing
• Strengthen, tone and condition your body
• Improve your flexibility, coordination and balance (although it's definitely not yoga)
• Improved confidence, discipline and self-esteem
• Release anxiety and stress relief
• Effective self-defence techniques (an essential life skill in today's society)

Taekwon-Do has many mental wellbeing benefits to match the physical. It will help you feel self-motivated, self-confident with a stronger mental attitude. Our fun fulfilling yet challenging classes along with the progressive grading system, helps all students to stay motivated and see advancement and improvement in their Degree.

In addition to the excellent personal skills that our students develop, our students also learn conflict resolution techniques to be able to not have an incident escalate in to a physical situation, however if it does they know how to effectively protect and defend themselves in the event they are caught in this unfortunate situation.

Taekwon-Do isn't just a martial art — it's a path to personal growth. Students learn focus, respect, and conflict resolution as much as they do powerful techniques.

At Trident, progress is measured not only in belts, but in the mindset and resilience our students develop every step of the way.

In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with the foot," kwon means "to strike or break with the fist," and do means "way," "method," or "path." Therefore Taekwon-Do may be loosely translated as "the way of the hand and the foot" — a martial art built on respect, discipline, and the pursuit of continuous improvement.

There are five tenets defined in the ITF that guide every practitioner.

Patterns, or teul (틀) in Korean, originally called hyeong (형), form an important aspect of training in Taekwon-Do. They are equivalent to the kata in karate. The majority of the patterns (except Yul-Gok, Ul-Ji and Tong-Il) start with a defensive move, which emphasizes Taekwon-Do's defensive nature. All of the patterns start and end at the same location — ensuring the practitioner's stances are the correct length, width, and direction.

The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is an organisation founded on March 22, 1966, by General Choi Hong Hi in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial art of Taekwon-Do.

The ITF's main functions include coordinating and approving tournaments and seminars, setting standards for teaching (patterns, sparring, destruction), collaborating with affiliated member organizations, and providing services to members in regards to rank and certifications.