History

• My Journey in Tae Kwon – Do  

My journey started in 1987 at the age of 13, when working at our family - owned garage with my eldest brother. On our way home we noticed Tae Kwon-Do students with their doboks; walking past, which intrigued me to stop and ask for information.  As a result of my curiosity I was led to my first ever Tae Kwon- Do class, from where my fascination with the art began.

My inspiration in life became my first teacher Grand Master Bhupinder Sohota, who taught me one of the most important principles which I have adopted into my life “To never retreat nor surrender in difficult situations”. Tae Kwon - Do is more than just a hobby for me, it is a way of life. It has taught me; Courtesy - to be respectful to anyone from any background, Integrity -  stay true to your beliefs and never bend your morals, Perseverance - always push forward, no matter the obstacles ahead, Self - Control - master your impulses and remain in sync with mind and body, and Indomitable spirit - No matter what, never give up. Tae Kwon - Do provided me with a focus and instilled discipline in all parts of my life. It created a structure within my day - to - day activities and ensured that I remained focused and not deterred by any outer circumstances. As we all know life is full of turbulences, but Tae Kwon - Do has been my strength throughout.

I became dedicated in becoming the best in every aspect of my life, especially in Tae Kwon - Do. As a result of my determination and persistent training, I eventually became the lightweight champion of the UKGT. However, this was not enough for me, I could never let my master see me fail nor surrender. Therefore, I trained harder and harder and continued to dominate every championship I attended. I was collecting gold after gold and by the age of 23 years, my Grand Master granted me my first Dan black belt.  

Achieving my first Dan Black belt was a pivotal moment in my life, I had made my beloved mother, my Master and my family and friends proud. I felt a sense of accomplishment, my hard work, effort, and perseverance had led to this. I was truly at the top of the world. I believed in myself, and I never allowed anything to get in the way of achieving my goals. Shortly after, I travelled to the United States of America where I attended many seminars and trained with American practitioners of Tae Kwon – Do. I toured the entire country, visiting many States and learning all about American culture. I was even presented with the option to open my own club in Virginia but refused as my home was the UK and I could never abandon it. 

Soon after this golden time in life, my mother passed away. This devastating time in my life caused me to withdraw from everything, I focused on myself and worked hard to fill the void she left in my life. Eventually, I decided to persevere and attend classes again. However,  I could no longer travel to Grand Master Sahota's class due to the distance and my commitments to my family. So that door was closed upon me, but when one door closes, another opens. In my search for a local Tae Kwon - Do class I found out my good friend Grand Master Hiron was running his own organization (UKTI) in my area so I decided to begin training with him and introduce my children to Tae Kwon – Do.  

Over the years, Tae Kwon – Do provided me with the tools to defend myself but it also taught me how to win without fighting. To control an aggressor without engaging in combat. In the UKTI I was taught how to coach and instruct students, this allowed me to learn from the mistakes of students and understand Tae Kwon – Do in a lot more in depth. My children also had a great role model to follow as Grand Master Hiron John instilled confidence, passion, and discipline in them. Following years of training with the UKTI, I was awarded my 2nd Dan in the year 2002 on the 22nd April and 3rd  Dan on the 7th of November 2006. Having achieved a 3rd Dan, I continued to compete and attended many IIC’S held by the UKTI. I competed, coached, refereed, and umpired many competitions over the years.  During this period, I attended an international seminar in Malta with Grand Master Hiron John, and my future Master Andy Betts. At this seminar we practiced sparring, self – defence and patterns with many other Tae Kwon – Do practitioners from around the world. This was a truly eye – opening experience as I saw Tae Kwon – Do still being practiced the same way General Choi taught it. He would be proud of how far his martial art has come since its’s conception. 

On the 2nd of July 2013, I was promoted to 4th Dan and took more of a senior role within the UKTI. I continued to train and develop my Tae Kwon – Do skills and mentored my children to understand Tae Kwon – Do and become champions. In 2018 the UKTI attended the UKTC Tae Kwon – Do World Championships in Scotland. This was a good experience for me and my children. We attended squad training sessions and trained very hard to be ready. The UKTI built a squad which I am proud to say I was a part of. In this competition I only achieved a bronze in sparring, although I did not achieve a gold in 2018, I did receive my 5th Dan belt on the 9th June which was a very big achievement for me. I learned a lot from this experience and when the UKTI decided to attend again in 2019. I achieved a silver medal in patterns and got to the semi – finals in sparring. . I was constantly evolving and progressing, which meant more to me than any medals or awards. Most importantly, I never gave up.

After leaving the UKTI in 2019, I joined the GTI (Global Tae Kwon - Do International). I began training at My Master Andy Betts's club  Offley Tae Kwon – Do. However, not too long after this, the pandemic arrived. Training could not be done in halls. So, I could no longer train, but my Master showed me the way, we went for hill runs every week instead. I practiced my patterns and sparred with him. He taught me, that Tae Kwon – Do does not need fancy halls and a full class to train. It can be done anywhere, we trained on top of the hills, in the rain, in the mud, in the heat, it simply did not matter. This training conditioned both my body and mind to be at peace to train anywhere. After joining the GTI I attended squad trainings, instructor courses and competitions to test my abilities. I also umpired and refereed to help on the day. In my first competition since the pandemic, I achieved a silver in sparring. But then the next I achieved a silver in sparring again but also a gold in patterns. Master Andy Betts taught me that tradition is important in Tae Kwon – Do, we cannot forget where our art originated and how it was taught. He ensures students are practicing their patterns, studying self – defence, conditioning their limbs and remaining disciplined like a soldier. One of his favourite quotes from General Choi Hong Hi is “Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to go to his class”. 

Now as my journey with Tae Kwon - Do continues, I hope to inspire my children to continue their Tae Kwon - Do journeys and become the best versions of themselves and to never give up just as I had never done. I have achieved many goals in my life and continue to achieve success. My aim is to pass down my knowledge and experience and to help people to discover the power within and master self - control and discipline. Tae Kwon - Do has been a pillar in my life and has created a pathway to success by instilling its core values and an undefeated outlook to life - “If you believe, you truly shall achieve”. I want to demonstrate the benefits of Tae Kwon – Do to new students and teach them the following values: 

· Confidence - by heightening your physical and mental powers. 

· Determination - by encouraging you to succeed and to take control of your life. 

· Discipline - by thoroughly training your body and mind with the tenets and techniques of Tae Kwon - Do. 

· Self - awareness - by training you to recognize situations in which physical self - defence may be necessary and teaching you how to control such situations to your advantage. 

· Focus - by giving goals to my students and teaching them the ability to plan their path to success. 

After 35 years of Tae Kwon – Do I am opening my own club. Luton Tae Kwon – Do Fighters, here I shall teach the art as I have learned it through 3 different masters: Grand Master Bhupinder Sohota, Grand Master Hiron John, and Master Andy Betts. This club shall be a beacon of light to those looking to do better in life. It shall be a place to learn the art of Tae Kwon – Do and my personal tenet - “No Retreat, No surrender.

Mohammed Shahid   

6th Dan Black Belt 

Achievements:

GTI 

• GTI British Open 2024 - Gold Patterns
• GTI British Open 2024 - Silver Sparring
• GTI Black Belt Grading - 6th Degree - 14/10/2024
• GTI National Open 2024 - Silver Patterns
• GTI National Open 2024 - Silver Sparring
• GTI AGM 2024
• GTI British Open 2023 - Gold Patterns
• GTI British Open 2023 - Gold Sparring
• GTI Masters Seminar 2023
• GTI 30th anniversary Instructor Training Day 2023
• LTSI English Opens 2022 - Silver sparring 
• LTSI English Opens 2021 – Gold patterns
• LTSI English Opens 2022 - Silver Patterns
• LTSI English Opens 2021 – Silver sparring 
• GTI Open 2021 – Silver sparring 
• UKTC Scotland 2019 – Silver sparring 
• UKTC Scotland 2018 – Bronze sparring 
• UKTI Championships 2015 – Gold sparring 
• UKTI Championships 2015 – Bronze patterns 
• UKTI Championships 2015 – Bronze special technique 
• UKTI Championships 2015 – Power 
• ILT Championships 2014 – Gold sparring 
• ILT Championships 2012 – Gold sparring 
• ILT Championships 2012 – Gold patterns  
• ILT Championships 2012 – Silver special technique 
• ILT Championships 2011 – Gold sparring 
• ILT Championships 2010 – Silver sparring 
• ILT Championships 2010 – Silver patterns 
• ILT Championships 2006 – Gold sparring 
• UKGT 1997 – Gold sparring 
• UKGT 1996 – Gold patterns 
• UKGT 1996 – Gold sparring 
• UKGT 1996 – Gold sparring 
• UKGT 1996 – Gold sparring 
• UKGT 1996 – Gold sparring 
• London Championships Crystal Palace 1995 – Gold patterns 
• London Championships Crystal Palace 1995 – Gold sparring 
• London Championships Crystal Palace 1995 – Best Male Sparring Award
• Global Institutes Championship 1995 – Gold sparring 
• TAGB British Junior Championships 1990 – Bronze patterns 

Unknown: 

• ILT Championship - Gold sparring 
• ILT Championship - Gold sparring 
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Global Tae Kwon - Do International was founded in 1993. Established by a group of like-minded instructors, the association continues to promote Tae Kwon - Do as a martial art for self - defence. It is always accountable to its members, students and patrons. 

The GTI is a non-profit making organisation, with schools across the UK. Our association is managed by its Officers who are elected by the instructor body and it includes some the most senior Tae Kwon - Do instructors in the country. Some of our founding members include Master Tony Sewell, Master George Cockburn, Master Clive Harrison, Mr Frank Murphy, Mr Kim Stones and now UFC fighter Mark Weir.