Master Matt Vale - In Action
Master Matt Vale - Accreditations
- Kukkiwon 7th Dan Black Belt
- Registered Instructor with Australian Taekwondo
- NSW Working with children check
- First aid accreditation
- NCAS coaching accreditation (Australian Sports Commission – National Coaching Accreditation Scheme)
- AIS – child protection certificate (Australian Institute of Sport)
- AIS – harassment and discrimination certificate (Australian Institute of Sport)
- ASADA – Anti Doping level 1 accreditation (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority)
- Australian Taekwondo coaching accreditation
- Oceania Taekwondo Union – Coaching accreditation
- World Taekwondo Federation – Global Official License holder
- Experienced Open Mens’ Black Belt fighter – NSW Champion, Australian #2, international experience
- Experienced sparring coach – more than 20 years at state, national and international levels
- 30 years of overall experience in Taekwondo
- 2008 - 2016 Taekwondo NSW Tournament Director
- 2022 -> Current - Taekwondo NSW Secretary and Chairman
Master Matt Vale - History
Master Matt Vale is a 7th Dan black belt in Taekwondo, starting Taekwondo as an enthusiastic underweight 14 year old under Grandmaster Jae Young Kwak.
I loved Taekwondo from my very first session. My initial attraction to Taekwondo was it got me moving, jumping, twisting, striking, defending in ways I never thought was possible
Master Matt powered his way to black belt and also started his journey competiting in full contact Taekwondo sparring. A small group of athletes commenced additional sparring specific training to sharpen skills for competition readiness.
As a 21 year old - Master Matt flew to South Korea for an extended training trip which was a transformational event.
Training 3 sessions per day was exhausting and a genuine insight into what the human body is capable of. Each week had one rest day - where we would only train once. It is no suprise why South Korea has such a deep talent pool of outstanding Taekwondo athletes.
Throughout the 90's and early 2000's Matt hosted and ran elite sparring training for athletes wanting to succeed in competition. At the same time, Matt was investing his time updating his knowledge in sport and exercise science and overhauled his entire methodology and approach to teaching Taekwondo.
"I questioned everything I thought I knew. I sought knowledge from AIS resources and highly experienced members in the Taekwondo community. I re-imagined all aspects of training through the lens of modern sports science understanding."
From 2008 until 2016, Master Matt was tournament director for NSW Taekwondo, building competition numbers from 200 all the way up to 800 competitors. A computer scientist by trade, Matt implemented many changes to improve competition management for NSW Taekwondo, primarily the development and introduction of web-based tournament management and the introduction of electronic (Daedo PSS) scoring for sparring competition.
Stepping back from the director role - Matt was an active volunteer for Taekwondo NSW - maintaining and testing technical equipment and providing support and assistance on competition days.
In April 2022, Matt resumed active leadership in the Taekwondo community - elected to the be Secretary and Chairman for Taekwondo NSW.
"I always appreciate the support I receive from the NSW community - this role is very challenging - I aim to be direct and transparent, willing to admit error, be aware of and avoid self-importance. Fortunately there are many good people in NSW who put in a lot of effort for no personal gain - its a great community to be a part of."
Having established strong ties in the Taekwondo community, Master Matt now hosts the annual "Sydney Taekwondo Championships" which attracts hundreds of local and interstate athletes. The Sydney Taekwondo Championships is a major event on the NSW Taekwondo calendar, offering electronic scoring and high level officiating for all levels of athletes from elite black belts down to 5 year old yellow belts.
With a wealth of competition knowledge and experience, Master Matt and Master Jade joined forces in May 2013 to start Southern Stars Taekwondo - aiming to teach and develop a new generation of Taekwondo athletes. Southern Stars Taekwondo runs a vibrant and challenging kids program, and provides special training for those interested in Olympic style Taekwondo competition. Teens and adults are also catered for and we offer special training for those wanting to compete at the elite level.
"We are very proud of our track record of producing outstanding Taekwondo athletes, consistently achieving great results at all levels of Taekwondo competition."
Master Matt is a graduate in Computer Science and is an experienced software developer. Matt left full time employment in 2017 and now enjoys teaching Taekwondo and also uses his software development skills in the environmental science arena.
On an ongoing basis Master Matt attends coaching seminars and engages in online learning in all aspects of sports science.
"It is a privilege to take everything I have learned to teach the next generation and enjoy the journey alongside them."
