Chief Instructor: Don Atkins

My name is Don Atkins and I am currently a 7th dan. I started training in 1970 with the U.K.T.A. under Bob Howe and Ki Har Rhee in Coventry. I used to be a lorry driver and practised tae kwon-do because it was a hobby. Then things evolved and in the end, I decided to go full time as an instructor. Since then it seems as thought I haven't put a foot wrong.

Me and Dave Oliver both started on the same night at the club, though Dave got his first dan in 1974 whereas I took mine in 1975. My first ambition, though, was to gain a blue belt because that was when you were allowed to spar. Yellow belts were restricted to three-step sparring, green belts two-step and you couldn't do anything outside of the syllabus.

I started my first club in 1979 and in 1983 we formed the T.A.G.B.. In 1987 I was elected National Secretary and I'm also South Midlands Area rep. I look after all the T.A.G.B.'s administration and communication and basically keep everyone in contact with everyone else. I also help with running the tournaments.

I like the tournament side of the T.A.G.B. though deep down I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I like the white suits, the etiquette and the discipline. Having both the sports side and the traditional works for me.

When I came onto the committee in 1987, I didn't know anything about running a big organisation so for the first years I just sat still and listened to everyone else. I'm still a novice but I'm a lot better than I was. A few of the lads get onto me because I'm a stickler for detail. I keep going over things to get them right because I like to make sure that what I do is correct.

Personally, I enjoy the sense of reassurance from being part of a good group. When things go wrong, there's always someone who'll come around and help you out of it. Then when someone else is a bit down, you go round there and do the same for them. Also, I enjoy being amongst a group of people with such good organising qualities – you name it and they've got a lot of experience at doing it.

The T.A.G.B. has become so successful through the experience we gained through being members of the U.K.T.A.. Dave Oliver and my instructor, Bob Howe, were on the U.K.T.A. committee at that time and they could see a lot of what was going wrong. These people then were on the original committee of the T.A.G.B., so we were able to learn from their experience. The T.A.G.B. is also successful because our first priority was to look after the instructors. These are the mainstay of every organisation and if you look after them, then they'll be loyal and look after you – it's a two way thing.

I was very proud when my first couple of guys earned their black belts, but a particular high spot was when some of them went on to open their own clubs. Now I look at them teaching their students and sometimes think that if I hadn't started my little beginners' class in 1979, that wouldn't now be happening.

I believe in telling my new students all about the T.A.G.B. from an early stage. I tell them what we charge for different things so that in a few months time we aren't hitting them with something they didn't expect. I also stress the health and fitness side of our practice.

Our training make people more defensively aware, so they recognise a potentially dangerous situation at an earlier stage. Also, I think our practice makes people more self reliant and confident. It strengthens the personality and makes more of a positive person.

Tae kwon-do also provides discipline for children and teaches themrespect and etiquette. A lot of youngsters pull out because they can't handle those things, but those who stay on benefit.

What I want for the T.A.G.B. and what I want for myself are both interlinked. I'd like the T.A.G.B. to continue to go from strength to strength and I'd like to continue helping to run it.

I want to look back some time in the future and be able to say that I was part of that. I want to leave behind something for someone else to carry on with. That's a bit of a cliché, I know, but it's what I'd like.