A Brief History of the Mount Taekwondo Academy

The academy was established in 1993 by GM Chris Frost, who has remained committed to providing a safe space for local children to learn and excel in the art of Taekwondo.

Over the years, the team has transitioned from its humble beginnings at the Mount Methodist Church to independent premises in 2018.

As a non-profit, volunteer-run organisation, our journey has been shaped by the dedication of our members—led by Chief Instructors Tracey Ainscough and Colin Ainscough—and the community spirit that has fuelled our growth.

Our Ethos

Taekwondo has been a passion of Tracey and Colin’s since they were children, benefiting them well into adulthood.

This passion lies at the heart of the academy’s ethos today, continuing the values established during the club’s humble beginnings and propelling the academy forward with an ever-growing community of students and instructors.

As a community-centred organisation, we strive to provide the highest-quality facilities, training schedules, and standards any professional martial arts academy would aim to achieve. At the same time, we ensure that every penny goes back into the academy, keeping prices affordable and—most importantly—making Taekwondo accessible to all.

Training facilities

Our facility is a fully matted secure space for our students to train, with changing rooms, parents area and cafe complete with WiFi access on request.

The training area also includes a huge selection of state-of-the-art training equipment to ensure the best possible training for students.

To ensure the safety of the students and the facility there is also a 24 hour CCTV system in operation.

Academy accreditation and instructor qualifications

The Mount Taekwondo Academy is affiliated with the British Taekwondo Association, the oldest Taekwondo association in the UK and has attained the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts which ensures that the academy meets the highest standards in the UK.

All instructors are fully Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checked to ensure that they can teach children and vulnerable adults.

As well as both being 4th Dan Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) registered, the chief instructors also hold an array of accreditations and qualifications between them, including, child protection, first aid, sport nutrition and PT certification.

All senior instructors are also fully insured to ensure student safety, with a senior instructor always present during sessions.

Communication

While the TMTKD team are always available for a face-to-face chat, it’s important that we can keep our members up-to-date with the latest club events, news and important class and training updates.

To ensure the most secure and highest levels of communication the academy manages a private Facebook group and a number of WhatsApp channels to make keeping up-to-date as easy as possible.

However, these are only available to active students.

What we offer

While weekday and weekend sessions take up much of the academy’s time, there’s plenty more on offer from the team.

The TMTKD squad compete at competitions in Manchester, Yorkshire, London and since 2024 abroad in Barcelona, with opportunities to compete in Milan and Morocco in the future. However, we also host in-house competitions for those who are unable to travel.

There are also regular opportunities for students to attend seminars with elite Taekwondo instructors and former athletes to hone their skills.

And if that wasn’t enough, we host seasonal events throughout the year, culminating in our end of year awards ceremony and Christmas party, which is the highlight of the year for many.