At the recent 80th Anniversary celebration for World Taekwondo Jidokwan (the world headquarters of our traditional lineage of Taekwondo), Grandmaster Sam has been acknowledged and awarded his 9th Degree Black Belt! This is truly a momentous achievement that can only be claimed by a handful of people in our country, as well as the world.

It's difficult to put into a few words how admirable an achievement this is, as it epitomises a lifetime of dedication to the art of Taekwondo. Grandmaster Sam has spent his life not only pursuing excellence in his own martial arts journey, but sparking inspiration and helping thousands of students over the lifetime of Hills District Martial Arts to achieve their own goals.

The 9th Degree Black Belt is the highest possible rank that a martial artist can achieve in Taekwondo in their lifetime and represents a great commitment to the spread of Taekwondo. Grandmaster Sam also received a commendation from the Kukkiwon for Outstanding Development and Dissemination of Taekwondo.

We are very proud of Grandmaster Sam at HDMA, CONGRATULATIONS Sir!

On Friday 27th March, Grandmaster Sam was also acknowledged with an award at the Oceania Taekwondo Union 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Awards Night at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.

GM Sam was presented with an award acknowledging his commitment to the development of Taekwondo in Australia by World Taekwondo President Dr Choue. He was also presented with a Paris 2024 Olympic Black Belt personally signed by Dr Choue.

From GM Sam -

I'm humbled and honoured to receive such recognition. I would like to personally thank Mr Maher Magableh, OTU President, and Dr Choue, WT President.

Congratulations Grandmaster Sam!