On Saturday evening, November 25, 2023 at the annual UK ITF Awards Nights & Banquet at United Kingsdom, SM Steve Zondag was promoted to Grand Master by Secretary General GM Nicholls on behalf of ITF Choi Jung Hwa.
GM Steve Zondag is now the first Grand Master of the Netherlands of all Taekwon-Do schools
affiliated to the parent organization ITF Choi Jung Hwa.
Very special and grateful that he was able to achieve this and share it with his daughter Imre, son-in-law Arie and (grand) daughters Laudi and Faylin, although Imre Zondag made sure that this remained a surprise until the last moment to lure him to UK on behalf of GM Nicholls.
How would you describe the personal importance and meaning that reaching the
highest category in Taekwon-Do has for you?
No personal importance, I think it is more an appreciation of all fellow Taekwon-Dokas such as students, teachers, head teachers, The President Grand Master Choi Jung Hwa and theGrand Masters around them, such as Grand Master Nicholls, Grand Master Galarraga that they know that I I am ready for this and have earned it. After 50 years of Taekwon-Do, I think it is a wonderful achievement and that is why I really appreciate this very highest degree.
How do you perceive your role as a teacher and leader in the Taekwon-Do
community?
I want to guide my students to the best of my ability and offer the best of what I have and know in terms of knowledge. As a result, I hope that a student will rise above themselvesand become a great teacher in their future.
Could you share some of the most enriching experiences you have had as an
instructor and how they have influenced your perspective on Taekwon-Do?
There are too many to mention after all these years. But if I may mention a few, for example:
a) When your first student gets their first Dan degree and later you see your students go on to get a second-, third-, fourth- and even a fifth Dan degree and hopefully even a sixth Dan
degree in the future. That is something you can only dream of and I think it is really fantastic.
b) Another highlight is that in 2004 we became world champions with the Dutch team in the
home country of Taekwon-Do Korea! That was one of the greatest achievements ever.
c) And of course when one of your students becomes the first European or World Champion.
Do you have any specific guidance or advice for young practitioners looking to follow in your footsteps in Taekwon-Do?
Have fun in your sport and strive to be the best you can be’, I mean in your knowledge and skills, but not to bring others down, but to improve your own and never give up!There will always be setbacks in your life, I have had a few myself. But when you walk into the Dojang I am happy when I see all their faces smiling, Then you know why
you’re doing it.
So always stay positive, the motivation is always to strive for the highest possible and perfection in Taekwon-Do, so that we can pass on the knowledge to the new generation.
How do you balance your commitment to instruction while maintaining your own
personal goals and aspirations in Taekwon-Do?
My goals are my students. So it’s a simple answer; everything I do and my goalsare to encourage my students and to impart my knowledge to the best of my ability so that they can take another step forward in their Taekwon-Do careers.
On your path to 9th Dan, can you share any challenges you have faced and how you have overcome those moments?
I have no real challenges in my path, just setbacks and you have to overcome them. But in Taekwon-Do you say use ‘your Indomitable spirit’. Your ambition can sometimes fade because of the setbacks, but when you go back to the Dojang the setback fades again and then you are immediately motivated to pick up your ambition to continue. It’s the Yin-Yang (in Korean Eum-Yang).
Also the Taekwon-Dokas around you, nationwide and worldwide, it’s one big Taekwon-Do family, and that’s what GM Choi also says, it’s so big, you feel at home by Taekwon-Do, you don’t have to overcome anything.
Everybody gets setbacks in his life, but the future and the Taekwon-Do people around you that carry you through, whether it’s within your Dojang or worldwide, you’re always carried.
Do you have any particular goals that you would like to achieve in your continued
journey in Taekwon-Do?
I don’t have any specific goals. The only goal is that my students have fun and that I can offer them so that they can reach the highest platform ever by themselves. What is even more beautiful is when you can send a student to Master or Senior Master or even Grand Master and that is the very best.
But titles are also part of it, for example Dutch Champion, UK Champion, German Champion,
European Champion, World Champion, too many to mention, and through your presence they pass on their knowledge to new students so that the circle is complete.
It is wonderful to be able to do this and to be able to do it for many years to come. So I don’t need anything for myself, but it would be great if they could experience what I have experienced.
Taekwon-Do is one, Taekwon-Do is a family!
GM Steve Zondag is Vice President of ITF RD (The Netherlands), Chairman of the Dangraad
Committee and Federal Manager of the Match and Selection Committee.
He still trains at the Taekwon-Do Association Suokjang in Alphen aan den Rijn, which he co-
founded in 1985. The basic principle is that everyone is welcome, ‘regardless of skin colour,
religion, education, origin or age’.