Mr. Tony Page started his martial arts training when he was just 10 years old. His first style, Judo, was a grappling art, and he reached brown belt when he was 12 years old. He particularly enjoyed the stand-up part of Judo, which consisted of 40 different throws and takedowns.
Mr. Page took a few years off from martial arts while he was in college, where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and went to work in Spring City, Tennessee for the Tennessee Valley Authority as a start-up Engineer in one of their nuclear power plants. However, he could not stay away from the martial arts, and he began to study again on his own.
After changing jobs and moving to Sacramento, California, Mr. Page began to train formally again in Songahm Taekwondo. He achieved his black belt three years later and entered the instructor trainee program in 1990. In addition, he began to train in another art, Hapkido, that had many of the strikes of Taekwondo with many of the takedowns from Judo. Finally, Mr. Page committed to the American Taekwondo Association and became a certified instructor in 1994. He has never stopped training, and teaching. He has been ranked in the World Top Ten in each belt rank, and in 2003 became World Champion in forms. In addition, he has trained four other World Champions, and his students have won over 80 state titles in forms, sparring and weapons.
Mr. Page founded the Black Belt Academy of Poplar Bluff in 2001. He is a 5th degree Master Apprentice in GShim Taekwondo and continues to strive for excellence in himself and his students.