Meet Sabum MARK TROTTER

At the age of 5 in Hobsonville, Auckland, New Zealand is where my martial arts journey began. I liked watching martial arts cartoons and films so my mother and father thought it would be a good idea to enroll me, especially after asking them to go.

I've been doing ITF Taekwon-Do for 35 years. I always loved competing and since I have stopped, I think I find more joy in coaching the next generation of athletes to achieve their goals. I met my wife through Taekwon-Do and we have a daughter named “Paris” who is now training. I love being there to coach her and see the look on her face when she does well. Outside of Taekwon-Do, we love to travel as a family and see the World. I work in Film and TV and have been lucky to be a Fight Choreographer for fight scenes in films all over the world. I have done this since I left school in 2002, working on over 45 films. Below are a few you may regnonize...

The Hobbit trilogy 
Planet Of the Apes
Chief Of War 
MineCraft 
Narnia 
Lord Of the Rings 
Power Rangers 
Evil Dead 
Sweet Tooth 
Mortal Engines 

I can't choose only 1 most memorable moment of my entire 35 years Taekwon-Do career, so here are 3:

#1- Winning my first World Title in 2002 in Puerto Rico in 3rd Degree Patterns.
#2 - Winning Double Gold at my last ITF World Championships in 2017 - 4th Degree Patterns & a 6th World title in Traditional Sparring.
#3 - Silver Medal in 2011 for Micro Weight Sparring at the World Championships in New Zealand.

My current titles:

9x ITF ITWorld Champion
4x ITF World Cup Champion
Pan American Champion 
2x Asian Champion 
8x Oceania Champion 
20 x New Zealand Champion

Currently, I am the Head Coach of my school TMT in Auckland, New Zealand. I am also coaching for the New Zealand National Team, having done so since the 2019 ITF World Championships and will until the 2027 ITF World Championships. Additionally, I teach seminars world wide, having been to over 32 countries so far. I get to share my knowledge and experiences with some great new up-and-coming athletes. To name a few of those countries: 

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Jamacia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Holland, Finland, England, Ireland, Uzbekistan, Scotland, China, Belgium, and USA. 

My wife and I have been running an online training program for athletes world wide, focusing on Patterns , Strength & Conditioning and Nutrition. We have been doing this for the past 5 years. Though I am part of Team New Zealand, my passion is to help athletes improve and reach their maximum potential, regardless of which country they are from. I am currently working with athletes from England, Puerto Rico, Australia, Argentina, Holland, Malaysia, Canada, Ukraine, Colombia, USA and of course, all over New Zealand. We started doing these online coaching sessions during the pandemic and it's been rapidly growing ever since. A proud moment for me was seeing 3 of the Black Belts I currently work with online win a Gold medal last year at the ITF World Cup, and many others medalled.

What’s next?:

I am currently training and working on my preparation to test to Master (7th Degree) later this year in Croatia. I am also coaching athletes from New Zealand that will compete at the upcoming ITF World Championships. I would like to continue to grow our online classes for athletes or small groups. Also supporting our daughter Paris who is now competing in New Zealand and one day wants to compete internationally. 

My experience working with Mightyfist:

AMAZING - Since the day I met Brigitte and Jason Morris in 2014 at the ITF World Cup in Jamaica, I have had an amazing experience with them. Not only in Taekwon-Do but in life. They have treated me with the upmost respect as an Athlete and Coach. The support shown towards me has been like no other supplier in Taekwon-Do I have ever experienced.