Commemorative - Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân

Messages of Support Grand Master Tran Trieu Quan

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the tragic death of Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân, 9th Degree Black Belt, and President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation as a result of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

The International Taekwon-Do Foundation of New Zealand extends its deepest condolences to Mrs Tran, the Tran family and close friends. Our thoughts and prayers of comfort are with them at this time of grief and sorrow.

To the International Taekwon-Do Federation Board, Grandmasters, Masters, Instructors and students from around the world. We stand united with you in your sympathies for our beloved President and his family. We believe the bond and friendships between all our nations will be forever strengthened and remain strong.

Yours truly,

Master Evan Davidson
President

Video Tribute to Grand Master Tran

Grand Master Trân President Tran has been a regular visitor to New Zealand and a key international supporter of the ITF World Championships being held in Wellington in March 2011.

Board Chairman of International Taekwon-Do Dennis Burns, says his death has deeply saddened the New Zealand Taekwon-Do community.

"He loved New Zealand and was a very strong advocate and was pivotal in New Zealand gaining the hosting rights for the World championships in 2011 and we will sorely miss his support as a leader and mentor."

President Tran was in Haiti on business in his capacity as CEO of Norbati Consultants a construction and consulting firm based in Quebec Canada.
"He worked tirelessly since being elected as President in 2003 to introduce many important initiatives. He was strong believer that International Taekwon-Do can be used as a tool for social development and a strong advocate for change to make the ITF a truly democratic organisation."

He designed and implemented a series of seminars scheduled to be held this year, to introduce the philosophy of Taekwon-Do to instructors all around the world. President Tran was a loyal student and follower of the teachings of the Founder of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi (1918-2002) and a prolific writer of articles on philosophy and systems for improving Taekwon-Do schools.

"His passing is a great loss and has left a huge gap in the leadership of our organisation however, we can find strength in some inspirational words that he enjoyed by American author John C Maxwell.
"A leader is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him."

"With President Tran’s leadership we stood ten feet tall and I know that with that self belief, the members of the New Zealand ITF will keep alive his dream."

Brief Summary of the Career of Grand Master Tran

Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân is a Canadian citizen who was born in Vietnam, where he started studying the martial art of Taekwon-Do when he was twelve years old. Five years later, he started a Taekwon-Do school to teach this martial art within the education system of the city of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
He moved to Canada in 1970 to study engineering at Laval University in Quebec City. There he also set up Taekwon-Do schools, the first such schools in Eastern Canada. After receiving his engineering degree, he chose to make his permanent home in Canada.

His professional career: Grand Master Trân started a consulting firm, Norbati Consultants Trân & Associates, which specializes in building standards and project management for the construction sector. Norbati has worked on projects in Canada and abroad and has developed an innovative concept for the modernization and optimization of the building construction sector in developing countries.
Grand Master Trân’s realizations in Taekwon-Do:

Starting in 1979 and for more than 20 years, Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân worked closely with General Choi Hong Hi, assisting him in the development of the ITF and conducting seminars in countries around the world.
In 1982, Grand Master Trân published Cessez d’avoir peur ("Don’t be afraid"), a practical guide with an innovative approach to self-defense using simple, easy-to-learn techniques.
In 1984, after leading the Canadian Taekwon-Do team to a first-place overall win at the World Championship held in Glasgow (Scotland), he was named Coach of the Year at the athletic awards dinner for all sports in the Quebec City region.
From 1985 to 1989, Grand Master Trân served two terms as president of the Canadian Taekwon-Do international Federation.
In 1986, the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City proclaimed Grand Master Trân one of their "Productive Citizens".
In 1990, he received the "Best Event of the Year" award from the City of Montreal (Canada) for organizing the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championship in that city.
In 1997, the Trân family were given the title of "Family of the Year" for the Quebec City region and, he was named "Personality of the Year" by the 6,000 members of the regional professional association of engineers in Quebec.
From 2001 to 2003, Grand Master Trân was president of the Pan-Am Taekwon-Do Federation.
At the 2003 Congress of the International Taekwon-Do Federation in Warsaw (Poland), Grand Master Trân was elected President. He thus became the successor to the Founder of Taekwon-Do, the late General Choi Hong Hi.
Grand Master Trân is very proud of the vision he and his team have implemented for the ITF since they were first elected in 2003. This vision is that Taekwon-Do must be fully developed in all four facets: Taekwon-Do is a sport and a martial art, but also a way of life and a tool for social development.
The members of the ITF Board of Directors, under the leadership of Grand Master Trân, have kept this vision in mind while making changes in structure and administration to make the organization more efficient and offer better services to ITF members.
Since 2003 the ITF team has completely updated the legal framework for the ITF. This includes the revision of the Constitution and By-Law as well as the development of official policies and procedures. These documents are well written and easy to enforce. They are based on an efficient business-like approach, inspired by his professional experience.
After General Choi Hong Hi’s death, there were conflicting claims by various groups, each claiming to be the legitimate leaders of the ITF. Therefore, the direction team has worked hard to clarify the legal status of the ITF and to bring harmony among the associations and members of the ITF.
Under Grand Master Trân’s leadership, the ITF structure has become a more efficient and democratic operation. The technical aspect and the administration of the ITF now work independently of each other. This formula has been very successful in terms of efficiency and productivity. As a result, membership has increased significantly. There have been positive repercussions on the standardization of ITF Taekwon-Do techniques around the world, especially since the new structure was introduced for the International Instructor Courses.
Since Grand Master Trân’s election as President, the ITF has become more service oriented than ever. It has set as its first priority to increase the number and the quality of the services offered to ITF associations, clubs, and individual members. There is more emphasis on consultation with the members, to be able to create innovative services to suit their needs.
Working with a team of experts, Grand Master Trân has developed the Basic Program for Teaching the Do, the ITF philosophy. The ITF is the only international Taekwon-Do federation to offer such a program. This program is a work in progress, and Grand Master Trân takes a lot of pride in this innovative program.
At various time Grand Master Trân has collaborated with experts in different academic fields at Laval University to do scientific research on various subjects such as the Theory of Power in Taekwon-Do, intervention techniques to help troubled young people, and the value of certain teaching methods.
Since he was elected President of ITF, Grand Master Trân has traveled to an average of twenty countries each year, putting into practice his belief that to be a good leader one needs to be close to all the members.
For 2006-2007, the local Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Immigration of the Province of Quebec, and the City of Quebec proclaimed Grand Master Trân an «Immigrant of the World».
Grand Master Trân was Chairman of the Organizing committee of the ITF 9th Junior and 15th Senior World Championship in Quebec City, Canada. It was the first time in the ITF history that both junior and senior world championships were held together.
Grand Master Trân was been re-elected for a second mandate for 4 year-term as President of the ITF at the 16th Congress of ITF on June 1st, 2007 in Quebec City (Canada).
In December 2008, Grand Master Trân was promoted to 9th degree by Grand Master Van Binh, Chairman of the ITF Masters Promotion Committee.
Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân is a leader and a builder. He works very hard to further the best interests of the ITF and its members. He hopes that leaders of other organizations will be inspired by his creativity and his dedication and work in harmony to build a better world.

(Profile compliments of the CTFI Website)