AITA Melton Victoria: Australian Independent Taekwon-do Academy

Paul Bailey is a 4th Degree international instructor in Taekwon-do and has been practising for over 35 years with experience in several different forms of other martial arts.

He moved to Melton in 2017 and had intended on retiring from teaching Taekwon-do as he had been taking classes since he was 15 years old. But within the first few months he heard there were several local stabbings and multiple physical assaults, all involving teenagers and young adults. He decided he had to do something and engaged an old friend, Amanda Morrison, the founder of AITA-Australian Independent Taekwon-do Academy (AITA), asking if he could expand her school into Victoria. Amanda agreed, and Paul opened AITA Melton Victoria.

Paul rented some space at Absolute Kaos, a local indoor play centre, however enrolments proved slow. The owner was very generous and waived the rent and fees to allow Paul to build up his business. He decided to move to the Melton South Community Centre where enrolments increased significantly with the help of Centre Manager, Pam Madej (whom Paul describes as an angel!).

When COVID closed the doors of the Academy for six months, Paul set up online classes, but attendance dwindled. Teaching pre-teen kids online just didn’t work.

Now that live classes have returned, Paul has started a scholarship program co-funded by a range of Victorian businesses, and inspired by the Pink Belt Project based in Australind, South Australia. Paul grew up in a family with financial difficulties, and his scholarships are open to men, women and children who have been victims of bullying, workplace harassment, domestic or sexual abuse, have financial difficulties, are homeless or needy, struggling with mental health or suffering from a traumatic experience.

The scholarship covers the cost of a full year of Taekwon-do, which normally comes in at around $1,500. This includes registration, insurance, uniform, a year of classes, belt promotion and any event held in Victoria during the scholarship period.

So far, Paul has received financial contributions from other businesses to cover the cost of two scholarships.

If you would like to support Paul’s scholarship initiative, please contact him on 0447 964 456 or by email. For more information about the AITA Melton Victoria, visit their website or Facebook page.