Saskatchewan GTF >>> The Korean Martial Arts in Regina, Saskatoon and Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan GTF Taekwon-Do Inc. (Sask. GTF) is a growing and respectable provincial organization because many of our members, who work collectively and arduously, are continuously helping Mr. Washington Celis, 6th Degree Black Belt, President and Technical Director, to promote Taekwon-Do. Washington Celis and Boris Celis, 5^th Degree Black Belt, along with other individuals who cannot all be listed, established the organizational framework for our provincial body which is still expanding to this day. The provincial organization, Sask. GTF, was incorporated under The Non-Profit Corporations Act on March 8, 1990, with the objectives of generally promoting and educating people in the martial art of Taekwon-Do throughout the province of Saskatchewan and striving for the betterment of all Taekwon-Do participants.

Sask. GTF, which has well over 500 active members throughout the province, is provincially recognized by Sask. Sport and internationally affiliated with the International Taekwon-Do Federation from Vienna. There are numerous Taekwon-Do clubs operating in the province, with locations in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Clavet and Regina. Sask. GTF provides Taekwon-Do programs to people of all walks of life.

Sask. GTF is organized as a mixture of traditional and modern, of east and west. There are two aspects of the organization, namely technical and administrative. Technical matters include testing requirements, tournament rules of competition, protocol, dress code and selection of elite athletes. This aspect of the organization is traditional to all genuine martial arts, in that it is not and cannot be democratic. Mr. Washington Celis along with the most senior black instructors are the sole authority in Saskatchewan of what is acceptable and what is not so far as technical aspects are concerned.

Administrative matters are defined in detail for the provincial governing body in our Articles of Incorporation under The Non-Profit Corporations Act, and include all other matters such as finance, advertising, accounting, fund raising and all other types of general administration. A Board of Directors, which is elected every two years, handles all administrative matters.

Mr. Washington Celis, a 6th Degree Black Belt, Provincial Technical Director, is a pioneer in the formation of the Sask. GTF in Canada. Mr. Celis has studied TaeKwon-Do since 1977 along with some other forms of martial arts. Mr. Celis who is also a black belt in Hapkido has gained national and international experience over the years and became a TaeKwon-Do instructor in 1983. He has earned black belts in WTF, ITF and GTF. He is currently an internationally certified black belt and examiner with ITF. Mr. Celis who has taken several Instructors Courses with Grand Master Park Jung Tae is also a certified coach in accordance with the National Coaching Certification Program. Mr. Celis has also studied engineering in Chile, Argentina and Canada. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1982 and he presently works as a Pipeline Engineer for Saskatchewan Energy and Resources.

Mr Washington Celis has taught Taekwon-Do to approximately 15,000 students over the past twenty years and has granted hundreds of black belts. He is also instrumental in the development of elite athletes and training of the provincial team. He has led the Canadian Team to earn Bronze medals in both patterns and sparring at the 1996 European Championships in Scotland, where well over eighteen countries were in attendance. He was also the coach of the Canadian Team at the 1996 and 1997 North American Championships in Puerto Rico where Canada placed third overall. Mr Celis also led the Canadian Team to the 1997 World GTF Championships in St Louis, Missouri where Canada, among over twenty countries, placed third in both patterns and sparring. He also took the provincial team to the 1998 North American GTF Championships in Ottawa where Saskatchewan won the most medals. He and his brother, Boris Celis, coached the black belts to the 2002 GTF World Championships in Toronto, Canada, where several medals were won in different divisions. In addition, The Celis brothers coached the Canadian National Team to the 2004 World Championships in Russia the 2006 World Championships in Italy, where the team won gold and silver respectively, and their passion for Taekwon-Do has led to many world class champions including Melissa Mushanski, female world champion, and Andres Celis, junior male world champion.

Mr. Celis currently teaches Taekwon-Do in Regina, but he also conducts seminars all over the province and Western Canada. His main goal is to promote TaeKwon-Do and achieve excellence through the mental, physical and spiritual development of each and every student in Saskatchewan. Mr. Celis has developed a TaeKwon-Do training program that will guide the student step-by-step from a novice to a black belt within a time period of approximately four to five years of regular training. This training program will effectively enable the students to grasp the fundamentals of TaeKwon-Do. In the short term, the student will learn the key ingredients for success such as desire, discipline and dedication, and in the long term, the individual will build a constructive character, which will enable him/her to live in peace and harmony with other people.

Mr. Celis' GTF Taekwon-Do Handbook was published primarily to help the Taekwon-Do student to advance through the ranks from white belt to 2nd Degree Black Belt. He encourages anyone to read the manual carefully, as it will give the student valuable insights into the organization to which he/she belongs and all testing requirements necessary for advancement in Taekwon-Do. Over the past two decades, Mr. Celis has become convinced from his experience, observations and tangible results that Taekwon-Do is far more than a Korean form of self-defense. He has seen how regular Taekwon-Do training can transform timid or shy people, and those completely lacking in self-discipline, self-respect or self-confidence, into motivated high-achievers. Mr. Celis testifies that Taekwon-Do has helped him tremendously through the course of his personal life, and he also believes that all practitioners, regardless of gender, age, race or religion, can gain many benefits from Taekwon-Do.