Interview with Grandmaster Jamshid Mazaheri 8th Dan

18. January 201822. January 2018 dehm

It all started with Kung Fu and Taekwondo. Taekwondo quickly became the favorite for Grandmaster Jamshid Mazaheri, 8th Dan, and since then he has had a long and very impressive Taekwondo career.

In this interview, you’ll get an overview of this career, which dates back to 1977 and began in Iran, where Jamshid was born.

“I was born in Teheran, Iran, in 1963. I started learning Kung Fu and Taekwondo when I was 14 years old because martial arts were very popular at that time due to a lot of films in the cinemas. We were a group of friends that started together. After a couple years, I decided to stop training in Kung Fu and focus on Taekwondo because I got more out of Taekwondo. I could see that Taekwondo was an art, and I liked the philosophy behind the sport.”

Jamshid’s career can be divided in two, with a start in Iran, and a second half in Denmark, where he migrated in 1986.

“While in Iran, I trained under Iranian Grand Master Ali Modiri (9th Dan) and Korean Grand Master Shin-Chul Kang (9th Dan). At the same time, I was a trainer at four different public and private clubs in Teheran, and trained up to 4-6 hours every day, 6 days a week, while also working full-time in an electronics company. It was also during this time that I was invited to join the Iranian national team and was training with them. I was fortunate to become a national champion several times as a member of the national Taekwondo team of Iran. I believe to this day that my greatest achievement in Taekwondo was losing a fight to the Iranian former World Championships bronze medal winner.”

With a long and already strong CV, he continued his Taekwondo journey upon arrival in Denmark.

“I migrated to Denmark in 1986, at the age of 23. Since 1987, I have been the Head Trainer in 4 different Danish clubs, and I am often invited to different countries (including Iceland and Iran) to train members of their clubs. I have continued my Taekwondo education through a number of Kukkiwon courses and certificates. I have also been an active judge in Denmark and Austria in both sparring and Poomsae. I participated in my first Danish Taekwondo tournament in 1988. It was the Choi’s Friends Tournament, held in honor of my Master Trainer, Korean Grand Master Choi Kyoung An (9th Dan). I won first place and was awarded the “Best Fighter” Cup in this tournament. Since then, I have participated in a series of national and international tournaments, in which I have achieved very good results. I have been named Danish Champion four times in Poomsae. I have not been allowed to compete in sparring since 1991 when I received my 4th Dan.”

Jamshid is the father of 4 sons and sports and achievements do not only run in his own veins. Although his own achievements are already impressive, his sons have built their own sports careers as well. Our guess is that his youngest, who is only 1 year old, will follow in the footsteps of his father and brothers.

“I am married and have four sons. We’re a family of sportsmen. My oldest has his 3rd Dan and is a 5-time Danish Champion in Taekwondo. My third son has his red belt. My second son has excelled in ping-pong at the national level. My youngest is only one year old, but I hope he will be a future champion as well!”