Xtreme Martial Arts Academy was formed by Luke Thompson in 1998. After 24 years of dedication and leading Xtreme Martial Arts Academy, Mr Thompson passed the mantle onto Melissa Bray in 2022.
Mrs Bray is the current head instructor and 4th Dan Black Belt. Mrs Bray has over 21 years of TKD experience.
Our club has two different classes. One specialising in kids for ages 5 to 10 year olds,
And our adults class which caters for family groups or individuals, with members of all ages and abilities.
We are active and supportive of all International Taekwon-Do events such as tournaments and seminars. The club and our members have won many national and international awards over the years and we are very active in our local sports community.
International Taekwon-Do
Xtreme Martial Arts Academy is a member club of International Taekwon-Do Foundation of New Zealand Inc (ITKD). ITKD is very much a “family” organisation, having grown from a few small clubs in Palmerston North and Wellington in the early 1970s. These clubs produced black belts that in turn started new clubs, and the organisation grew. Today we have over 50 schools nationwide.
International Taekwon-Do was first registered in New Zealand as an Incorporated Society in 1981 and is today recognised as a “National Sporting Organisation” by Sport New Zealand. Each and every year since then International Taekwon-Do has run regional and National Tournaments for its members, as well as hundreds of other events. It is recongnised by the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).
In recent years our competitors have made huge impact on the international tournament scene and were placed first at the ITF World Championships hosted in Wellington, 2011 and again at the ITF World Cup in Sydney 2018.
Find out what the benefits of belonging to International Taekwon-Do are here.
Our Instructor
Mrs Melissa Bray, 4th dan
Mrs Bray began training in 2002 under Grand Master McPhail at Paul M Papakura, where she graded to black belt at age 13. Mrs Bray has represented NZ 13 times and has medalled at every national and international competition.
One of Mrs Bray’s greatest achievements was becoming world champion of 3rd Dan Patterns in 2013 and world cup champion in sparing the following year. She is also proud to have had podium finishes in patterns, sparring, special technique and team events on many occasions at World Championship and World Cup competitions.
She has been the head instructor of Xtreme Martial Arts Academy since 2022
Mr Luke Thompson, Specialist Instructor
Mr Thompson has over 25 years experience and is a five time World Champion. He has numerous New Zealand, Oceania, and Worlds Titles in Sparring, Patterns, Power Breaking and Pre Arranged Sparring. Mr Thompson was head instructor of Xtreme Martial Arts Academy from 1998-2022
Our Seniors
All our senior belts have been graded by qualified examiners and certified by the International Taekwon-Do Federation.
They are actively training every week as well as contributing to our organisation. We are proud of all of them as the great role models they are for our other club members.
Our Seniors
Melissa Bray – Instructor
Hayden Vink
Jimmy Steenson
Ria Sutrisno
Richard Jacobsen
