Master Graves founded Phoenix Black Belt Academy Dubai in 2011. She is a member of the UAE Taekwondo Federation, and has grown to become one of the largest and most respected martial arts schools in the UAE. Master Graves was raised in Iraq and Denmark, speaks English, Arabic, and Danish languages fluently, she is married with two grown daughters, and the whole family are advanced black belts as well.
Master Graves holds a 6th Degree Black Belt awarded from Kukkiwon, the World TaeKwonDo Federation and a 7th Degree Black Belt from the Global Traditional Taekwondo Federation in Seoul, South Korea. She studied under Master Chang Rak Shon since 1999, quickly becoming Chief Instructor for his main school in Tacoma, WA, USA. She founded and coached the Phoenix Demonstration Team there, performing in competitions and community events for many years. Master Graves managed Taekwondo Tournament events since 2004, hosting over 500 competitors in the annual sparring and forms competition in the USA and Dubai.
From humble beginnings, Master Graves has built a thriving community of students, families, and mentors at Phoenix Academy in Dubai since 2011 that has been recognized by Kukkiwon, the governing body of Tae Kwon Do, as Top Ranked Dojang in 2019 and 2023. Master Graves attends Masters Training in Korea to improve her skills, always striving to become a better teacher and mentor to our community.
Mr. Delizo is from Baguio City, Philippines, and has been instructing with Phoenix since 2017. He began Tae Kwon Do 17 years ago and has dedicated his life to the martial arts ever since. He has competed in international tournaments through high school and college, teaching valuable life lessons, such as to be gracious in defeat and humble in victory.
He has been an instructor, competitor, and coach in sparring and Demonstration Team competitions. Before coming to Dubai, Mr. Delizo was instructing for a prominent Tae Kwon Do school in Los Angeles, USA.
For her, Taekwondo is not just a sport or a martial art, it’s like a religion. It is a way of life that teaches you discipline, perseverance, determination, respect, courtesy, integrity, modesty and many more life skills.
Mr. Khalid, is from Kerala, India and joined Phoenix in 2021. He started his Taekwondo journey when he was 13 years old and is dedicated to the martial arts way of life. He is a graduate in Bachelor of Computer Application and he has participated in many State and National Taekwondo Tournaments,
achieving many awards and medals. He was the Heavyweight Champion of Kannur University for 3 years (2014-2017) and represented the University in an All India Inter University Championship in Kyorugi.
Instructors and assistant instructors are trained not only on teaching quality martial arts skills, but also to focus on every student’s individual needs to help them improve their personality and confidence.
We are committed to teaching the physical skills of martial arts while applying attitude-shaping and improvement exercises to help bring out the best character and physical potential in each student.
Phoenix Black Belt Academy adult students are looking for something more than a gym membership to stay fit. We offer the confidence you gain learning new skills in self defense, weight management with a great workout, and memory training as you memorize each new technique for the different belt levels. Perhaps the best benefit from joining Phoenix is the many new friends you meet working together and helping each other be your best in every class. Martial arts skills help you cope with stress and pressure from your daily routine, and discover the peace of mind that comes from learning skills to protect yourself and your loved ones.
