Ben Couch, Instructor of Tae Kwon Do

Apart from my love of Tae Kwon Do and my history of training and teaching in this style, which is described in other sections, I have several other passions that I pursue on a regular basis.

I continue to pursue martial learning through training in Nihon Goshin Aikido with Master Steven Weber in Catalina, AZ. This is a very practical self-defense system, and battle tested over the course of Mr. Weber's many years as a police officer (sometimes on the graveyard shift in New York City!) and as a certified Police Academy instructor. If Aikido is more the type of martial art that you are looking for, I cannot recommend anyone more highly than Steven Weber. I am currently training for my black belt test in this system.

My formal education is in the field of English. I received my Bachelor's degree in English in 1998 from Utica College and my Master's degree in American Literary criticism in 2001 from the University of Arizona. In my graduate studies, I focused on early American literature, ranging from the Puritan founders of the country to brilliant Transcendentalist thinkers and poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Emily Dickinson. I also enjoy the work of the great "Modern" poets and authors such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and T.S. Eliot.

In January of 2007, I took a position as an adjunct lecturer of English at the University of Arizona where I taught English 101 and 102 to college freshmen.

In July of 2007, I was offered and accepted a position with my good friends at Integrated Axis, an exceptional Information Technology consulting firm in Tucson. I also continue work as a consultant with my friends and partners at Watermark Retirement Communities to provide on-line training to their staff.