Grandmaster Ridvan
Founder - Australian Martial Arts Academy
Hall of Fame Inductee
World Martial Arts Games Gold Medalist
9th Dan Black Belt
Grand Master (GM) Ridvan established the Australian Martial Arts Academy in Marrickville, Sydney in February 1982. GM Ridvan is a 9th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo and a 9th Degree in Hapkido. He has been inducted into the World Taekwondo Hall of Fame. Throughout his tenure at AMA he’s overseen the development of numerous state, national and international champions.
GM Ridvan was 10 years old when he started Judo which was soon followed by boxing. He was 13 years old when he saw his first Bruce Lee movie. From that point on, he became fanatical about Martial Arts, training and travelling the world developing his knowledge through various styles of martial arts.
In the 1980’s GM Ridvan won state, national and international competitions receiving a gold medal at the World Martial Arts Games. While GM Ridvan has experienced the pinnacle of combative excellence, his mastery extends beyond the mats.
“Martial arts has been my passion since I was a child, and after more than four decades of training and teaching, what I enjoy most is helping others grow. Seeing students develop confidence, discipline and success both on and off the mats is incredibly rewarding. “
— Grand Master Ridvan Manav
One of Grand Master Ridvan’s most significant achievements at the Australian Martial Arts Academy has been the establishment of the X-Treme Team, a high-performance martial arts demonstration team that showcases the athleticism, creativity and discipline of martial arts. The team combines traditional martial arts with dynamic choreography, acrobatics and weapons demonstrations to deliver world-class performances.
Over the years, the X-Treme Team has performed thousands of shows across Australia and internationally, appearing at major festivals, community events and on national television programs including Australia’s Got Talent, Sunrise, The Morning Show with Kerri-Anne and Saturday Disney. The team’s success reflects GM Ridvan’s commitment to developing not only skilled martial artists, but confident performers and ambassadors for the sport.
Beyond AMA, GM Ridvan has also represented Australia on the world stage, serving as coach of the Australian National Team at the World Taekwondo Championships and attending every Olympic Games since Sydney 2000 as a VIP guest.
GM Ridvan has travelled the world training in different styles of Martial Arts with other Masters, seeking to learn and teach the best and most effective Martial Arts to his students. GM Ridvan has trained in hapkido, compliance direction takedown, grappling, brazilian jui jitsu, thai boxing, kick boxing, pressure points, weapons, karate, judo, and extreme martial arts. Due to this training and philosophy, classes at the Australian Martial Arts Academy incorporate elements of these. GM Ridvan’s focus is to provide strategy and direction for AMA as well as mentoring the team of instructors in order to achieve AMA’s mission and vision.