International Instructor Course Hong Kong.

It was our great pleasure to attend the most recent International Instructors Course which was hosted by Master David Lau in Hong Kong on October 15 - 17th 2010. When we completed the first leg of the trip from Dublin to London we met up with Imperial Ireland's President, Master Nicholls who was accompanied by Master Hogan and we travelled with them on the lengthy twelve hour flight. Upon arrival in Hong Kong we were greeted at the airport by members of the Hong Kong Original Taekwon Do Council and then also met with Grand Master Choi who then travelled by coach with us to our hotel.

With a packed weekend in store, Thursday evening was the only spare time we would have so we took a trip to the main shopping area in downtown Hong Kong called Tsim Sha Tsui, where we sampled some of the local dishes and the truly amazing range of goods on sale there. 

In preparation for Friday evenings training and registration we ran through all of our patterns in the hotel sports centre and prepared some questions for the Masters who would be in attendance later. The venue was Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School and it was within walking distance so we strolled over with Mr Harizanov and three of his students from Bulgaria, they were all due to test at the event together with Mr Alan  Stewart from Australia. The I.I.C. was opened by Grand Master Choi thanking the organisers for the invitation to teach there and the opening training session was conducted by Master's Hogan and Kruk. The masters took turns to increase the severity of the warm up, but with temperatures of about twenty degrees it was very easy to see everyone sweating heavily after only a few minutes. Master Hogan took the class through many sparring combinations on the kick shields, working through each one for several minutes before moving on to the next level. After a short interval for water, and to allow Grand Master Choi, Master Nicholls, Master Sng, Master Poon and Master Lau to take those who were testing to another hall, Master Kruk resumed with Self Defence techniques for kids. Because the opening night was open to all from white belt to black belt, young and old, this section of training went down brilliantly. Then after a really good warm down t here were photo opportunities for all the different groups in attendance. After a quick shower and change of clothes we were taken to a Chinese restaurant for dinner with Grand Master Choi and all of the other Masters and Instructors from Hong Kong. Tired but very satisfied by the events of the first day we retired back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Day two started about 10 am when were again addressed by Grand Master Choi regarding the current developments in the I.T.F.
He spoke about how successful the recent World Championships had been for I.T.F. Taekwon Do, how the coverage of the events had taken precidence over World Cup news on the Korean television news broadcasts which would have been unheard of a few years ago. He spoke at length regarding I.T.F. as being the orthodox Taekwon Do and of how it is slowely returning to its Korean roots with the Taekwon Do centre which will bring the I.T.F. and W.T.F. under one roof and it is due to open in Korea in 20013/14. Grand Master Choi also said that we must continue to train hard to perfect our techniques because we perform a martial art and that whilst " sport sparring" will always have a part to play in Taekwon Do it is Tul which are the heart of our art and that this must never change. He gave a brief meaning of the word "Tul", telling us how it roughly translates to mean mould and finishing off his speech by re-iterating that Tul are the mould by which Taekwon Do is made.

After another interesting warm up by Master Hogan, Grand Master Choi and Master Nicholls took over the instruction of the seminar. Drilling on the correct execution of techniques and ensuring that power was being generated and delivered regardless of the size of the exponent through correct use of body mass and natural hip rotation. After the lunch break Master Kruk's presentation on "One Step and Model Sparring" was really well done and we then worked for about an hour on these types of technical sparring. Just before the end of the session Grand Master Choi spoke about how some instructors call themselves coaches, however, he said that true instructors are teachers of Taekwon Do not just helpers to improve one skill or facet of fitness. He said that theTaekwon Do Instructor was a much deeper responsibility because it is a role that has to deal with the moral teaching and wisdom of the students. Saturday night saw the entire group go to another restaurant for endless courses of food and we were delighted to be the proud winners of a Taekwon Do manual written in Chinese and also a $200 sports voucher.

Sunday morning's session began with the official photograph and this was followed by an really fun warm up by Master Kruk, followed with many hours of patterns work. We worked from Chong Ji up to Won Hyo but the instruction was intense and the main theme was that while there must also be an element of beauty, power must prevail. The afternoon session started back with the entire group going through the basic kicking techniques of Front Snap and Side Piercing, the emphasis was once again on correct execution of the techniques and also on full power. Master Kruk once again hosted another presentation which was about three Step Sparring,  once again it was both informative and entertaining. Grand Master Choi wrapped things up with a very moving speech regarding the term we use of "Grand Master". He said that for him to use this term does not sit well and that when one reads the Chinese characters for grand it actually translates as "Saint", however, he said that to say that really demeans the word Saint. He also said that he was very happy that his father General Choi has bestowed the rank of VIII Degree on him but that was he was only human and as a result he too has failings. There can be no Grand Masters in martial arts and it is shameful for a true martial artist to make such a claim. Sunday night was party night, another opportunity to have some fun, take photographs and a final chance to relax with some new Taekwon Do friends after some hard days on the training hall floor. The final act for this I.I.C. was the presentation of the certificates of participation. The knowledge we have gained here will be put into action at the academy in the coming weeks so that when our students progress to the next level they will be performing the true Taekwon Do as set out by President Choi here.

This was the most extraordinary and surreal event that we have had the opportunity to attend. To spend so much time in the company of President Choi and all of the Masters who attended and taught us made this such a special trip. Many thanks go to our Hong Kong hosts who made sure that nothing was left to chance and we were looked after like royalty. We have been invited to return and it was our great pleasure to offer members of the Hong Kong Original Taekwon Do Council to come to train with us if the opportunity ever presents itself.

Imperial British Championships.

This year the British Championships were the biggest I.T.F. championships outside of the World Championships. With well over 700 competitors taking part from all over England, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, Spain, Italy and Nepal. The seven Imperial Ireland members who travelled over made a huge impact by winning one Gold, three Silver, and two Bronze medals. 

Saturday October 9th saw our team arrive early to collect our competitor numbers and with children under 13 years and seniors (35 years +) competing on this first day we were looking forward to making our mark. First up competing in patterns, was 7 year old Luke Byrne and he performed exceptionally well by progressing through three rounds before losing out to the eventual winner. Rokas Baika was next up and he performed with great confidence, unfortunately he met the winner of the section in round two. Ryan Byrne progressed through two rounds before making his exit. These were brilliant performances because this was the first competition the boys had attended and what a place to do it. Instructor Mick Flaherty was up next and he secured our first medal, a Silver in 5th Degree Black Belt Patterns. With one medal in the bag, everyone began to relax and the performances in the Sparring reflected this, when Luke secured a well deserved Bronze and Rokas won Silver after some brilliant matches, and Mick picked up another Silverin a very hard encounter. Ryan had a tough section and was unlucky not to get in the medals. 

Sunday October 10th was the turn of the other three members to take on the opposition. John O' Connor and Ricky Byrne in Black Belt sections and Owen Beaufils in Coloured Belts. In Patterns sections, John progressed as far as round two but unfortunately Ricky and Owen were beaten. In Sparring, Owen who was competing in his first competition, fulfilled all expectations by putting in three exceptional performances, winning the Gold medal and becoming the British champion. The Adult Black Belt sections are the most hotly contested sections at these events, so when Welterweight Ricky stepped onto mats he knew it would be tough going. He fought with great style and aggression and was only beaten by four points in the end and this was his first competition for about six years. John had put in some fantastic performances in Korea a few months back so this was his chance to prove he had made progress since and after some hard fights he secured the Bronze in the Middleweight division.

As part of the Imperial Taekwon Do Association these championships are the highlight of our year. Success here and also at the World Championships in Korea last July shows the strength of our Taekwon Do and the talent that lies in our academy.

New Classes.

There will be some new classes starting at the Academy from Tuesday October 19th. These new classes will be catering for children aged 4 - 6 years. The classes will run from 6pm - 6.45pm, on Tuesday and Thursday. The class times for 7 - 12 years remains the same, running 7 - 8pm and 12 years + from 8pm - 9pm.

Kicking Seminar.

Fresh back from Korea, Mr John O' Connor was the main attraction when he done his first Kicking Seminar at the Academy on August 29th. He went  through a full array of kicks including Single, Double and Treble kicks, Jumping, Flying and Combination kicks. This was a two hour seminar and it was really good fun, with lots of laughs and falling down as the students tried to get their feet to move in many different directions. Go to our Facebook page for photo's! 

Coloured Belt Grading.

On Sunday July 27th, twenty members of Imperial Ireland who had been training hard over the summer months took part in a very tough grading. Lots of kicks and Patterns were performed and all members testing performed Breaking techniques. The best students on the day were, Rokas Baika, Chelsey Pitman and Rhianna Ryan who did fantastic tests and were rewarded for their hard work with Double Promotions from Yellow Stripe to Green Stripe. Congratulations to all who tested.

Our next test is scheduled for Sunday 31st October, which is only three weeks after the British Championships.