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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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British International Poomsae competition
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flying high!
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A spectacular event to look forward to at the end of this month with, top class players.
More Tournaments on the Horizon & an Ultimate 1-2-1 Success Kathy Hook hosts the first competition of the year
a leap of faith brings turkish delight!
Mike and Tom at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Istanbul with Go Cho Go!
MT
Have a Taegerific Taekwondo Day!
Calendar of events
The Korean Martial Art of Taekwondo & Olympic Combat sport within Great Britain via the NGB
ÂŁ1.99
TM
PAGE 2 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
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TAEKWONDO TODAY Advertisement
@ Aquinas College or
The Torkington Centre Hazel Grove, Stockport. Tue, Wed and Thursday
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
PAGE 3 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Foreword
TAEKWONDO TODAY Taekwondo Today
‘Bringing you all the official information about WTF Taekwondo in Great Britain’
STEVE BLOMELEY 6th Dan Editor-in-Chief Contributors Tom Stammer Martin Hold David Bailey Michael McKenzie Pete Adamsons Chris Codling Derek Sumner Phill Payne Eddie Tyrell Kathy Hook Bill Darlington Mark Hayward Testimonial “Had a quick look at the magazine and it is fabulous. I will spend more time this evening reading it when I get back home, but well done producing it and I’m sure it will be a hit with everyone.” Zahid Salim - Sokcho Taekwondo, Scotland
Practice “Taekwondo Today” with the National Governing Body
• Local Clubs • Training Tips
Foreword from the Editor.
• Instructor Profiles
Welcome to the second edition of “British Taekwondo Today” 2016, the Official Magazine for The Governing Body of WTF Taekwondo in Great Britain. The downloadable Magazine is for all United Kingdom WTF practitioners to receive information, news items, training tips, competition details and self-defence awareness from British Taekwondo, the recognised NGB. The test issue was well received and many a compliment paid about the magazine that I have created and designed but there is still a long way to go yet. As time goes by I hope it becomes well-established as more and more of our practitioners and members read and contribute to it, the style and look of the magazine will develop. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have made this idea that I have carried and tried to implement for years begin to take shape, hopefully engaging everybody within the NGB and further afield. Please be patient as I try to include as much as possible and as many of our members as possible with articles, stories, news and events that are always difficult to get across, even with the modern social media. Beth’s newsletter will give you the snippets of what’s going on for speed and an overview, whereas this magazine will be something you will come back to read at your leisure. It’s not a political read but intended more for enjoyable technical articles, news and tips that we hope will give the membership access to the many wonderful practitioners we have in our midst. We are all different and will have many different viewpoints but that is the great thing about being involved in a Martial Art. We can and should all be able to pick things up and learn from one another. What we’ve always wanted and needed is a platform to do so, hopefully this magazine will go a long way in providing that. “British Taekwondo Today”: produced by Martial Artists for Martial Artists. The Editor-in-Chief Taekwondo Today
• Competition Dates • Results • Seminar Details • Seminar Reviews • Grading Dates • Grading Results • Student Profiles • Kids in Combat • Health Tips • Book Reviews • Product Reviews • Equipment Suppliers • Club Profiles
2
CONTENTS YIN Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page
3 Foreword Page 5 A Blast from the Past! 9 Edit on the Editor Page 11 Kidz Korner 17 The Coaches Corner 19 Taeger Time Problems 21 SCoT Scottish Council of Taekwondo 23 Taekwondo Clubs Page 25 A Central Attraction in Falkirk 27 Calendar of Events 29 Manx Taekwondo Festival
Q: W h train at do Kick ing a siste l in th r e tra ongside s really g dition their e coun t out of al sid t Chlo e o f Tae erpar ts e: Ca kwon rdio do? Hele n Instr : Ever y uctor th class mak ing be . es it cau diffe se the rent Andr ever y ea: Th flexib ility e fact th helps ou me. t of the at I get Page 4 What I Present! Page 6 This Girl Can sessi more ons Anne whic Page 8 Back the Brits Page 10 Cont..from pg9 : Ki h cksis and ter fitne Page 12 Ki-Yong-Go Page 14 British Army, chan s confi ged denc s levels Navy & Airforce Tkd Page 16 More Taekwondo, p m e as well. lus boos y life ting Read More People, More Often In Schools my more insid e on Page 16 Talking Taekwondo with Tom Page 20 and pag Kick it wit e 6 Com Turkish Delight Page 22 No Payne, No Gain a Club e on h us!
CONTENTS YANG
Growth Journal Page 24 An Ultimate 1-2-1 Success Page 26 BSTF Championship Page 28 British Taekwondo Int. Poomsae Competition
PAGE 4 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
What “I PRESENT” and what you do not
SEE! trying to perfect your craft, making mistakes, learning and getting up from those mistakes, scraping by to pay the bills, hosting seminars. The list is endless.
I J
ust recently my attention was brought to a Facebook post that was about a Martial Arts Instructor’s journey and what it takes to get where we are presently, just to be able to teach our students. It has prompted me to write this article. It also touched on the subject of what should one charge for what they teach. Students tend to only see the hours class where you’re stood at the front passing on your instructions, demonstrating the skill sets, mingling in, aiding with the odd tip here and there or even better for the student, your actually partnering them.
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f most of the Instructors are like me then there have been hours and hours of training put in over many, many years. We were not born an instructor nor did we become one overnight! We’ve paid our dues, so to speak through pain,
photo courtesy of Karl Mann
sweat, Mike McKenzie, Kook Hyung Jung, Steve Blomeley blood, tears and probably more often very tired after a than the odd injury along weekend away studying, the way too. This is also aching and occasionally coupled with the amount bruised, but on the very of time we have to spend next day I am in my class or have spent away from filled with enthusiasm to our families for the sake impart more knowledge of the Taekwondo family. onto and into my group of students. any of us continue to do so for the xposing myself like sake of our chosen art, this I feel adds greater to continue to learn plus depth and experience to teach those that are the way I instruct and the interested. Can you put content of what I teach. a financial value on it? If you can visualise an Probably not and I today iceberg floating in the still travel constantly to ocean, you can begin to friends and colleagues I understand that what have met on my journey you the student sees is and pay them for tuition. only the tip. The rest is I do this not only for my hidden below the surface interest and benefit but and without a shadow also for the interest and of a doubt is five times benefit of my students. bigger than what’s being I love the analogy “Get presented. That what is comfortable, being hidden below the surface uncomfortable” as that amounts to many, many is often what I feel things like risk-taking, when travelling, learning sourcing good teachers different concepts, ideas to learn from, travelling and strategies about to them, often abroad, Martial Art training. I am extremely hard work
M
E
still attend as many seminars as I can even at this stage in my Taekwondo career, albeit specially chosen subjects for what I feel will enhance my knowledge and practice of my art. One that springs to mind as I write was the Kook Hyung Jung seminar last year hosted by Michael McKenzie and Quest. I did not want to miss an opportunity to train with such a renowned Master in the Taekwondo world. For us older generation Taekwondoists, he was such an inspiration back when we were younger and competing.
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oming back to the iceberg anolagy now and what you don’t see. At 53 years of age and with an arthritic knee plus an abdomen tear, I still got on the floor where looking around, there were many much younger than I, just sat watching. I was paying my dues again both physically and monetarily, but I gained far more doing that rather than just observing. You get a feel and perception of the methodology of his teaching and can gauge
so much better what you would put your students through if you emulate it or him. You gain massive admiration for and inspiration from someone who a few years older than yourself, can still move so proficiently even to this day.
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o, next time you’re at your class or attending a seminar, think a little deeper, reflect a little more and gain an insight to the path you’re on. We coaches, or Instructors as I prefer to be called, have trodden that path already and many of us are still on it. We’re maybe not sprinting like in our youth but we are still there on that road, jogging or walking a little bit further down the path than you are. See what we see and seek not what the masters know but what we sought! Then perhaps you’ll know the true value of what is being passed on to you and the price we have paid to be able to do so! Professionals in other services get reasonably paid for their services and nothing is ever free. In most of our cases it’s cost us more than just money! and what we get back we still tend to spend it furthering ours and your knowledge.
PAGE 5 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
TAEKWONDO TODAY
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
? e n ons ! o y ms s e n i a r a o se Ad em i n te g m o e c c Re ch P phi a gra o C oto Ph
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
A Blast from the Past!
do
n wo
aek y T ish istor t i r H
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Keep them coming folks! There’s a lot of memories out there?
PAGE 6 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
This Girl Can! & These Girls Do!
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B
icksisters are popping up everywhere now in the country with British Taekwondo’s initiative to get more ladies involved in keeping fit and being more active. Running in conjunction with last years TV press campaign “This Girl Can” to encourage females to go with the flow and join in activities that get you sweaty, push the push ups, tone the torso and flex the flexibility, they are discovering there’s a whole new world that’s more than Zumba or the latest dance craze routine. Instead they are swapping the ‘whoop’ ‘whooping’ for the more key kihaping(shouts) as they punch the mitts or kick the paddles in their local Taekwondo clubs.
ritish Taekwondo Today has caught up with a few and has asked them just what they like about it. Here’s their out of breath, honest as they can be answers to just a few quick questions, following one of the training sessions at a Kicksister class. Different ladies, different ages with different reasons for joining an all female Martial Arts class. The four ladies questioned have all various time frames of being involved in a Kicksister class as well. Some of them have other family members training in the traditional Taekwondo club even at the same time and venue, which apparently helps them feel more involved and feel part of what their spouses, Daughters or Sons go through to achieve their belts and recognition.
ecide Q: W and you d icksister defence hat d d i d K f l o you y e g s h n i d W o n : d a like a Q Chlo e up es keep fit k bout a t e i : to d Kicks e la a m I like a h t ister? n n i r a i jo t x e h l t e ure to fact le l ? e b s d a s a o e t a r t l f r n c n ing s t e comfo s wa ome training hat ther alway felt more though th c e is i o n I r e : princ volved Hele Chloe l Ar t and dies even n i p p : lus l e I a a l i s lo grou Mar t with just . p an ve that it g e l g n i a n d fee bei ctor is m keep l ver y is a sma ay of oth my w ll comf A t Instru n n b e d rea: or tab intimate as al iffer n e d o i m a t I i espe le : It is e trad led to cially like the Helen it appea train in th m v a t u h r s i e d e n cles fit an nd and So I hav stretch ty of tra s ing a e r ining b e n s b ’ t u m H for a e Anne ondo ges and usin mily m ditional a : f T Taekw y h g m e fa and tra ct th Helen in the ng it A i e n o k d a i L er at that ied a: g it giv obic exer it cover Andre d trainin and I fanc c e s s ise p s s e g t s r me sta ondo cla e of thin lus t Aerobic a h d i w e ton s k g e s n i Ta es ing watch keep e fitn h r t e r t f o f a e h p t u self k it iked I too n and l ing some : e n rn An tio s lea nstra demo thods plu e fit m e. c n e f de
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ny ladies who are considering giving KickSister a try should be able to attend a free taster session at their local KickSister club. Following a payment of just £5, KickSister membership is secure until 31st March 2017! This membership can be used to attend any KickSister class across the UK, and all new-joiners revive a complimentary T shirt from us. British Taekwondo’s KickSister classes offer the chance to attain Yellow Belt by the end of the programme. If women and girls find themselves hooked on that first-belt-feeling, then hey, it’s just £17
Q: Would you ever consider joining the traditional Taekwondo class? Chloe: Yes and I have begun the process by attending another class of the instructors on a different night and think I would like to progress in that side of things. Helen: No I don’t think it is for me the traditional side but if the instructor put on another Kicksister class I would do twice a week. Andrea: No I don’t think Kicksister is the thing for me Anne: Kicksister for me! I did try a bit of the traditional but again, if a second weekly Kicksister class was run by the instructor I would do both.
more for a full British Taekwondo membership with a club. KickSister is a soft entry into Taekwondo, but many are just happy to continue attending KickSister classes by the end of the programme, and that’s absolutely cool. In fact, we love nothing more than seeing KickSisters kicking it in their T Shirts. So do be sure to tag @Brittaekwondo or send your sweaty selfies and smiley poses to beth.bishop@britishtaekwondo. org!’
PAGE 7 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article volved een in b u o y have long w o Q: H ksister? ic with K now onths m 4 t d am : Abou ek an e w Chloe 4th is my s i h T : Helen njoying it out 5 e y l l to ab rea p u g comin ’s t I : a n Andre now half i hs t n nd a o a er m t r s a i e s ick ay K t g u n o i b to a en I am nal op break due ck : i e g i n r n o A a rt ed the a sho am right b as join did have t u sb I class. ealth issue h e som now. into it
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Q: Would you recommend it to other female freinds, family members or aquantances? Chloe: Yes, definitely. Helen: Yes Andrea: Yes Anne: Yes and have introduced friends to it.
Q: Wha t Kicksist do you feel yo er? u get o ut of Chloe: C ardio Helen: E Instruct ver ything b e or mak es it d cause the class. ifferent ever y Andrea : T flexibilit he fact that y I get m helps m out of the se ore ssions e. which Anne: Kicksist er cha and fit ng ness le vels plu ed my life confide s nce as w boostin g my ell.
PAGE 8 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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TAEKWONDO TODAY News
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
with
Kick
BacktheBrits BT News and Events in the UK.
B
ack in January Mahama Cho managed to secure a 4th qualification spot for Great Britain in the Olympic weight categories. He was selected by the GB national coaches to represent the country in in Istanbul as they felt he had the best option of reaching a final in Istanbul. Go Cho Go didn’t disappoint and won the event.
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rmy Taekwondo is now on the agenda with British Taekwondo as they and Army Martial Arts Association have teamed together, giving our troops who want to practice the Korean Martial Art while they are in service a big boost
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ompetitions galore and fantastic news that British Taekwondo and the British Students Taekwondo Federation (University clubs) are working together again. With their competition in February it will be nice to see some of the NGB Referees helping out and hopefully Taekwondo will become a BUCS/BUSA sport again.
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i Taekwondo’s Chief Instructor will be conducting a seminar at his Birmingham University club on
February 14th 10:30am - 1:30pm am assisted by his senior Black Belts.
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here will be live streaming at the British International Patterns championship. Thanks to 247.tv, poomsae will be streamed live
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orizon have a 1-21 competition this month at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford. Entries via MA Reg Online.
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uropean championships 2016 are in Montreux, Switzerland. May it be a Taegerific success.
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STF University Championships are on February 27/28th at the University of Worcester Arena, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JN
R
io the Taeger Cub is making his first appearance inside this mag. Specially created to cheer on our Taekwondo athletes at this Summer Olympic Games. Copyright Steve Blomeley 2016.
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n the upcoming month’s there will be plenty of hard work ahead before the athletes are named For Rio 2016. GB Taekwondo’s Rio
2016 hopefuls can’t rest on their laurel’s despite qualifying four weight categories for this summer’s Olympic Games.
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om Stammer, the acting chief executive of British Taekwondo and an international referee, has been appointed to serve as the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union new secretary general.
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erving your Country? Get involved with the British Taekwondo Army! Any current serving member of the British Army interested in or who practice WTF style Taekwondo are invited to join both the Army Martial Arts Association (AMAA) and British Taekwondo; the National Governing Body for WTF Taekwondo in the UK. In doing so, these individuals will receive bushels of benefits. Such as: support from the Army Sports Control Board, specialist coaching, access to AMMAA funding and army and military national and international events. But it doesn’t end there. As British Taekwondo members, these individuals will also have access to over 550 Taekwondo clubs nation
wide, technical and training events in Kyorugi and Poomsae, all national and international British Taekwondo events and the pathway to the British Team as well as, potentially, the Olympic and Paralympic Games. There are also now opportunities to attend Level 2 Coach Education Courses and train as a British Taekwondo Judge or Official. In partnership with AMAA, we’re offering membership to all Army Service personnel at the reduced rate of just £10 per annum. (Please quote your Army Service No on your application Form). Membership of the AMAA also costs just £10 per year.
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urpreet Singh, an up -and-coming young athlete is looking for sponsorship or donations to help him as a selffunded competitor. As you may imagine, it is extremely difficult to fund such expenses, as each tournament costs in the region of £400. If you can donate a little please go to https://www. gofundme.com/hfjp69zw to help him achieve his dream.
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ritish Taekwondo Dan Grade Promotion – 19th/20th March. Venue TBC London/South region . British Taekwondo Dan grade promotion 30th April/1st May Nottingham Trent University, Lee Westwood Sports centre.
PAGE 9 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
Edit onTheEditor! An
o kickstart what we T hope will be a lot of different members
appearing in British Taekwondo Today, a question and answer session was put to the editor of the magazine. In future issues with different profile pages included, this should help raise their profile and give a lot of the membership an insight in to who they are, where they are, where they teach and the groups that they head up or belong to, that make up the core of British Taekwondo. Interview by A. Mchugh : You are the Chief Q Instructor of Ki Taekwondo, how old
are you and when did you start training? I started training on the opening day of the new Taekwondo club that opened in Marple, Stockport. I was 18 years old back then which puts me at 53 years old now. Doesn’t time fly?not!
: Who was your Q instructor and who have you trained with?
My instructor and good friend after all these years was Steven Loh from Singapore. He arrived as a Black Belt but retook his 1st Dan as part of Master Shin’s Academy in Manchester. He had arrived in Great Britain to study at University. My main Instructors over the years have been from the far east, which would be my own instructor Steven Loh (Singaporean), Master Shin (Korean) as he was the Chief Instructor back then and after that I had T.K. Loh (Malaysian) as our Chief Instructor for a good period.
: When did you form Q Ki Taekwondo and why is it called that?
I formed Ki Taekwondo many, many years ago, too long to remember ha ha ha. I formed it when I was a 3rd Dan after a parting of ways and my good friend Denny Jones 4th Dan examined the students until I achieved my 4th degee status. The reason behind our name is that all those years ago I felt there was an element missing in our understanding of training. That element was the hidden techniques or understanding of techniques concerning many of the hand positions contained in poomsae. Those applications are the pressure point techniques and I looked into it quite considerably even back then when I was a second degree Black Belt. So the name Ki is because it is the Korean word for energy or the hidden pathways as is Chi in Chinese. : Did you used to Q compete? Yes, I was a fairly succesful
competition player in my day, and won quite a lot of medals, but that was a long, long time ago. There are so many more opportunities these days for people in the sport side of Taekwondo. I retired at 35 from the competition arena in the Velodrome where we have the National Championships now.
: Considering you Q have trained for around 35 years, do you
know a lot of the senior instructors in the country? Yes I think I have come across the majority of the WTF practitioners in this country at some point and am friends with a great many of them inside BT and outside of BT. Hopefully we will all be part of a new era as 2016 kicks in more. I do have a laugh with some of the younger Taekwondoists
who quite often ask about certain people and what were they like back then. : How did it come Q about you producing a magazine? My trade
is from an artwork and publishing background. I have worked in that industry since I was 16 years old. I love to be creative both in my work and Taekwondo. So when a lot of us were made redundant, due to a takeover at the Manchester Evening News I wanted to at least keep my hand in and try to combine my two great passions in life. I have always wanted to try and do a magazine about our way of life and why we’re so passionate about it.
: Your also well known Q for creating The Taegers of Taekwondo
which have featured at every Grand Prix tournament held in Great Britain and other events. How did they come about? Even back before I had formed Ki Taekwondo, I had drawn the first one from an idea that I had to help encourage the ki-dz in our class and used to do a monthly newsletter for my students. There was a little cartoon strip of them and then I had the idea that “wouldn’t it be great if we had a full mascot of one”. Thankfully, my Mother is a fantastic machinist (her trade) and she turned my vision into a full suit that someone could wear. Originally we just had one Taeger but then the family grew. I was asked to help out with the school children’s visit for the first Grand Prix event in Manchester and I mentioned “Would you like me to bring our mascots?” I was a little surprised at first that a lot of people in Tae Kwon Do hadn’t really seen them, so I sent a video clip that we had.
PAGE 10 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article The rest is history and I hope they go on to become extremely well known for us and Taekwondo in general, as I think everybody loves them and they bring a fun element to Tae Kwon Do. : What are your hopes Q and aspirations for them? As I mentioned,
I would love it if they became so well known on many levels, for education, entertainment, fun and of course a little animated cartoon strip would be awesome. I have a few little things up my sleeve that I hope come to fruition and there’s the possibility that we may be taking them to the European Championships in Switzerland. Plus it is an Olympic year too!
: Where have you Q taught Taekwondo? I have taught mainly
in Great Britain, a little in America and also mainland Europe including British Military bases in Germany. I have done many joint seminars up and down the country over the years with my friend and I always tend to take a Dobok with me where ever I go on holiday too. When The Taekwondo was at the Greece Olympics, I holidayed on Crete at the same time. I ended up teaching the Taekwondo class there a couple of times whilst the Instructor was on the mainland at the Games.
That went down really well with the girlfriend at the time lol!
Q
: How many Black Belts have you trained? Wow, I honestly can’t remember. I used to keep a scrapbook with everything in it but as time has gone by and Ki has branched out a little I have lost count. It would be a great class if they were all still training together.
Q
: How do you view Taekwondo today compared to when you started? I think Taekwondo is ever evolving and that’s the way it should be, but I also think it is in danger of losing something too. There are fancy kicks now that hadn’t even been thought of, let alone pulIed off when I first started training. I think it is the responsibiity of a lot of the senior instructors today to strive to find a good balance between Sport and pure Martial Art. I didn’t start Taekwondo for Sport, although I enjoyed every part of my involvement in it. My core reason was to be able to look after myself and my family. I don’t want to see it watered down. I think that’s why a lot of people enjoy the seminars that my close colleagues and I have done in the past, as we cover a lot of various core principles.
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
: What is your main Q focus with Taekwondo now then? My main focus
is to obviously develop my group Ki and our students within it and I have taken a lot more time in delivering sessions where I am not actively taking
part. I think this gives my students a better service and I cover all aspects of Taekwondo. I can do both sport and traditional but one big aspect is now developing what is termed the combatives and I don’t mean in a
sporting arena. I of course still love to train and at least once a week the guys know the session is for me to practise too. I am just getting over an operation to a tear in my abdomen, so I hope will get back at least 80% of my ability within the next few months, as I am allowed to train again now. That’s the downside of getting a bit older; we don’t recover as quickly! : How long will you Q continue training, teaching, practicing
Martial Arts and Taekwondo? Probably until I can no longer do it. I have such a good set of colleagues, friends and fellow Martial Artists who inspire me to continue for the benefit of not only myself but others too, including my daughter Cora.
PAGE 11 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
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TAEKWONDO TODAY Fun & Entertainment Hey Kidz here’s one method of How to Tie your Belt!...
Click the image below to watch the Taegers performing their 4Direction punch & block basic pattern
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Ki-dz Korner
dopted Brit Colvin Caldwell, who began his Taekwondo education here in Cheshire, Great Britain and left for the USA as a yellow tag, has carried on and achieved his Yellow Belt back home. His family were at the 2014 Grand Prix in Manchester and his favourite was Jade Jones. Good choice Cole. The club he began his training at here in the UK were informed within minutes of him being promoted. Well Done ....Colvin. Keep on Ki-cking and wow you’ve grown since leaving England! It’s about time Dad did his now and Mum was an original Kicksister too. The Taegers of Taekwondo C Steve Blomeley 2016 TM
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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PAGE 12 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
TAEKWONDO TODAY News
Ki-Yong-Go!
What’s the score Referee? Well a first for British Females was on the cards! Massive Congratulations were sent from all her fellow referees from within British Taekwondo as Lesley Lally became British Taekwondo’s first female International Referee last year. Lesley is pictured here on a course in Montenegro. British Taekwondo’s Chief Referee Christopher Codling was especially pleased and also commented on the fact that he was really happy with the continued hard work of all our officials, who continue to support the many competitions we attend both here and abroad. Below is a list of upcoming events concerning our illustrious officials, who always put in a good shift to ensure we have quality and fair play in the tournaments. 9th January 17th January
Judges Course for Chungdokwan GB at Kingston University, Surrey - 15 Successful Candidates. Ultimate 1 to 1 in Barnsley
2016 to come:
30/31st January Keumgang Open in Belgium – British Taekwondo Referees to attend are Jo Gratsa, Clare Laybourne and Jethro Cooke. 2-7th February US Open – British Taekwondo International Referees to attend are Paul Timms and Ian Leafe. 13th February Judges Course for Unite Martial Arts Academy in Southport. 21st February Horizon 1 to 1 in Bradford. 28th February Slovenian Open – British Taekwondo International Referees to attend are George Eldrington, John Bass and Rick Simpson. 28th February Chi TKD 1 to 1 in Spennymoor. 28th February BSTF University Championships in Worcester – All British Taekwondo people are allowed to attend. 6th March Dome 1 to 1 in Doncaster. 10-11th March Pan Am Olympic Qualifying Event in Mexico – British Taekwondo International Referees to attend are Chris Codling and Ian Leafe. 12-13th March Dutch Open in Eindhoven, Netherlands – British Taekwondo International Referees to attend are George Eldrington, Darren Naraine and Lesley Lally (Our 1st female IR) 19-20th March Belgian Open in Lommel – British International Referees to attend are John Bass, Paul Timms and James Lewsley. 20th March Ultimate Open in Barnsley 28th March Chungdokwan GB Open in Bracknell 7-10th April ETU President’s Cup in Bonn, Germany – British Taekwondo Referees to attend are Chris Codling, George Eldrington and Steve Gane. 17th April Yorkshire Open in Bradford 23-24th April Liverpool Open in Liverpool.
Don’t forget – you don’t have to be a top class fighter to be at the Olympics, World or European Championships – referee’s take part as well!
Taeger cuddly Referee toy from the Manchester Grand Prix 2015 some still available!
PAGE 13 www.britishtaekwondo.org.uk
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
PAGE 14 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
A
British
Eric flying high!
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With the great news that the Army Martial Arts Association has teamed up with British Taekwondo to be able to offer great benefits and service to our servicemen a couple of Taekwondoists already serving answered a few questions: How old were you when you started Taekwondo? Tom: 7 years old Eric: 7 years old Was it something you wanted to do or did your parents bring you for thier own reasons? Tom: I wanted to do it Eric: Something I wanted to do, with having Danii as a black belt already, but was encouraged to join also.
What did you like about the training that you got at that age? Tom: The diversity, the rank structure and the intensity. It felt like being in a tribe Eric: The fitness, it helped keep the puppy fat at bay through school and made me confident that I could handle myself out and about - which gave me more independence earlier than maybe I would have had without tkd.
Did you used to compete in competitions? Tom: Occasionally, yes I did. Eric: No, probably the thing I regret looking back to the training
Do you think the type of training and the
TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
rmy, Navy & irforce TKD. ‘British Taekwondo Today’ Editor managed to catch up with a couple of Taekwondoists currently serving in our Armed Forces and asked them a few questions about Martial Arts in the Military and what they’re up to...
military style structure to it shaped your decision to enter into miltary service as your career?
had a problem with authority because of the grounding I had gained already from tkd
Tom: It made being in military training easier. This was due to knowing your rank and receiving orders. Also increased fitness level
Editor: Ha ha Tom a man of few words! lol Tom: Ha ha Do you need longer detailed answers? Editor: No mate don’t worry it’s all good lol.
Eric: It’s difficult to say if it made me want to enter the armed forces. That was something I’d always wanted to do, but it certainly gave me the disciplined nature that is part of everyday life in the military and I don’t think I would have been successful in applying without the attitude I had nurtured at tkd
How do you think Taekwondo training helped you as you entered service? Tom: It prepared me mentally and physically for what was to come Eric: I think attitude more than anything, because there was a few years between finishing tkd and applying for the RAF. The fitness side doesn’t really come into it for me, but certainly the discipline I learnt and the respect for seniors - really helped me as I applied and started training.
Did you find it easier to adjust to to the strict discipline imposed on new recruits with your unit? Tom: Yes! Eric: Definitely, it came naturally for me, and never
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Have you managed to continue to do some form of martial art training at your bases? If so What?
sort of thing happen, and I’m sure you’d give the PTI’s a run for their money!
Tom: Yes. I have competed in 3 interservice Taekwondo championships and won them all. And I now train BJJ as well.
Editor: Not so sure there Eric, I’m getting on a bit now lol.
Eric: I’ve not unfortunately, with being in a training environment for such a long time, I’ve not had chance. But it’s something I will look to do in the future.
What is your current role in the army at the moment and do you apply anything that you picked up in Martial Art training? Tom: Royal Marine Commando, Cpl, Physical Training Instructor, Exercise Rehabilitation Instructor. Yes I apply. Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit In everything I do or teach Eric: I’m currently training to be a pilot in the Royal Air Force, so I can’t say I’m doing any hand-to-hand combat as such, as in other services!
It’s great to see you back at the club when you’re home visiting. Perhaps one day we can come and visit you guys and put you through your paces whereever you are? Tom: Definitely any time mate, Yes of course when can you make it? Eric: Definitely, if you ever wanted to run a class or day of training on a station, let me know! There are loads of things in place to let that
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Eric: I doubt it!
What do you think of the news that British Taekwondo and the Army Martial Arts Association are now working together to offer servicemen lots of opportunities and benefits regarding Taekwondo? Tom: It’s definitely beneficial to army recruitment and may come in handy as the Royal Navy beat them almost every year. It’s great to see the British Taekwondo team doing well in the Olympics and world champs, and the sport is heading in the right direction.
Editor: We’ll have to see if we can change that eh’ Tom lol.
Eric: That’s brilliant, fitness is a huge part of military life, as is self defence. Combining the two and offering them to service men is a great way to build the fitness, attitude and discipline in a way not usually seen in the armed forces. Usually teaching discipline involves shouting and room inspections; but tkd can teach that in a totally different environment, which can only be a good thing. Not to mention the self defence skills that are learnt too.
Editor: Fantastic catching up with you guys and hope to see you both soon.
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
MORE TAEKWONDO MORE PEOPLE MORE OFTEN In School! T
aekwondo in Schools is continuing! Following on from the Grand Prix legacy where a couple of Instructors were employed to go into Manchester Schools to deliver Taekwondo sessions, others are now following suit and looking into the prospect of offering our Martial Art as an alternative PE session. PE staff from various schools all raved about the sessions that they had for their children during the initial Phase. Now Marple Hall School has trialed it separately, after hearing about it and sourcing the local instructor, they have now added further sessions for their year 10s.
Marple Hall PE Staff with thumbs up for the Taekwondo in their School
It would boost the participation of children being actively involved in an activity keeping them fitter and healthier, plus it may end up boosting the Instructor’s own club membership.
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he Ki-dz at Marple Hall School have all been really engaged by the Taekwondo and the various things it has to offer, boosting their confidence and self-esteem. Inevitably with large class numbers there’s bound to be the odd one or two students of the school who are actually already Taekwondo students too, somewhere. This is great as they become a real asset during some of the sessions and take great pride in showing their class mates what they can do. The PE staff are also loving the fact that the nature and structural style of the training in Taekwondo helps to instill selfdiscipline within the children too.
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he basic idea they had was that the Taekwondo can offer an alternative for their GCSE grades to those children, who perhaps don’t take to the more traditional team sports that you get on the school curriculum. Fully qualified instructors within British Taekwondo can offer this service to the schools in their area and of course, it is hoped many of the students having a go at the art would then decide to join their local BT club. Generally the club they join, would be the one that the Instructor has who is delivering the sessions to the school, as it’s his or hers local area.
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any of the schools could take advantage of the new initiative by British Taekwondo at the moment, which is to start new clubs with a smaller term licence fee for students, to see if they can establish it and keep it running. What this means is that if the local instructor has time to run an after school club where he has already been delivering the PE sessions, then it would boost the schools objective of being able to offer more sports to the children.
nterestingly one staff member of the school commented on the fact that the ki-dz love the methodology and teaching style, as they do like to know what the boundaries are. The classes that have been conducted so far with various different class sizes, have all resulted in a very positive attitude and outlook from the students. They have shown their appreciation of the lessons by being polite and courteous and have been coming up to the coach to thank them, even though they are on a time schedule to get to their next lesson. A great credit to their school and community.
PAGE 17 FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Educational
THE C
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TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
OACHES ORNER!
LEVEL 2 COACHING COURSE
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oaches that want to coach at the 2017 Kyorugi National Championships will need to have attended a British Taekwondo Coaching Course this year. There are still a few places left for the Doncaster, London and Manchester courses, but you need to be quick! The Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo Award course has been aligned to the underpinning knowledge and understanding of the Level 2 National Occupational Standards (NOS) for coaching, teaching and instructing. The Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo Award course provides you with an opportunity to study and be assessed for both practical and theoretical aspects of coaching Taekwondo. The course recognises your knowledge and experience of ‘doing’ Taekwondo and therefore focuses on the ‘how to teach’ elements of coaching.We are currently working with partners within the qualifications industry to have the Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo Award course accepted on to the National Qualifications Framework
Full information about the Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo course and an application form is available from our website On successful completion of the Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo Award course you will understand: The role of a coach-The coaching process-Participant’s learning styles-Behaviour management-How to reflect on a coaching session The principles of planning coaching sessions-The principles of skill development through coaching sessions-The principles of evaluation in coaching-Health and safety in coaching.
In addition to these areas of learning you will also develop a greater awareness and understanding of: Basic nutrition and hydration for sports performance-Physical conditioning for sport-Principles of mental preparation for sport Awareness of drugs in sport-Equitable coaching-Safeguarding and protecting children in sport (inc. certification through sportscoach UK) Course Dates:27.02.16 28.02.16 03.04.16 London 05.03.16 06.03.16 08.05.16 Manchester 12.03.16 13.03.16 10.04.16 Hampshire 12.03.16 13.03.16 10.04.16 Northern Ireland 16.04.16 17.04.16 15.05.16 Surrey 16.04.16 17.04.16 15.05.16 Durham 30.04.16 01.05.16 05.06.16 Scotland 14.05.16 15.05.16 12.06.16 London 14.05.16 15.05.16 12.06.16 Lancashire 11.06.16 12.06.16 10.07.16 Doncaster Please check for availability.
Click picture to view GB Taekwondo Squad training
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Talking TaeKwonDo with Tom.. Tom
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es, I know. I said I would make mistakes and I did: while I was parted from my PC and iPad whilst away in Istanbul, I should have written more on my blog. We start 2016 with exciting times ahead of us. It will be a year of change in British Taekwond. New direction, new ideas, new attitude and new behaviours leading to us becoming “the place to be”; the best NGB and the best WTF/ ETU Member National Association.
to our coaches and athletes so that they can analyse and improve their performances. John Stopforth together with Dartfish is arranging a pilot for one Court using top specification products as advised to us by Dartfish. If successful, we will invest our members money in further sets, so that we can cover all of our regional and national events.
Now, we need your help in advertising your group, club, members and self in the magazine,! either by submitting stories and/or by buying regular advertising space. Contact Beth and Steve about this, and thanks again to Steve and Margaret for your support.
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wo more new initiatives – two partnerships – the first
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e had a great meeting with Dartfish, where we decided to embark on a programme to improve athlete performance through BT providing Video Replay facilities at BT events. Not to mention, providing the data recorded through Dartfish as an educational tool
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raham Preece headed up our initial exploratory meeting regarding the proposed BT Online Membership System. Thanks to Graham, Rick Simpson, Mark Yell and Margaret who are supporting this initiative together with our IT suppliers.
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ew people will join us, new members will challenge us and new ideas will be tried. We will succeed with most but if we do fail on some, it will not be because we didn’t try! There has been so much activity already in the first month of 2016 – Regional Poomsae training, regional Referee and Judges Courses, Regional Coach Education Courses, Regional Kyorugi events with planned Regional Dan Gradings. Did I mention it’s all ‘regional’ now?
activities and office activities to ensure that we provide the best customer service to our coaches and members.
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ou will have noted as you’re reading it now, the introduction of our new “British Taekwondo Today” magazine. This is the first pilot issue after the initial test one and I would like to see it as a regular 10-12 issue per annum publication. Steve Blomeley the editor is committed to developing this production for us, supported by Beth Bishop in our Media and Communications function, who will continue to issue Newsletters and updates as they occur.
with the Army Martial Arts Association (AMAA) and the second with the British Students Taekwondo Federation (BSTF). We have committed to work in partnership with these two bodies to promote our art and sport further within the British Army and within our British Universities.
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elcome Theresa Johnson to our team in Mansfield. Theresa will supervise our Membership services
ate last month I was in Istanbul, Turkey, in support of the ETU and European Qualification Event for Rio 2016. As you will already know, Mahama Cho was outstanding in being selected as the forth GBR representative for Rio. Well done Mahama, it was a pleasure to be there and to be British. During my visit I attended my first ETU Council Meeting which was both a pleasure and an honour for me. I had dinner with WTF President Dr Choue and ETU President Pragalos as well as developing many new and existing relationships with WTF/ETU officials and other MNA Presidents.
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ust after Christmas I received a call from WTF President Choue
asking if I would serve Taekwondo in the capacity of Secretary General of the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (CTU), with a view to establishing Taekwondo as a core sport in the Commonwealth Games. Our Board has approved this and I was therefore able to confirm my support and accept this great honour.
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his month will have seen the Board, led by our Chair Ieda Gomes Yell together with Non Executive Director Paul Mckenzie, together with ‘me’ interview short listed candidates for the role of Non Executive Director. This appointment will be made with a view to adding significant commercial expertise to our Board.
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will also have been interviewed as one of the candidates for the role of Chief Executive Office and I have looked forward to explaining my plans about how to develop British Taekwondo, for the benefit of all its members. So keep enjoying your Taekwondo, keep participating, keep growing and be open to change.
T
om Stammer. Acting Chief Executive
Email: tom.stammer@ britishtaekwondo.org
The Taegers Copyright Steve Blomeley 2015
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Turkish Delight after a leap of faith.....
Cho kicked to the face with a reverse which the judges didn’t score. Nelson appealed and it was upheld taking the score to 11-2 with 20 seconds remaining in round 3. Molfetta got one back but the score finished 11-3 - a resounding success for GB’s Mahama Cho! Cho went on to compete against Belarus in the final and win a positive 4-2.
By Michael McKenzie
European Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for Rio 2016 XXXI Olympiad January 16-17 2016
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urope is the strongest continental regions of the WTF and this event promised to deliver extremes of emotions as Olympic dreams were both fulfilled and shattered at the same time. As well as the two days of competition, the European Taekwondo Union also hosted the 1st ETU media workshop to better educate and inform journalists about the sport of Taekwondo in preparation for Rio 2016.
Three other Olympic places were already secured and so GB could only enter one athlete. Cho was coached by Nelson Miller with support from team Physio Simon Edwards and GB Performance Director Gary Hall.
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ritish interest in the event was Mahama Cho Male +80kg. Cho was denied automatic selection through the world ranking Grand Prix series. He had looked to be a certainty but a rival achieved more last minute points
Great Britian has qualified 4 athletes for Rio, the 2016 the team is most likely to be
om Stammer, acting CEO, represented British Taekwondo at the ETU Council meeting and I, Mike McKenzie was invited to speak to the Media Workshop along with John Cullen He and I both commentate at international Taekwondo events.
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through participation in the CISM World military games.
he competition took place at the WOW Istanbul Hotel and Convention Centre on 16-17th January. In total there were 134 athletes from 47 National teams and for the first time ranked athletes with refugee status were allowed to compete. The first day of competition featured the Male -58 and Male -68kg divisions and Female -49 and -57.
The competitors wore the Generation 2 Daedo trunk protectors and E Headguards which first featured in the Grand Prix finals in Mexico in December and may be used in Rio. With some practice time on the new protectors the athletes were much happier than in Mexico! The full list of results can be seen on www.maregonline. com with the winning semi -finalists qualifying a place in Rio.
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he matches varied in standard and scores, with many of the top European athletes already qualified. Israel qualified their first ever male Taekwondo athlete and refugee Raheleh Asemani , now living in Belgium qualified under the WTF flag. The match of the tournament from a GB perspective was the semi-finals in the +80kg division Mahama Cho ranked number one versus Olympic Gold medallist from London 2012 Carlo Molfetta of Italy. Molfetta was the Giant-slayer of London 2012 a natural middleweight who
moved up to take Olympic Gold.
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he match got off to a cautious start with both receiving warnings for inactivity. This stirred both on and they attempted head shots which were millimetres away from scoring. The first round ended 0-0 . Cho scored a body shot but received a second warning and the score was tied at 1-1. Cho got a combination of two head kicks and completed the round at 7-1. The Italian coach appealed saying the points were awarded twice. The PSS was inspected and a video review was done, which added to the tension and suspense. The equipment got the allclear and the points stood Cho was now in control but recieved two more warnings bringing the score to 7-2.
Jade Jones MBE -57kg Bianca Walkden +67kg Lutalo Muhammad or Damon Sansum -80kg Mahama Cho +80kg
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t should be noted that WTF President Chung Won Choue and ETU President Sakis Pragalos visited the site of the terrorist attacks in Istanbul the week before the event and placed flowers in memory of the victims. They also visited a Refugee Camp where the WTF Humanitarian Foundation is working to help improve the lives of refugees through sport and education.
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Over the last 2 years regular meetings have been held at Sport Scotland’s Headquarters in Edinburgh between organisations representing the various styles of taekwondo in Scotland: WTF, ITF and independent groups. The aim of these meetings was to work together to form a Scottish Taekwondo Council, which would aim to gain recognition from Sport Scotland in order to seek much needed support from this national government agency.
SCoT Scottish
Council
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n an almost monthly basis, Taekwondo Scotland Executive members: William Darlington, Martin Hold, Jim Kennedy and James Lewsley attended these meetings, over this time representing the interests of Taekwondo Scotland and British Taekwondo in these discussions. On the 10th of January 2016, the Scottish Council of Taekwondo (SCoT) was formed and held its first General meeting in Edinburgh. Taekwondo scotland is now a full voting member of SCoT and Master Jim Kennedy has been elected as a Director of this organisation along with 4 representatives from the other groups: Masters Derek Campbell, David Condie, Paul Donnelly, Sheena Sutherland and 1 independent director.
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lease be assured that this in no way affects our governance or membership of, or status within British Taekwondo. This is an exciting development and an opportunity for every participating Taekwondo group in Scotland to seek support and develop the sport / martial art at every level to benefit members. We would like to thank Jane Harvey – the facilitator of the working group negotiations - along with the representatives from Taekwondo scotland and the other organisations for working so hard to establish SCoT. Updates will be published soon and a SCoT web site will be established. If anyone needs more information or clarification on this, please contact the taekwondoscotland Chairperson, Martin Hold.
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ver the last 12 months, a working group has been meeting on a monthly basis at SportScotland Headquarters in Edinburgh to establish the foundations of SCOT: Scottish Council of Taekwondo. SCOT will consist of various ITF, WTF and also independent taekwondo groups (WTF & ITF style) who are not part of either British Taekwondo or The British Taekwondo Council. This council will have the sole aim of promoting the Sport of Taekwondo generally in Scotland by working together and receiving support from funding bodies such as the Scottish Government and sportscotland. The representatives from all of the various taekwondo styles and federations in Scotland have been discussing how they might all come together to form a group that meets the demands of the funders and supporters without anyone coming into conflict with their individual
Of
Taekwondo
Governing Bodies. The idea of this Council is not to control Taekwondo and its practice in any way. That is for Governing Bodies and Federations. SCOT is tasked with presenting a united front to the funders as has been the case in England with some success.
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t each of the meetings at least two representatives of taekwondoscotland® Executive Committee have been in attendance to represent the interests of British Taekwondo members participating in Scotland and to ensure we, British Taekwondo (Scotland), as a group are fairly represented within this newly formed organisation. We will continue to do so and will strive to ensure that the interests of British Taekwondo members in Scotland are looked after. In order to benefit from the support that will undoubtedly come the way of Taekwondo in Scotland, from promoting participation, developing instructors and officials, supporting competitions and tournaments and finally backing performance athletes, we need to commit to being involved and we need all of British Taekwondo members in Scotland to support us.
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ntil now the formation of this group has intentionally been lowkey and no details have been released. Following a lot of negotiation and discussion; the formation of this Council has entered its final phase. Other non-affiliated groups will now be contacted and notified of SCOT and invited to attend an information meeting on the 15th November at sportscotland HQ in Edinburgh. Of course taekwondoscotland exec members will be there to represent you and I will feed any info back to you.
The roles of the Directors of SCOT are now being formulated and as one of the pioneering groups involved in the setup of this body: Twotaekwondoscotland Executive members have expressed their desire to be considered as Directors of SCOT when the 1st General Meeting takes place in January 2016.
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!
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
No Payne A Club Growth No Gain Journal..... By Phill Payne
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y name is Phill Payne and I am a British Taekwondo coach/ instructor. I currently run two full-time martial arts centres while doing a little coach mentoring for West Yorkshire Sport and finishing off my Sports Coaching Masters degree.
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ver the coming months I hope to write some articles to help clubs grow and sustain
their membership. To break this down in to its most basic form, to grow your club you need to attract new members and retain the ones currently training with you. I know this is not news to most instructors but achieving both these goals longterm can be challenging. As your club matures , these challenges change. Getting started from zero students is always tough. As your club gets bigger, you then need attract more
have a bucket of money to give away, your service needs, at the very least, to pay for itself. If you divide the maximum number of students you would be comfortable teaching in t goes without saying your venue with the price good starting point that the venue you run of your rent, you will be able is to work out who your classes from should be to work out your potential your ideal student is. It close to and accessible by gross profit. Changing the figures around a is easy to say little and dividing that you want to ‘Once you have your proposed teach everyone identified your session price with Taekwondo but ideal student/ you rent cost will this only leads to customer, have an allow you to work you try to ‘please appropriate venue everyone, all of to operate from and our the minimum numbers you need the time’ and have worked out to break even. a scattergun how much you are approach going to charge, with your nce you have you are ready to marketing. identified start planning your You can end your ideal student/ marketing activity’ up firing lots customer, have an of bullets, but appropriate venue hitting very little. your potential customers. to operate from and have It may sometimes be worked out how much ou need to know cheaper to rent space or you are going to charge who your target take a lease in a venue for your service, you are market is so that outside of a residential ready start planning your you can plan your area or ‘off the beaten marketing activity. I have marketing while also track’, but the money you seen the ‘build it and tailoring your service save in rent will then have they will come’ approach for them. Rather than to be spent on marketing fail many times before. If using the scattergun to make up for the walk you really want your club approach, try to -ins you could have had. to grow, it helps to be a become a sniper with master of marketing as your service and ne of the most well as Taekwondo. marketing. This will important processes help you maximise that is commonly n my next article I your efforts and overlooked is how you will include my top 5 resources. When price your service. You methods of obtaining choosing your target will probably have your new students. For more market, it is important own view on whether this coaching articles, follow that it is aligned with should be high or low but @martialartscoach on your own objectives. If you can not get around twitter. you are interested in the fact that unless you
and more new members just to account for the members you lose. For this reason, you need to focus on both your service and your marketing if you want sustained growth.
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specialising in a certain area of Taekwondo, it makes sense to ensure that your services and marketing is customised for this demographic.
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British
TAEKWONDO TODAY CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS British Taekwondo Club Members Page
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
An Ultimate 1-2-1 success and more tournaments W
here winning is everything” is Ultimate’s motto and Kathy Hook, the chief instructor to the group had taken the gamble to stage a very early one-on-one championship to kickstart the year off in style. It paid off with quite a few of the British Taekwondo clubs rallying round and promising to do their best to attend the January Competition
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athy had said she was concerned about hosting an event so close after Christmas but she was really pleased with the numbers so early on in the year. In attendance at the Barnsley event were 19 clubs from around the country with 175 players all pitting their skills against each other on the mat. It was great to see everybody there. There was a slight panic on the Saturday evening as the snow began to come down and settle. Travelling coaches and students did have quite a scenic journey with everything being crisp and white. New year. New NGB. New outlook!
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he atmosphere at the competition was great and there was some really good close games. Kathy stated she was really pleased to see so many close matches and quite a few went to golden point meaning she had done a great job in matching up the players with experience and ability. Kathy stresses how important it is for coaches to send in the correct heights for players when registering their players.
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t was nice to see a few matches with the very tiny 4 year olds competing and also some elite and GB squad members. It was fantastic for everyone to get some ring time after a little lay-off, celebrating the festivities. Kathy would like to thank Chief Referee Chris Codling, the BT Referees and judges plus the
on theHorizon
coaches and players of course. She also thanked the travelling spectators supporting their friends and families and last, but not least, the Ultimate volunteers whom without she couldn’t run the event. Now that Kathy has kicked everything off for 2016 and has more events in the pipeline, everybody will be turning their attention to the next one on the calendar list which will be hosted by Horizon and before we all know it we’ll probably be back in Barnsley with Kathy again for another ‘pen-Ultimate’ event! Well done Kathy a great start to the year.
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entral Taekwondo Instructors David and Angie Bailey welcomed a top Korean athlete to their home and dojang after training at his club back in Korea. David Bailey, a UTA member is well known on the Taekwondo circuit and travels frequently with his Taekwondo duties. Angie is a ken Poomsae competitor too.
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aster Lee Jae Ram, from Korea’s Yong In University in Seoul arrived in Falkirk, Scotland to stay with the Baileys and to deliver seminars in Scotland as well as the Midlands and Belfast. Having been greatly impressed by the standard of students at Master Lee Jae Ram’s club back in Korea, David and Angie were very keen to host him to inspire their students at their own club in Falkirk.
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entral Taekwondo has had a really good year and David stated that it is extremely fortunate to be able to train and learn from a truly world class Korean Taekwondoist. The Taekwondo Bailey family are hoping that he will be the first of many Korean visitors to the Central Academy as they endeavour to develop links with Korea’s top clubs and universities. They are hoping too that there will be opportunities for Central members to visit the homeland of Taekwondo on a student exchange programme.
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f course the visiting Korean Master was also given a glimpse of Scottish life, sampling some of the culinary delights plus
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visiting some of the famous landmarks. The club had a special demonstration evening in January where they welcomed Scotland’s Honorary Consul to South Korea Mr Derek McCulloch and Falkirk Provost Pat Reid. The VIPs met with Master Lee and enjoyed a superb display of top class Kyorugi and Poomsae from some of the Central members and from Master Lee himself!
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r McCulloch was really impressed, and has offered to get the Korean Embassy on board with helping to develop links between Central Academy and Korea. Time went by very quickly and it won’t be long before Master Lee who is also an assistant Coach at Arumchan Korea which
is one of the top clubs in the country will be back in Falkirk being a Central attraction again!
FEBRAURY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
British University Championship 2016 T
his BSTF University championships is the 30th Annual Student National Taekwondo Championships and will take place on 27th - 28th February 2016 at the University of Worcester Arena, Hylton Road, Worcester, WR2 5JN The British Student Taekwondo Federation committee is looking forward to welcoming you to the 30th annual Student National Taekwondo Championships and joining them in celebrating this incredible milestone for student Taekwondo, 30 years of student sport! The Student Nationals has gone from strength to strength, with record attendances year on year reaching 389 players from 42 clubs at last year’s event! A record we hope you’ll break again at this very special Student Nationals! Six Taekwondo disciplines will be contested: WTF rules Sparring; Kukki Individual Patterns; Kukki Mixed Pairs Patterns; all including A, B and C class divisions. ITF rules Sparring; Chang-Hon Individual Patterns; and Chang-Hon Teams Patterns; Following discussions with British Taekwondo and GB Taekwondo we are excited to announce that this year’s
MOTIVATION by Eddie Tyrell What is it. How do you monitor it? How do you create it. Well let’s take a look firstly at what the word means to get a better understanding of it. According to the Oxford dictionary Motivation is the process which encourages and guides behaviour. Motivation is an artificial construction that cannot be measured. So let’s have a look at what motivates you and why. What motivates me to teach Taekwondo week in week out, year in year in year out? I could say a number of things, e.g. keeping fit, learning self-defence, meeting new individuals, increasing self-esteem and confidence! I don’t just do this for the sake of it! As you know many issues arise teaching any sport, such as different individuals with different needs of learnings, and different levels of physical abilities. By providing sport as a way, individuals can come together to learn such skills, not just from the sport of choice but also learn life skills. A good instructor has to demonstrate not only the knowledge of the sport they teach, they also have to demonstrate personal qualities that go along with a person-centered approach. These are key principles to
Student Nationals will be the selection event for the European Universities Games, pending agreement with BUCS regarding EUSA application deadlines and confirmation of the World Taekwondo ranking/nonranking status of the event. Gold medallists in the Student Nationals A-class WTF rules sparring and Kukki patters events will move forward to the final team selection stage for the European Student Games, a major student event of the European University Sports Association to be held in the Croatian cities of Zagreb and Rijeka in July 2016. All A-class sparring medallists will also be invited to a training event day with GB Taekwondo coaches at the national team training centre in Manchester. We will once again be running our Student & Alumni Team Challenge Cups sparring events, ITF rules on Saturday and WTF rules on Sunday. Teams of 3 players with a combined weight category compete after the main Student Nationals sparring events. You may combine A-class student and alumni players to make up your teams. See the Information Pack for eligibility details. All A-class WTF rules sparring divisions will be contested
using the Daedo PSS electronic scoring system. The deadline for your team’s entry sheet to be received is midnight on Friday 19th February 2016.
motivation and by developing a process that guides and changes behaviour, this can motivate people. How many times has a parent presented a child to you for training and the parent speaks when you ask the child “why do you want to take part in this sport?” The parent answers for them stating they are overweight by poking the child and they require confidence skills, discipline skills. How do you create a process that will motivate the individual to guide and change their behaviour? From what the parent says, it is their lack self-esteem and confidence! How do you motivate someone who is experiencing that? Well here you are, you have a dojang, you create a place through sports, fun, feedback through gradings, this process then guides and changes the individual’s behaviour. Surely? Making use of your person-centred approach is key to providing the right environment for people to grow and develop and reach their potential.
When people lose motivation, as people will, they are having difficulty with maintaining the levels of motivation they have built up through the process for example sports or group work etc. It is only natural for people to lose their motivation. People should differentiate between motivation and interest. These are two different things. People become interested in things. However, when people show an interest and become interested in things, they go through a process that guides and changes behaviour, otherwise they would not do it in the first place. When people lose motivation they become de-motivated, and the results are people leaving sports, relapsing back into bad habits, although this is only part of the relapse. To maintain and support people to remain motivated you could develop tools such as goal-setting. This will motivate people and they will go through a process that guides and changes behaviour as they achieve each small little step.
Lets look at why I get up every morning and head into work. My back ground is in mental health and addiction work. How do you develop a process that guides and changes individuals’ behaviour to controlling panic attacks, developing relapse prevention skills and so on. by providing the right environment first of all, and by encouraging people through person centered approach to partake in a process of group work and 1-2-1 counselling sessions. This then encourages and guides their behaviour to change and I must say it’s very successful. If the individual stops engaging in this process, the likelihood is that they will return to their old behaviours.
We look forward to seeing you all at a very special 30th anniversary Championships!
I don’t claim to know everything about motivation. However I know it’s a process and if you provided a process you can unlock their potential to bring out the best in people. What motivates high-performance athletes to get up every day and strive for Olympic gold and so on. At times they will have challenged their motivation, thinking should I pack it in? Their coach provides an environment through a process that encourages and guides their behaviour, to go onto to becoming that champion. Building up their self-belief, challenging their doubts and other selfdefeating actions or thought processes.
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International Events
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
British Events
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2-7th February US Open 11-14th February Canada Open & Canada Para Open WTF G1 Ranked 13th February Judges Course Southport Ki Taekwondo Birmingham University Seminar 14 Feb 2016 Turkish Open/Poomsae Open Antalya /Turkey 18 Feb 2016 European Clubs Championship European Clubs Championship Antalya /Turkey 21st February Horizon 1 to 1 in Bradford.
21 Feb 2016 European Kids Championship 27 Feb 2016 Slovenia Open Maribor/Slovenia 27/28th Feb British International Poomsae Championships 28th Feb Chi TKD 1 to 1 Spennymoor 28th February BSTF University Championships 6th March Dome 1 to 1 in Doncaster. Sunday 6th March BT Tech Seminar, Nottingham Trent University 12-13 Mar 2016 Dutch Open Eindhoven Netherlands 10-11th March Pan Am Olympic Qualifying Event in Mexico
19th/20th BT March Dan Grade Promotion Venue TBC London/South region 19-20th March Belgian Open in Lommel 20th March Ultimate Open in Barnsley 28th March Chungdokwan GB Open in Bracknell 7-10th April ETU President’s Cup in Bonn, Germany 17th April Yorkshire Open in Bradford 23-24th April Liverpool Open 30th April/1st May BT Dan Grade Promotion Nottingham Trent Univesity Sunday 8th May BT Technical Seminar Speenymoor Leisure Centre 11th/12th June BT Dan Grade Promotion, Spennymoor Leisure Centre
Welcome to
No, Not the destination of this Summer’s Olympic games but cheeky ‘Rio the Taeger Cub’, designed and created by Steve Blomeley to help delight, entertain, inspire and educate the fun loving people of Taekwondo. Of course, he will be cheering on the Olympic athletes during their trials and tribulations in the party capital of Brazil. With Mahama Cho securing a fourth Olympic Qualifying slot for Great Britain’s athletes, he will have plenty of home interest too to get excited about. Go Go Go GB! Let’s hope with a bit of Taegerific luck we will achieve the desired outcome and everyone will be a Winner!
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY
email: steveblomeley@gmail.com
BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
BRITISH POOMSAE International COMPETITION
wenty-sixteen will see the biggest Poomsae international event ever staged in the UK as 520 players from as far as Australia, Russia, Bulgaria and many European National teams will participate inside the K2 Arena in Crawley, Sussex. Poomsae or Patterns are a set sequence of movements that consists of the various fundamental stances, blocks, punches and kicks logically arranged in a meaningful order in response to attacks from multiple imaginary assailants. Each Poomsae pattern consists of an established sequence of movements which has a philosophical meaning and each Poomsae has its own character and distinct quality. There is a full range of age categories from Peewee to plus 65, Para and freestyle.
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oth World and European Champions will compete in standard Poomsae, Freestyle, Team and Para Divisions. It’s fantastic that the Para Taekwondo features strongly in this competition, getting bigger and stronger every year throughout the world.
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t least one hundred volunteers from Local Clubs and Northern Ireland will assist with the technical details, logistics, airport, hotel and venue transportation. It will be a major operation looking after everybody and a key factor in ensuring things run smoothly for a successful competition.
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very stage of the event is supported by Ki Martial Arts , Cruisers Coach Company and Driscoll landscape
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eeping a little bit of fun throughout the two days, the Taegers should be at the event cheering on the Home Nations including Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Gibraltar and the Isle Of Man who will be challenging the overseas national teams and the UK National Squad will be hoping to get a good start to 2016 for their journey to qualify for the World Championships in Peru later in the
K2 Arena, Crawley.
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t least twenty-two international referees from UK, Korea, Russia Switzerland, Germany, Sweden Austria, Belgium and many more Countries will be judging the event. With such a range of high pedigree competitors it can be a very fine line between being crowned the champion and finishing in second place.
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vents will be online for the first time ever as the Poomsae championship will have live streaming via the internet, something that is normally reserved for the Kyorugi. Even students of Taekwondo who don’t normally compete in poomsae competition or cannot attend the event will have a great opportunity to observe and watch some of the best practitioners and pick up some tips. A key Organiser British Taekwondo’s Derek Sumner with a Para competitor
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
Manx Taekwondo West Taekwondo Poomsae Festival 2016 – Isle of Man
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weekend commencing the 29th January was eagerly anticipated by all in attendance. There was not a person amongst us that wanted the experience to end. It was evident from the outset that the standard of instruction had been countered by an equivalent level of preparation by the Onchan and Peel contingent. The level of preparation was about to be tested, and tested it was. Master Derek and his team are without doubt exceptional instructors, quick and light in their movement from one component of the Taekwondo Poomsae Curriculum to the next. From the basic to the most intricate of application of stance, posture and interpretation of movement was duly demonstrated to the highest standards as was to be expected. A smooth transition from muscle preparation, general fitness and poomsae to one-step sparring drills ranging from Ap Chagi (front kick) to Yop chagi (side kick) and Dollyo Chagi (full turning kick). By any standards, it is clear to see that he not only values the combat sport of Taekwondo, but also the spirit of Poomsae because the Poomsae itself is Taekwondo.
Awash with sweat, which was an indication of the level of commitment and pitch to which all had been working, in particular the aging sector of participants’. Hour upon hour was the focus, forms or Poomsae, starting with Taegeuk I Jang (Pattern 1) to Poomsae Koryo (Pattern 9), with the occasional interruption for a break for water. In reviewing the weekend, it can be said that all were both pleased to have participated with such vigour and enthusiasm, energy and effort, a true indication to the outstanding level of commitment from the Onchan and Peel Taekwondo Clubs. Rod and David respectfully in equal part are very proud at the level of ability displayed by their students in matching the precision of Master Derek’s Team during Poomsae training. Based solely on the fluidity and precision with which these techniques where delivered, it is blatantly obvious that these students are endowed with the spirit and physical stamina required of the true martial artist. Recognition goes out to all involved. Michael Ferrer (Manx Taekwondo) best male player of the day Gracie Burns (West Taekwondo) best female player of the day Renz Ferrer & Nancy Shefford for best pairs Neil Ecolango for best senior Nino Ontoy for best peewee Olivia Burns for best cadet Marc Lynes for best para Chloe Marsh, Annan Jones, Sebastian Shields, Marc Agustin for best newcomers Dom Ontoy, Garry and Paul for pushing back the years and proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Chairman of British Taekwondo on the Isle of Man, Rod Nielsen would like to thank Master Derek Sumner and his students Sue, Johnny, Marc, Virgil and Sheena who travelled over to the island from London for the festival. He would also like to thank West Taekwondo of Peel whose students very keenly took part in everything that was put on over the weekend. He is delighted with how the weekend went and how all clubs got on extremely well
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FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
PRINT OFF AND COLOUR ME IN Ki-DZ
tAEGERS COLOUR ME IN SHEET
The Taegers of Taekwondo C Steve Blomeley 2016 TM
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TAEKWONDO TODAY Article
FEBRUARY 2016 YEAR OF THE MONKEY BRITISH TAEKWONDO TODAY by Master S.H. Blomeley email: steveblomeley@gmail.com Tel: 0161 456 1976
LEND ME YOUr EAR? By Mark Hayward Instructors, cast your mind back to the time you first discovered Taekwondo? Maybe you are of the old school and discovered Taekwondo as a child in a dusty church hall or in more recent times a new leisure facility with all benefits of the latest equipment. Either way you made the choice to come into an environment that has carried on ‘scratching your itch’. The fact that you are reading this means you are still involved in some way, shape or form.
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remember as a kid waiting outside my local youth centre with 50p and butterflies in my stomach wondering what I’m letting myself in for...... And yes 30 something years ago an hours class did indeed cost 50p. Memories of what I now know to be lactic acid in my legs, blood blisters on my feet, went hand in hand with a real sense of achievement and enjoyment that I had not found in any other activity that I had tried. One person made that possible, YOU! Well not you, but the instructor who shall remain nameless for fear of giving away his age, (I’m 43). He took the time to introduce me to a few established students, showed me where to put my stuff and then gave me a position in the line, that made me feel secure and empowered. But most of all he asked me WHY I had chosen Taekwondo and what it was that I wanted to achieve. Now, I was a kid and I vividly remember thinking to myself ‘why is he asking me this’ and making me feel so important? So I gave some standard answers, fitness, self defence etc, etc but the one thing that stuck out was the fact that he LISTENED. He made strong eye contact, he validated my answers by repeating back to me what I had said and for the first time ever, I felt like I had met an adult who respected my opinion, allowed me to speak openly and seemed genuinely interested in me. I was blown away! It seemed that all that speak when you’re spoken to and seen and not heard business was not relevant in his dojang purely and simply because he had the good sense to understand that listening to children builds confidence and confidence is a transferable skill. We all have that kid who comes to class, wants our attention, is eager to show you his latest toy, move or trainers etc. We are all busy. Heads are buzzing with lesson plans and time is of the essence. But, always make time to listen no matter how fantastic the story might seem. No matter how wrong the move might be or how many pairs of Nike Airmax you have seen in your life. The fact is that child has chosen to tell YOU! imagine being the only adult that actively listens to that child, the only adults he or she trusts enough to allow you into their thoughts without fear of judgement or ridicule. We are in the business of developing people. So, the next time you are given the privilege of listening to a child. Enjoy it and know that you must be doing something right. Because adults who truly listen to children are rarer than you think.
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