International Instructor Course, Cork. 30th Sept - 1st Oct 2017
The Clayton Silver Springs Hotel in Cork, was overrun with a huge abundance of ITF TaeKwon - Do talent. Students came from Netherlands, Germany, Puerto Rico, United States of America, Switzerland, United Kingdom and of course Ireland. With a full floor of very eager students, the atmosphere was electric. As always, there was an excellent vibe of friendship as the extended TaeKwon - Do family came together for some intense training. Cork played a blinder as always with an unstoppable flow of hospitality.
President Choi, Grand Master Nicholls and Mr. Jung Chan Kuk were chaperoned by Mr. Ruairi O’ Brien, Mr. Liam Corkery, Mr. Alan Walsh and Mr. Richard Byrne, during their enjoyable visit to Cork.
ITF President, Grand Master Choi Jung Hwa (IX Degree) conducted the course and was assisted by ITF Vice - President & Secretary General Grand Master Trevor Nicholls (IX Degree). Grand Master Choi Jung Hwa was also assisted by the Chairman of the Public Relations Committee for the ITF, Mr. Jung Chan Kuk, from Daejeon, South Korea.
Masters in attendance were Master Steve Zondag VIII (Netherlands), Master Hennie Thijssen VII (Netherlands), Master Henry O’ Neill VII (Ireland), Master Jimmy Dowling VII (Ireland), Master JB McCarthy VII (Ireland) and Master Glen Horan VII (United Kingdom).
The event began at 10am on Saturday morning with Grand Master Nicholls covering all 24 Tuls. They were all performed with good power, balance, sine wave, co - ordination and excellent breath control. Corrections or amendments were made in - between each tul as required. Afterwards, Grand Master Nicholls executed some very effective kicking drills. The candidates were broken up into several groups and a high ranking master took charge of each group.
President Choi made his entrance later that afternoon and was well received by all. After a small talk from President Choi, the first day came to a close.
Saturday night saw a large group attend the banquet which commenced at 8pm and ran until late. The night was filled with laughter and fun had by all.
Sunday saw Mr. Ruairi O’ Brien, Mr. Alan Walsh, Mr. Larry Doyle and Mr. John Pepper make a special military presentation on behalf of TaeKwon - Do Alliance Ireland to President Choi. This was well received by President Choi.
President Choi commenced the day’s session. He placed great emphasis on correct technique being applied, power in the execution of the technique, the hip twist used in generating power and repetition of techniques.
One phrase that President Choi used constantly was “when you know one thing, through and through, then you know everything”! The course came to a close at about 4.30pm. President Choi made himself available for photos and autographs, which was greatly received by all.
After the floor was cleared, Master Henry O’ Neill (VII) and Master Jimmy Dowling (VII) conducted a 4th Dan test for Mr. Carlos Cajigas from Puerto Rico. He successfully passed with a very good standard in all disciplines of TaeKwon - Do.
Report compiled by Mr. John Hackett (PRO for TaeKwon - Do Alliance Ireland)