Putting the record straight

Anyone who has achieved the rank of 4th degree in the ITF knows that a thesis must also be submitted.

There are many subjects to consider for this thesis, and there are many I have considered. Nutrition for Taekwon-Do, Taekwon-Do and children, Ho Sin Sul (self defence). However there is one subject that has really inspired me over the last twelve months or so. The history of Taekwon-Do in Ireland. I spent some time with Aidan Walsh in Slovenia last year, during which I got a real chance to encounter living Taekwon-Do history. I wanted to know more.

It's probably a subject that's been done to death by many other 4th degrees gone before me. However, I want mine to be different. I want it to be comprehensive, complete so to speak. There is only one way to achieve that, and that's to go to the source of Taekwon-Do in Ireland. The originals, the pioneers.

It causes me to make a crumpled face sometimes when I see some instructors re-write the history of Taekwon-Do to suit their own agenda. The word 'Pioneer' is indeed a hackneyed word in Irish TKD circles.

Maybe the word is misunderstood? Let us see. Pioneer: To open up an area or prepare a way; initiate: take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of - courtesy of dictionary.com.

There can be no dispute and no misunderstanding. Lately I came across some face crumpling information on the world wide web, apparently there are more Irish 'pioneers' than we original anticipated. My face is crumpling again. I must stop reading nonsense!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a student of history and someone who relies on fact over fiction. Armed with this sense of keeping the record straight I set about making contact with the real deal. The original ITF Taekwon-D0 pioneers.

I was delighted to receive an email in response to my request.

Senior Master Robert Howard 8th degree has agreed to an interview. President of the RITA since it's foundation in 1972 and a Taekwon-Do student since 1968. I was honoured to be accepted into this mans company.

My thesis will then, hopefully, get a special audience with Mr Aidan Walsh, also one of the original pioneers and then Master Liam Dandy, the man who made initial contact with GM Rhee Ki Ha. I've yet to contact Master Dandy, but I have a number there somewhere from yester -year

Who knows where I'll end up! I know for sure however, that this thesis will be the most comprehensive to date. I will make it so. It's not about cobbling together a few words and sending it to an office where it might not even get read, it's about putting the history down for all to see, putting the record straight if I may.

I'll keep you all posted as this intrepid journey from 1968 to 2009 unfolds.

Pic: Aidan Walsh, Brendan Roche, Robert Howard, Liam Dandy and Tony Phelan.

Sunday session

It's easy to pretend you're fit!

When you're an instructor and coach, it's easy to fall into a trap where you think that doing a bit during the class you're teaching that this is the same as training.

Today (Sunday 20th) I headed out to Loughshinny to train with the rest of the ETA lads. The class was conducted by Terry Donnelly with the help of Marto. Martin Lawless is great to have around every session, he breaks everything down to the minutia!

The class worked on drills and foot postioning. I was hoping it would remain at a nice pace. I was kidding myself! I felt grand during the drills, the legs were moving ok. The last few weeks of stretching my over tight hips had been paying off. High hook kicks weren't a problem.

We moved into sparring then. Jeez it's unbelievable how flat footed you can become when you haven't sparred for a few months. The initial drills were just about moving and dodging around your attacking opponent, five seconds in, yours truly takes a hook kick to the mouth, courtesy of Mr Donnelly!

That was frustrating, but it'll be a couple of classes before im back up on my toes properly.

We did a few rounds of moving and dodging, I was feeling it on the old lungs!

We moved into proper sparring then and after about 8 short rounds of sparring I was wearing down, slowly but surely. The sparring is always at a pace arond 70% of full on speed and power. There's no better way to train. It allows a high pace but at a comfortable enough level where you can use the techniques learned in the drills and you can put them to work. Laying into each other inhibits you from experimenting and finding out solutions to circumstances as you spar.

Here's a small sample, after the class Terry and Marto moved around. Plenty of action at 70% with an emphasis on constant movement, enjoy!



We moved through the rounds alternating between boxing rounds and Taekwon-Do rounds incorporating an emphasis on both the hands and the feet. At the end I was out of gas, well and truly. The lungs were on fire, this blog as no problem telling you that!

Not to worry, it won't be long before the fitness levels are back up a tad. I'll have to start hitting the road again for some 'morning runs' down by the canal if possible.

Anyway, to finish, one of the best things about training with these guys is the approach to scientific sparring. That's not to confuse the issue, it simply means drills, movement and body positions are put to the test and if they're usefull they're kept, if they're not working they're disposed of. Simple really.

Afterwards it was back to Terry's house for a cupán tae and a video of the master at work.. Tomaz Barada.

RIP Dazzler

Boxing is probably the only sport I'd be a keen fan of. I've followed the Irish boxing scene now for many's a year still having fond memories of that morning in 1992 in Ger's house watching McCollough and Carruth winning the silver and gold in Barcelona.

I had the same pride watching Darren Sutherland do what he does best in the ring in China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Darren was found dead in London yesterday, aged 27.

Ireland has lost a sporting hero. There is nothing worse than hearing news like this.

RIP.

As part of some ongoing training, this blog attended a Master Class on September 6th 2009 in
Stevenedge, Reading, England.

Master Choi never fails to impress.

The son of General Choi Hong Hi, the founder of Taekwon-Do, Master Choi is now the president, leader and guardian of modern day ITF Taekwon-Do.
I use the word guardian intently.

His work over the last number of years has been to bring ITF Taekwon-Do into it’s rightful place in the world, as a martial art and a system of self defence.
When Taekwon-Do was initially developed by General Choi back in the late 1940’s and the early 1950’s. It’s purpose was to enable the practitioner to develop raw power from the training methods involved. It was, undoubtedly a full contact system.

Over the years, and as Taekwon-Do became a worth while business concept, training methods changed to become a more family orientated, and child centred martial art. The training methods of old would have slowed Taekwon-Do from developing as a uniquely popular family martial art. It would have been the staple diet of genuinely hard men and head cases, such was the training methods.

It can be said that over the many years, Taekwon-Do has become a some what watered down version of it’s original mould.
It has inevitably become a system of sport and an art based on aesthetics rather than any sense of realism.

This now seems to be the target of change of the ITF and in particular, Master Choi Jung Hwa, who wants to see Taekwon-Do become a more realistic system of fighting. He wants to see an end to the pretty and ‘dance’ based tul. An over emphasis on prettiness has over shadowed Taekwon-Do’s true nature.
This latest master class was all about power and the use of kicks and strikes to create the utmost damage to any opponent.

Prettiness in performance was not an issue, in fact master Choi, as he always does, insists that to perform any Taekwon-Do strike or block with full power will of course pull the practitioner off balance, and this is ok. It means that in the first instance, power is to the fore. Training over and over will bring balance, inevitably.

To quote master Choi’s own saying - “once you know one thing through and through, then you know it for everything” - this was the under current for the master class. There was repetitious training of single strikes and techniques until the concept was fully understood.

Taekwon-Do is going back to it’s roots. It’s true identity is being revealed once again.
When you look at the many pioneers of Taekwon-Do, to name a very few, GM Nam Tae Hi, GM Rhee Ki Ha, Master Han Cha Kyo, GM CK Choi, GM JC Kim, all of these in their hay day, and some even now are power houses. Their training was real, it was gruelling and it was all about blunt force trauma.

When you look at the instructors that came out of these pioneers, and from our own point of view here in Ireland, Mr Aidan Walsh and Master Robert Howard (two of five) who were original students who came under GM Rhee were all about impact development. Even when I was training as a kid, Master Trevor Nicholls was all about raw power, and the destruction of the opponent. His destruction of six Irish boards with a lead leg side kick in Aughrim street sports centre, circa1992 is etched in my memory.

Many things in life come full circle, and these days I find myself training with and under one of those Irish pioneers, Aidan Walsh, who was instrumental along with others, Robert Howard, Liam Dandy, Frank Mathews, Brendan Roche and Tony Phelan in spreading Taekwon-Do around the Island of Ireland.
I shouldn’t be surprised then to find that Mr Walsh’s primary concern in training is to learn how to hit hard, and be scientific it your delivery.

This master class was also a poignant one, after 30 odd years master Choi met with Mr Walsh for a trip down memory lane. In 1974, Mr Walsh was part of a demo team along with master Choi who performed a Taekwon-Do demonstration for General Choi on the back of a truck in Winnipeg, Canada. The two had a good old laugh as they recalled good times in Canada and at the residence of the General. The two Taekwon-Do stalwarts embraced each other. As someone who has only dipped his toe in the vast ocean of Taekwon-Do life, I found it was quite an historical moment.

I think all of us who travelled to England to train under master Choi share Mr Walsh’s opinion. Master Choi is genuine, and is not afraid to show the courage of his convictions.
During lunch with master Choi, he outlined his vision for Taekwon-Do in the near future. With South Korea now accepting him and the ITF with open arms, the ITF and Taekwon-Do in general is quit rightly slotting back into it’s rightful place, acknowledged and understood as being a complete martial art, now with all it’s priorities in the right place.

Power is key!

Thank you to all those involved in the UTA and England ITF for the kind invitation to the Master Class, Master Trevor Nicholls and Mr Glenn Horan - Thank you, this was a great help on the road to the big 4th.