It's a big day for all of the students of Red Star Taekwon-Do as they face their test tomorrow. It's also a big day for me as an examiner. I'm looking forward to it however. I remember as a 16 year old helping on the panel of the grading examiners in the Irish School of Taekwon-Do, I had to demonstrate the techniques the examiner was requesting. 16 years on and now I'm the examiner, how time flies.
There is a great bunch of red belts just ready to burst through to achieve a little bit of black on their belt.
The daunting black. We have five testing for 1st degree tomorrow, what a huge achievement to reach this test seeing as though so many fall by the way side. Incredibly students still duck out at red belt and even black stripe. Imagine, getting all the way to black stripe to pack it all in. That's at least three years training, all for diddly squat. It's a bit like competing in the marathon, you see the finish line but instead of persevering and pushing on to finish, you decide you're going to lie down and give up. Bizarre as only teenagers can be!
For those that have stuck the pace, you have my respect whether you are successful or not you have all proven your worth and all of you are very good competitors as only we produce!
Ádh mór gach duine, beidh sibhse iontach ;)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Another mountain conquered, a new challenge
I'm really starting to enjoy this outdoor stuff. It has been a super two weeks, I needed a break from all the intense Taekwon-Do stuff post Korea. It was near on 24/7 in the build up to Korea and while we were there. I got sick of looking at doboks. I really wanted to do something different for a few weeks. I played around with starting back to grappling training in BJJ or Sambo, and I started back the UC training after hooking up with Lee for a weekend. In the end I reckoned I needed something away from the mats. So I headed for the water and the hills.
I started Kayaking two weeks ago. A bit unsure as to how I would like it, I decided to give it a bash. I love the water anyway and I'd be a half decent swimmer. A good friend of mine Gerry O'F is an avid kayaker up in the Wild Water Kayak Club on the Liffey, he's an instructor up there so I got some really helpful one on one's. He was impressed with the speed I picked it up and on my first night I was able to run the weir, having said that, the water was very low, so low that Stevie Wonder would have ran the weir and got through it alright. All the same, I was hooked. I loved it. I did the capsize drill and soaked and smelling of river I couldn't wait to go back in. On my second trip out I learned the 'T' rescue and some new strokes. The 'T' rescue is for when you capsize and you lose your paddle (or you can't roll just yet). You sit upside in the kayak and bang your hull three times and wait for another kayaker to butt you with the nose of his boat which you then use to right yourself. It's just great crack and the weirs and the small bit of white water i got gave me a great adrenalin rush even more so than competing in the ring. This competition is with yourself, it's all about your own inner courage to venture into surroundings that have taken life, albeit only in the most tragic of circumstances.
On Saturday 4th September another out door challenge awaited. The Cooley challenge is a 20Km trek across the Cooley mountains. It's a tough, arduous ascent at the best of times. We got the worst of times! It lashed rain, constantly. It was hoods up and heads down as we made our way to the summit. Our club entered a team the youngest being Lauren Bradshaw and at only 13 she made the trek without one complaint, in fact every time we checked on her she was smiling. She's a great kid. It was also Donna's first time up the mountain ranges, she made a new friend called Maggie. Maggie was a three year old springer spaniel that accompanied one of the hikers. She ran the whole thing! (Maggie, not Donna!)
The hike was put together by locals in Armagh who have invited people to trek their beautiful country side which was inaccessible for decades as the British army prohibited anyone venturing onto what it deemed to be its land. Now they're gone and thankfully people from all over the world can enjoy the mountains.
As we neared the half way point we bumped into Banjo Bannon. Banjo is Ireland's most famous mountain climber. He has conquered some of the worlds highest and most dangerous mountains, including Everest and K2. He has been all over the world and all over the TV! Meeting him on the mountain was a privilege. He was coordinating the hike and at that point he was herding some lost hikers to safety. He spoke to us and told us where to stick to as visibility was next to nothing, he could see we were up for it so he told us to plough on. He took others off the mountain however. It was a great to meet one of the greats of the outdoors.
We ploughed on regardless and as we came off the top of the first ascent the weather calmed down a bit, we stopped for a rest and took in some of the local beauty. A short distance down the way awaited the half way point, soup sandwiches, Moore streets finest fruit and Gerry's gone off chocolate, which we had to eat to prove a point, don't ask!
Fired up with food and red bull we headed off to the finish point in Carlingford. Another two hours on foot and the next peek unveiled Carlingford bay. It was breath taking through the mist. At one point some upset Sheep decided they'd block our path, we set Lauren on them and they ran off!
The descent was as tough as the ascent, lose rocks or 'scree' made it tough on the ankles but the sticks made a huge difference. Along the way down we came across a farm which had a huge mare in foul, she came over to say hello. She was huge, majestic and powerful, a lovely sight.
As we made our way down into Carlingford, we were like Japanese soldiers coming out of the jungle 20 years after the war. The little village was booming with tourists who glared at us, I'm sure they thought we were mad coming down off the mountain after that weather! The funny thing for us now was the fact that we couldn't find the marina to the finish line! Almost 20km's in the rain and clouds with no directions and we make it to civilisation to find ourselves lost, unashamed we had to ask for directions where we headed for the finish line to clock 4 hours 36 minutes. An admirable time indeed.
I can't wait for the next one. Like I said in a recent blog, I love the outdoors, I'm going to be spending more time there than anywhere else for the foreseeable future.
I started Kayaking two weeks ago. A bit unsure as to how I would like it, I decided to give it a bash. I love the water anyway and I'd be a half decent swimmer. A good friend of mine Gerry O'F is an avid kayaker up in the Wild Water Kayak Club on the Liffey, he's an instructor up there so I got some really helpful one on one's. He was impressed with the speed I picked it up and on my first night I was able to run the weir, having said that, the water was very low, so low that Stevie Wonder would have ran the weir and got through it alright. All the same, I was hooked. I loved it. I did the capsize drill and soaked and smelling of river I couldn't wait to go back in. On my second trip out I learned the 'T' rescue and some new strokes. The 'T' rescue is for when you capsize and you lose your paddle (or you can't roll just yet). You sit upside in the kayak and bang your hull three times and wait for another kayaker to butt you with the nose of his boat which you then use to right yourself. It's just great crack and the weirs and the small bit of white water i got gave me a great adrenalin rush even more so than competing in the ring. This competition is with yourself, it's all about your own inner courage to venture into surroundings that have taken life, albeit only in the most tragic of circumstances.
On Saturday 4th September another out door challenge awaited. The Cooley challenge is a 20Km trek across the Cooley mountains. It's a tough, arduous ascent at the best of times. We got the worst of times! It lashed rain, constantly. It was hoods up and heads down as we made our way to the summit. Our club entered a team the youngest being Lauren Bradshaw and at only 13 she made the trek without one complaint, in fact every time we checked on her she was smiling. She's a great kid. It was also Donna's first time up the mountain ranges, she made a new friend called Maggie. Maggie was a three year old springer spaniel that accompanied one of the hikers. She ran the whole thing! (Maggie, not Donna!)
The hike was put together by locals in Armagh who have invited people to trek their beautiful country side which was inaccessible for decades as the British army prohibited anyone venturing onto what it deemed to be its land. Now they're gone and thankfully people from all over the world can enjoy the mountains.
As we neared the half way point we bumped into Banjo Bannon. Banjo is Ireland's most famous mountain climber. He has conquered some of the worlds highest and most dangerous mountains, including Everest and K2. He has been all over the world and all over the TV! Meeting him on the mountain was a privilege. He was coordinating the hike and at that point he was herding some lost hikers to safety. He spoke to us and told us where to stick to as visibility was next to nothing, he could see we were up for it so he told us to plough on. He took others off the mountain however. It was a great to meet one of the greats of the outdoors.
We ploughed on regardless and as we came off the top of the first ascent the weather calmed down a bit, we stopped for a rest and took in some of the local beauty. A short distance down the way awaited the half way point, soup sandwiches, Moore streets finest fruit and Gerry's gone off chocolate, which we had to eat to prove a point, don't ask!
Fired up with food and red bull we headed off to the finish point in Carlingford. Another two hours on foot and the next peek unveiled Carlingford bay. It was breath taking through the mist. At one point some upset Sheep decided they'd block our path, we set Lauren on them and they ran off!
The descent was as tough as the ascent, lose rocks or 'scree' made it tough on the ankles but the sticks made a huge difference. Along the way down we came across a farm which had a huge mare in foul, she came over to say hello. She was huge, majestic and powerful, a lovely sight.
As we made our way down into Carlingford, we were like Japanese soldiers coming out of the jungle 20 years after the war. The little village was booming with tourists who glared at us, I'm sure they thought we were mad coming down off the mountain after that weather! The funny thing for us now was the fact that we couldn't find the marina to the finish line! Almost 20km's in the rain and clouds with no directions and we make it to civilisation to find ourselves lost, unashamed we had to ask for directions where we headed for the finish line to clock 4 hours 36 minutes. An admirable time indeed.
I can't wait for the next one. Like I said in a recent blog, I love the outdoors, I'm going to be spending more time there than anywhere else for the foreseeable future.
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