2004 News
Since it's creation in 1995 by Mr. Pat Falvey (3rd Dan), the University College Dublin Taekwon-do club has become one of the top college clubs in Ireland.
In 2002-2003 the club received the “BOI Club of the Year” award and this marked the achievements of the club over the preceding years. In the ten-year history of the club, the year 2003-2004 could be considered it's most productive. As well as being awarded “BOI Club of the Year” for the second year running, the club recruited almost two hundred new people making it one of the largest martial arts clubs in UCD. The members of the club were extremely successful in competitions both national and international and over 60 trophies were won over the course of the year. The college has always taken pride in the success of its sports teams, such as GAA, rugby, soccer and hockey but in the recent years the Taekwon-Do club has gone from strength to strength and its success could rival that of any of these clubs.
In November 2003 the IUTF sent a squad to take part in the PUMA Championships in England. Two of the club's members, Greg Lechmar and Blaithín Lynch were awarded first place trophies for patterns and third place trophies for sparring. Since then they have taken the positions of men and women’s team captains for the year 2004-2005.
Another major event on the Taekwon-Do calendar was the IUTF Intervarsity Competition, one of the largest and most important competitions of the college year. All of the club’s members were training extremely hard and both the males and females competed in almost every section. In total, 37 trophies were won by the UCD club including first place in all the team sparring events. The most significant event, however, was the male’s senior team making club history by winning first place in team sparring (a title that had previously eluded the UCD club which had been dominated by teams from CIT for the last number of years).
On a lighter note, the UCD TKD “Sparathon” was held in April 2004. This was an internal event that was staged to raise money for Temple Street Hospital. It involved all the members of the club fighting it out for seven hours straight in the college student centre. This was a friendly event and much fun was had by all those who participated. A grand total of €2,500 was raised in aid of the charity.
What started out from small beginnings ten years ago has evolved into a large extremely successful and well-known martial arts club. The dedication of its members has culminated in being awarded “BOI Club of the Year” two years in a row and has meant the club has an impressive reputation to uphold in the coming years. The fact that such a relatively small club, considering both the size and history of Sport in UCD, to win this award two years in a row is testament to all the hard work and dedication its members have put in since the clubs insurrection. And with us now entering the half way stage in another college year all of the current club’s members look forward to striving to emulate the success thus far.
The Leinster Championships were preceded by a world class points sparring seminar by the semi contact legend Mr. Roland Conar of Croatia. This year’s competition offered competitors the chance to fight in both light contant (continuous) and semi contact (points) sparring. The event which was open only for seniors was well attended thanks to support from Focus Taekwon Do and East Coast Taekwon Do. The IUTF will be looking to expand the event in future years so that juniors may also compete.
This year’s annual Black Belt Presentation Dinner took place at the Tankard Restaurant in Fenit, Co. Kerry. Following a delicious meal the 2004 dan promotions were presented with their certificates by Messrs Dalton, Riordan and Fitzgibbon. The 2004 competitors of the year were also announced and the present recipients, Mrs Patricia Dalton and Marc Dowling were applauded for their many achievements throughout the year as they received senior female and junior awards respectively. Special guests were Mr Roland Conar with his partner, and the WKA German kickboxing team.
As this year is the 10th anniversary of the IUTF it was a significant evening for the founding members - Messrs Dalton, Riordan and Fitzgibbon. On behalf of the IUTF committee, Mr Fitzgibbon presented Mr Dalton with an award of “appreciation and gratitude for his dedication to Taekwon-do and the IUTF over the last ten years.” Mr Fitzgibbon commented on Mr Dalton’s drive and determination to build the IUTF into what it is today, a strong, respect-based association, and a barometer by which other national associations would be measured. “The key factor in building the association is the bond of friendship between the senior instructors and the way that comradeship spreads to the students around the country,” Mr Fitzgibbon observed.
“May the next ten years be even more successful!”
WKA Germany sent a top class selection of competitors for a special friendly international with the IUTF. The event was held in front of a large crowd in Tralee. The Irish team, which was captained by Mr. Fitzgibbon, had to overcome stiff opposition which included a current WKA World Champion and two professional full contact fighters. In the end the Irish team triumphed, thus finishing off a great year for the IUTF. Afterwards the Irish and German friends travelled to the Tankard restruarant in Fenit for a wonderful meal and the presentation of the Black Belt Certificates.
11 times Semi Contact World Kickboxing Champion Roland Conar travelled to Ireland to perform three points sparring seminars in December. Mr. Conar has won world championships sanctioned by all three world bodies (WKA, IAKSA and WAKO) and is regarded as the greatest points fighter in the world today. He has also fought extensively in Full Contact (German Champion), Light Contact, Boxing and Thai Boxing. The seminars were hosted by the South West TKD Club (Tralee), UCC and UCD clubs. The well attended courses concentrated on movement, definitive strikes, counter attacks and all round points sparring strategies. They also included some excellent training routines which aid in semi contact sparring. The participants in all three courses were in awe of the fantastic technique of Mr. Conar who hails from Croatia. Mr. Philpott of Millstreet and Kanturk TKD said that he had never seen such speed and precise skills on display previously. Mr. Moriarty of Tralee and Killarney TKD made particular note regarding the amazing power which Mr. Conar demonstrated. The IUTF would like to thank Mr. Conar for the excellent seminars. The association has hosted a number of world class seminars from foreign martial arts experts in 2004 which included Master Nicholls (patterns), Mr. McCarthy (self defence), Mr. Sahota (patterns), Mr. Nonnamacher (full contact) and Mr. Conar (semi contact). No other Irish organisation can compare with such a record.
The Open Irish Championships is proving to be Europe’s premier Taekwon Do competition with huge foreign participation again in this year’s event (despite being held shortly after the World Championships in Korea). The two day event had a total of 563 competitors and was finished by 4.30pm on both days. The black belt sparring and patterns as well as the Celtic Cup team events were held on Saturday while senior colour belts and juniors were held on Sunday. The largest foreign group was from Germany (Lyong Ho Taekwon Do) while the UKGT, Master Wolf Academy, the IUTF England (London Panthers), and ITF Belgium all had significant numbers. There was also participation from other foreign groups such as the GTI UK, Bytomic TKD and AMA TKD. In addition many Irish associations were present in strength, such as East Coast TKD (USITF), Great Southern Taekwon Do, Family Martial Arts and GTF.
The competition ran extremely smoothly and demonstrated how all the various groups can work together in friendship and brotherhood. Integrity of judging was the central tenet in the competition and afterwards the event organiser Ms. Patricia Dalton commented on the effective and fair judging and refereeing by both the IUTF and the non IUTF black belts. “We had some fantastic help from the non IUTF referees and jugjes and we feel that it is critical to have a good variety of judges represented at each ring. This is why so many foreign and non IUTF competitors come back to our tournament each year. I can genuinely say that we have built up a special relationship with the people that have come to the Open Irish Championships. This bond of friendship is the key ingredient in creating a uniquely friendly event which is at the same time highly competitive. In other words we feel that we have succeeded in running a tournament which is run in the true spirit of Taekwon Do.”
The event itself was opened up on both days by a wonderful patterns demonstration by Ms. Lucy Wolf who had won the gold medal in the 4th Dan Tul in Korea. Ms. Wolf showed her versatility by also winning the -52kg sparring section. The black belt patterns saw some fine performances particularly by Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon who won the 3rd and 4th Dan Tul and Ms. Nicki Florides from UK Global Taekwon Do (who also won a gold medal in Korea). In sparring Mr. Padraig O’ Connor (ITF World Heavyweight champion, Korea) again proved dominant as he easily won his section. ITF Junior World Champion Marc Dowling made a successful jump into the seniors by winning the middleweight sparring in the competition’s largest category.
The Celtic Cup was dominated by the IUTF teams as they made a clean sweep in both junior and senior divisions. The men’s section had the largest amount of entrants with a total of eight teams and the Irish outfit took first place by beating teams from Master Wolf’s Academy, IUTF England (London Panthers) and East Coast Taekwon Do (USITF). However it was difficult for the visiting teams as they had to face the full strength IUTF teams which competed in the World Championships in Korea. IUTF Chief Instructor and Chairperson Mr. Don Dalton, VI, afterwards said that “next years Open Irish Championships will be huge. This is because Cork City will be the European Capital Of Culture.
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Results:
Female Matsogi: (-52kg):
1. Lucy Wolf (Master Wolf Academy/ England)
2. Jennifer Hutchenson (UKGT/ England)
3. Gene Cashmann (Great Southern Taekwon Do/ Ireland)
Female Matsogi: (-58kg):
1. Norma Carroll (IUTF)
2. Ruth McCarthy (IUTF)
3. Claire Cowling (UKGT/ England)
Female Matsogi: (-64kg):
1. Sarah McCarthy (IUTF)
2. Jane Hagerty (Focus Taekwon Do/ Ireland)
3. Brenda Cremin (IUTF)
Female Matsogi (+64kg):
1. Debra Donovan (IUTF)
2. Bernie Doyle (IUTF)
3. Deirdre O’ Flynn (IUTF)
Male Matsogi: (-54kg)
1. Alex Gaevski (Lyong Ho/ Germany)
2. John Spence (IUTF)
3. Ross McBride (Great Southern Taekwon Do/ Ireland)
Male Matsogi (-63kg):
1. Nigel Burke (IUTF)
2. Paul Manning (Taekwon Do Ireland)
3. Joswin Kottoor (Lyong Ho/ Germany)
Male Matsogi (-71kg):
1. Marc Dowling (IUTF)
2. Leon Brydon (IUTF)
3. Timo Holtkamp (Lyong Ho/ Germany)
Male Matsogi (-80kg):
1. Padraig O’ Connor (IUTF)
2. Luke John (Master Wolf Academy/ England)
3. Patrick O’ Riordan (IUTF)
Male Matsogi (+80kg)
1. Richard Belle (Master Wolf Academy/ England)
2. Mark Philpott (IUTF)
3. Richard Beel (IUTF)
Male Tul: (1st Dan):
1. Barry Doyle (East Coast TKD/ Ireland)
2. Ben Pethick (London Panthers/ IUTF England)
3. Richard Beel (IUTF)
Male Tul: (2nd Dan):
1. Alex Gaevski (Lyong Ho/ Germany)
2. Muk Phongphadith (Lyong Ho/ Germany)
3. Padraig O’ Connor (IUTF)
Male Tul: (3rd/4th Dan):
1. Shane Fitzgibbon (IUTF)
2. Mark Philpott (IUTF)
3. Michael Belle (Master Wolf Academy/ England)
Female Tul:
1. Niki Florides (UKGT/ England)
2. Jodene Went (UKGT/ England)
3. Jamie O’ Keeffe (IUTF)
Female Tul: (3rd/4th Dan):
1. Niki Florides (UKGT/ England)
2. Barbara Siraut (ITF Belgium)
3. Triona Daly (IUTF)
Celtic Cup:
Male Senior:
1. IUTF
2. East Coast Taekwon Do (Ireland)
Female Senior:
1. IUTF
2. UKGT (England)
Male Junior:
1. IUTF
2. IUTF
Female Junior:
1. IUTF
2. UKGT/Lyong Ho
Aproximately 20 IUTF junior members travelled to Clonakilty, Cork to take part in the GST Cork Championships in November. The majority came away with medals from the event which had over 200 competitors. Students travelled from as far as Galway for the well run event. The IUTF would like to thank Mr. Buckley for his invitation.
The IUTF hosted a special Kickboxing seminar from ITF World Hyperweight Champion Mr. Klaus Nonnemacher. The seminar was held in the South West Taekwon Do Centre in Tralee and lasted over three hours. Almost all of the members which attended his previous seminar in 2003 returned to train with the man Mr. Dalton described as the "greatest all round competitor in the world." Mr. Nonnemacher has won 8 world titles spanning from semi contact to light contact and from full contact to karate. This seminar dealt with Thai boxing. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and everyone was boyued by the experience of training with a real all time great. Mr. Nonnemacher also conducted a seminar for the University of Limerick on the previous day.
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The Irish United Taekwon Do Federation was founded in 1994 by Mr. Don Dalton (6th Dan) along with his senior students Mr. John Riordan (5th Dan), Mr. Jason Moriarty (4th dan) and Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon (4th Dan). From that first meeting the small group of instructors set out to achieve something special in Taekwon Do circles in the Republic of Ireland. In ten short years the IUTF has grown from just six clubs to 40, with more to open in shortly. From the very start the IUTF targeted specific goals and set out to achieve and better them with unbreakable spirit. Thus small local competitions grew into large regional events within a short time. The IUTF team was initially drawn from the same school. Now members invariably come from all around the country. The Irish United Taekwon Do Federation is the only association in Ireland which annually runs three regional competitions (Munster, Leinster and Connacht Championships) as well as a Universities Championships and Open Irish Championships. In addition there are smaller club and inter club competitions running throughout the year. IUTF teams travel to international competitions at least five times each year. These trips are subsidized by up to 80% by the national association. This situation is unique in Ireland. In the last five years alone members have competed in such far away countries as the Gambia, Canada, Argentina and Iran. Competitors and instructors have had to opportunity to experience and appreciate new cultures, make numerous new friends and to further develop the special bond of friendship which exists within the group.
In 2002 the IUTF joined the International Taekwon Do Federation and a new era was ushered in. According to Mr. Don Dalton (IUTF Chairperson and Senior Team Coach) "we had wanted to be a part of the ITF for a long time and it was the INO system which was critical in allowing us to achieve this dream. Since that time our members have won gold medals in such ITF events as the Junior World Championships, the Master Choi Cup, the ITF/NAG German Championships, the PUMA British Championships and many more. We have had the chance to make wonderful new friends and host seminars with prominent ITF instructors such as Master Wheatley, Master Nicholls, and Mr. Martella. We have also trained on a number of occasions with Master Choi and this fantastic opportunity has motivated our instructors to no end." The association hosts a minimum of four seminars with international instructors each year and also runs annual summer camps, instructor, referee, child protection and first aid courses. A group of instructors is sent abroad each year for a 7 day training course (3rd Dan and above). The last trips have been to Germany, Turkey and Tunisia. In addition weekly squad sessions are held in various venues around the country. In 2004 the federation has a professional back up for all members and instructors (four of the five 'Executive Committee' are full time instructors). The executive committee is now aided by a number of Standing Committees, which advise and carry out tasks on behalf of the Executive Committee. These include: (a) Child Protection and Medical Committee. (b) Internet/Technical Committee (c) Expansion Committee (d) Sponsorship/Promotion Committee (e) College University Committee, (f) Technical and Ethical Committee.
According to Mr. Dalton, "2004 is a special year for us. We aim to bring a large group to the World Championships in Korea and we have set ourselves high goals for this event. Korea 2004 represents the pinnacle for any Taekwon Do practitioner and we will strive to make our mark there. We also have plans for a number of special seminars with Mr. Toni Martella (Germany), Mr. Alec Milanov (USA), Mr. Patrick McCarthy (UK) and Doctor Ludger Dietzer (Germany). We will be attending eight international competitions this year and the Open Irish Championships will be absolutely huge in November. We already have over ten applications from international associations for this event. The last decade has seen an inexorable rise in the good fortunes of the IUTF; however it is our aim to continue to improve. Our association is built on friendship, respect and an unbreakable love for the art. As long as we remember these traits we will continue to flower. I would like to thank all the instructors for the tremendous work that they have undertook for the last ten years. I believe that decade will be even more fruitful and look foreword to working hard together with vigour, zeal and indomitable spirit."
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The IUTF travelled to Korea, the birth place of Taekwon Do in October for ITF World Championships and came with unprecedented success for such a small country. The team travelled with confidence and determination and was justly rewarded for the months of hard work which were under taken prior to the event. According to Irish Junior team coach Mr. Riordan "this confidence has been build up as a result of 10 years of development. It is the result of fantastic preparation and it is the result of 10 years of financial investment by the IUTF for our top competitors."
At the World Championships in Korea ´the IUTF won gold medals in men’s heavyweight and hyperweight sparring as well as two Junior sparring gold medals and numerous silver and bronze medals. The IUTF also won five separate team bronze medals which is fantastic for a country with less than four million people. Ther were many individual performances which should be mentioned. Mr. Padraig O´ Connor became the first Irish man to win ITF Junior and Senior World Titles. He was the only person in the ITF to win both a Junior World Title in Argentina and a Senior World Title in Korea. Mr. O´ Connor hails from Listowel Taekwon Do Club and is now instructing in the CIT. Mr. Nonnemacher, who is a student of Mr. Dalton won the World Hyperweight title. He has now won titles in Light Contact, Semi Contact and Full Contact Kickboxing as well as Traditional Karate and ITF Taekwon Do. According to him "our team spirit was amazing in Korea, the greatest I have ever seen. It was a huge honour for me to be a part of such a great Irish team and it is good to know that I have such good friends in the IUTF. I would like to thank Mr. Dalton for the sterling work which he has done over the last few months and for organising such a brilliant trip."
Mrs. Dalton continued her amazing streak by winning bronze in the team sparring and bronze in -52kg sparring. She again proved how tough she is by fighting with two broken ribs and a broken toe and only narrowingly lost to the individual winner in the semi finals. However she had some additional celebration when the Irish ladies (which she captained) beat Argentina in the first round of team sparring. "I have now had almost six months of non stop training (as a result of training for the WKA and IAKSA World Kickboxing Championships). I have trained with injuries twice a day, every day and I now look foreward to focusing on a different side of my Taekwon Do training. It was worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears and I will remember 2004 for a long time to come.
Senior coach Mr. Dalton thanked all the competitors for their comitment and hard work. He said "we travelled with 27 competitors for our first ITF World championships and 17 of the team travelled home with medals (and most with more than one). This is an unprecedented achievement for an Irish team. The truth is that we wanted to better this result and this demonstrates what the IUTF is all about. We have come so far in the 10 years since our formation, but this is just the beginning."
Mr. Dalton and Mrs. Dalton travelled to the Black Forest region of Germany to conduct a three day seminar for the WKA. The seminar covered effective light contact sparring and advanced Taekwon Do kicking. The training camp was also treated to the instruction of all time great, Mr. Roland Conar (9 time semi contact world champion and WAKO Pro world champion). The IUTF will bring Mr. Conar to Ireland next year to conduct a training course for the IUTF Colleges.
Mr. Patrick McCarthy recently travelled to Germany to test under 8th Dan Master Morris Alarashi. The test took place in the Dojang of Doctor Ludger Dietzer (6th Dan). The examination included the performance of five patterns as well as one, two and three step sparring. The examination also included an extensive section on self defence which included defence against knife attack. Mr. McCarthy also performed free sparring and had a detailed theoretical examination. The two hour test was completed by a difficult breaking section where Mr. McCarthy succeeded in each break. The breaks were as follows: two boards for jumping back piercing kick, one board for jumping reverse turning kick speed break, two boards for speed punch, and two boards for high section jumping twisting kick. Mr. McCarthy was assisted in the grading by Mr. Dalton. A special thanks should go to Doctor Dietzer for hosting the grading.
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Irish ladies team captain Ms. Patricia Dalton has been selected to represent her native Germany in the upcomming WKA/IAKSA World Championships in Switzerland. The news came after her winning performances in the two qualifying events which were recently held in Germany (the World Cup and the International German Championships). "I am delighted to fight for my home country as this was one of my ambitions. I was under pressure to win in the two events since the IUTF will not be attending this competition and this was my only oppurtunity to attend."
The IUTF held a special two day training ITF seminar with Mr. Bhup Sahota (6th Dan) and Mr. Tajinder Sahota (4th Dan) in August. Mr. Sahota is the President of UKGT and his son won a silver medal in the last ITF World Championships in Italy where he lost by split decision to his North Korean opponent in the third dan patterns division. The seminars were held in Tralee and Kanturk and were very well attended. The reaction to the course was fantastic. Mr. Sahota's instruction was relaxed and flawless and he succeeded in furthering the students understanding of ITF technique. Mr. Tajinder Sahota demonstrated the fine details of ITF Tul and the participants were left in awe of his beautiful technique. The course covered all tul from Chon Ji to Gae Baek as well as team patterns. The IUTF members were left thrilled and motivated at the end of the two days and as a result it was decided to bring Mr. Sahota back to Ireland next year as a precursor to Master Choi's visit in November 2005. The IUTF whould like to thank Mr. Sahota for the excellent course and to all the members who attended during the bank holiday weekend.
The IUTF partly funded a five person trip to the International German Championships (IDM) held in Simmern and hosted by the World Kickboxing Association. There were over 800 competitors at the event and the competition lasted more than 12 hours. Ms. Patricia Dalton acted as player coach and led the way by winning three gold medals. She won gold in the -54kg sparring and also won two gold in the patterns sections. In the -54kg sparring she beat the the German full contact champion in the final as well as the German Light Contact Champion. She was also victorious over the only competitor to beat he in the last year (Mrs. Dalton lost to her in the final of the WKA World Cup a few weeks ago by split decision).
Ms. Norma Carroll was unlucky in her -58kg section where everyone felt she had done enough to beat her German opponent. However the verdict went the other way. Ms. carroll had to be satisfied with bronze but took some satisfaction from her performance, having also stopped another competitor in an earlier round. The men's -81 kg section had over 16 competitors but it ended up as an all IUTF final as Mr. Richard Beel of the CIT and Mr. Patrick O'Riordan of Ballyvourney battled for gold. The final was hard fought with Beel eventually winning out in the end (at 12.30am!!).
Special praise should go to John O' Connor of Listowel Taekwon Do Club who won silver in the Men's sparring after a number of hard rounds. John then competed in the Junior section. When nobody emerged in his weight division he was awarded the gold and duly moved up to the following weight where he had three fights and won gold again. John had only just finished his leaving certificate but had continued to train throughout. He is an inspiration to any aspiring champions, junior and senior.
On June 26th and 27th, Mr. Patrick McCarthy, of London Panthers, gave seminars in Athlone and Galway on grappling and groundwork After starting with the basics of breakfalls, Mr. McCarthy went on to cover a series of armlock escapes. The highlight of each seminar was the practice of grappling techniques including getting into and escaping from the mount and guard positions, with partners competing for postion. Mr. McCarthy's excellent instruction allowed students to see the difference between theory and reality, as well as the unpredicability of self-defence encounters. He emphasised the need for the students to be able to adapt a technique quickly if necessary.
The 4th Annual Connacht Championships were held in Galway, on June 20th amidst a flurry of competitors and a gloriously, sunny day. The standard was excellent as usual, but th elower grade junior patterns divisions were particluarly inpressive.
Black Belt Winners were:
Ladies Patterns: Ms. Norma Carroll (C.I.T.)
Male PAtterns: Mr. Chris McCabe (East Coast TKD)
Ladies Sparring +65 Kg: Ms. Debra Donovan (U.L.)
Ladies Sparring -65 Kg: Ms Norma Carroll (C.I.T.)
Men's Sparring +80 Kg: Mr. Padraig O' Connor (Listowel)
Men's Sparring -80 Kg: Maerk Dowling (Tralee)
Men's Sparring -70 Kg: John O' Connor (Listowel)
The WKA World Cup brought a total of three gold, two silver and two bronze medals to the IUTF. The event was held in Trier and was attended by over 700 competitors who came mostly from Europe. There was also Irish representation from the IAKA. The University of Limerick funded Mr. Tim Murphy, Ms. Debra Donovan and Ms. Brenda Cremin and each brought back medals in the sparring. Mr. Murphy won a team bronze, Ms. Donovan won individual bronze while Ms. Cremin won the -64kg section. Ms. Cremin, who is a student of Mr. Dalton from Rathmore, won a gold medal as a junior in the 2000 open World Championships in Holland and looks to have a bright future as an international. Mrs. Dalton won two gold and two silver medals and was funded by the IUTF.
The IUTF sent four teams to Worcester for the GTI Elite Team Championships as part of the continuing warm up for the upcoming ITF World Championships in South Korea. The teams, which included a senior male, senior female, junior male and junior female, were coached by Mr. Riordan. They stayed in Birmingham and made the short journey to Worcester on the following day. The five man senior team was captained by Mr. Keane (Charleville) for the first time and also included Mr. Patrick O' Riordan (Ballyvourney), Mr. Padraig O' Connor (Listowel), Mr. Richard Beel (CIT), Mr. Mark Dowling (South West TKD, Tralee). Special praise must go to Mark Dowling who at 17 beat both his senior opponents easily (including a fourth degree black belt) and was also unbeaten on the junior boys team which won silver. The Irish team won both their bouts against the GTI "A2 and "B" teams to take gold. Mr. Keane and Mr. O' Connor were also undefeated in their sparring bouts.
The three-person ladies team was captained by Mrs. Patricia Dalton (CIT and South West TKD) and also included Ms. Norma Carroll (CIT). Sadly the team was weakened by the loss of Irish heavyweight champion Ms. Kathy Dunne through injury and as a result was forced to place one of the junior competitors, Jennifer O' Neill (Galway) in to the senior section. Jennifer was already very tired having been part of the female junior team which won their section but fought with a brave heart to push her GTI opponent right to the bell. However the strength and experience was the telling factor allowing the GTI lady to triumph. Mrs. Dalton beat Ms. Tanya Cox (4th Dan) in their bout and also won the breaking special technique with blindfolded jumping back kick. However Ms. Carroll lost narrowly to her much heavier opponent.
The boys and girls junior teams deserve great praise for their wonderful achievements and well done to all our new "team internationals." Junior competitors included: Mark Dowling (South West TKD, Tralee), Dean ????(Wexford), Eoin Scannell (Ballyvourney), Diarmuid McSweeney (Ballyvourney), David Keane (South West TKD, Tralee), Jennifer O’ Neill (Galway), Jamie O’ Keeffe (Newcastle West). The IUTF would like to thank the GTI and Mr. Harrison for their hospitality. The trip was funded by the IUTF.
The IUTF Executive Committee members, Mr. Dalton, Mr. Riordan, Mrs. Dalton and Mr. Fitzgibbon travelled to Belgium to train with ITF President Master Choi, Jung Hwa on the three day ITF International Instructor's course. They were accompanied by instructors, Ms. Lisa Connolly (Galway), Mrs. Mary Mannion (Athlone) and Mr. Ray McGowan (Galway) as well as two students from Galway. The course lasted from 9.00am to 5.00pm each day. Master Choi was amazing in his instruction, his demonstration and his motivation. The event was attended by 140 ITF members from all over Europe and was expertly hosted by Ms. Barbara Siraut and Mr. Jean Paul Gussens. Mr. Dalton, along with the UK's Mr. Sahota was asked by Master Choi to work at developing the ITF in Africa. Master Choi is committed to expanding the ITF throughout Africa and to developing the huge potentiol of the continent. It was also announced that the IUTF will host a seminar with Master Choi next year (the 50th year celebration of Taekwon Do).
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The annual Chon Ji Cup was held in Rathmore, County Kerry and was attended by junior students from Rathmore TKD, Cullen TKD, Kanturk TKD, Coachford TKD, Ballyvourney TKD and the South West TKD (Tralee). The competition included four sections: individual sparring, individual patterns, team patterns and fundamental movements. The best overall club was Coachford. The best overall student was Jordan Dalton (age 5) who won two gold, one silver and one bronze medal.
A group of five IUTF instructors attended April training seminar with Master Choi in Stratford Upon Avonl. The members were Ms. Patricia Dalton (4th Dan), Mr. Sean Keane (3rd Dan), Mr. Mark Philpott (3rd Dan), Mr. Patrick O Riordan (2nd Dan) and Mr. Padraig O Connor (2nd Dan). The seminar was attended by 300 black belts from all over the world. Maste Choi placed particular emphasis on the importance of power in ITF patterns. The trip was funded by the IUTF.
IUTF team members won four gold, two silver, and one bronze at the black belt sections of the GTI English Championships in Swindon. Ms. Patricia Dalton (4th Dan) won gold in both patterns and sparring, Mr. Padraig O Connor (2nd Dan) won gold in sparring, Mr. Philpott (3rd Dan) won silver, bronze and gold in sparring, patterns and breaking, Mr. Sean Keane (3rd Dan) won gold in breaking and Mr. Patricl O Riordan (2nd Dan) won silver in sparring. The team was coached by Ms. Dalton and was funded by the IUTF.
Munster Championships
The Munster Championships were held in Tralee on the 14th of March with approximately 200 competitors in attendance. The black belt sparring proved particularly entertaining. Competitors gave 100% since the event was also part of the ranking system for the upcoming World Championships in Korea. The winners were as follows:
Men's Lightweight: John O'Connor (Listowel)
Men's Middleweight: Mr. Mark Philpott (Millstreet and Kanturk)
Men's Heavyweight: Mr. Padraig O' Connor (Listowel and CIT)
Women's Lightweight: Ms. Norma Carroll (CIT)
Women's Heavyweight: Ms. Kathy Dunne (South West TKD/Tralee)
Men's Patterns: Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon (South West TKD/Tralee and Galway)
Women's Patterns: Ms. Patricia Dalton (CIT and South West TKD/Tralee)
Intervarsities
This years Irish Open Intervarsities were held in University College Dublin in February. The event was attended by almost 200 competitors from 12 colleges. This year saw the final defeat of the CIT team who had dominated the previous five events. It was a special day for the home competitors of UCD who won four of the six team events and thus were crowned as the best overall club. A special congratulations should be extended to Mr. Dan Lynch for the sterling work which he has done over the last year for the UCD students.
Men's Black Belt Sparring
Light: Mr. Alan O' Connell UCD
Heavy: Mr. Padraig O' Connor, CIT
Ladies BB Sparring:
Light: Ms. Anne Marie Keane, UCC
Heavy: Ms. Debra Donovan
Patterns BB:
Male: Mr. Padraig O' Connor, CIT
Female: Ms. Debra Donovan, UL
A group of IUTF students tested for 4th Dan (International Instructor status) on the weekend of the March 1st (a significant date in Korean history and the Korean independence movement). The grading was conducted by Master Nicholls from the UK with the following members successfully testing: Ms. Patricia Dalton (CIT and South West TKD), Mr. Ruairi Buckley (Listowel), Mr. Michael Flaherty (IUTF Wexford), Mr. David Swan (South West TKD), Ms. Kathy Dunne (South West TKD), Mr. Noel O' Brien (Kanturk and Mallow). The following week Mr. John Riordan (IUTF Vice Chairperson) tested to 5th Dan in London also under Master Nicholls. He is the first of Mr. Dalton's students to test for 5th Dan. In addition Doctor Ludger Dietzer of Germany tested for the grade of 6th Degree in Cork. Doctor Dietzer is a close friend of the IUTF and we hope to bring him to Ireland to conduct a sparring seminar in the coming months.
All members had to perform an extenisve IUTF syllabus including 10 patterns, IUTF set sparring, free sparring, two against one sparring, hand sparring, self defence, fundamental movements, breaking (hand and foot), and jump kicks. Each black belt also produced an extensive thesis. These texts can be found on this website shortly, when a link will be provided. The March 1st grading was also the first event to be held at the new Uhuru Dojang in Cork. Congratulations to all for the wonderful dedication that they have shown in their Taekwon Do training. A special thanks must go to the instructors for the time and energy that they have placed in these special individuals.
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On Saturday Feb 28th, the IUTF (ITF Ireland) hosted a series of seminars given by Master Trevor Nicholls. Head of the Imperial Taekwon-do Association and Treasure of the ITF, Master Nicholls was warmly welcomed to the West and South of Ireland, respectively, where his instruction was both informative and comprehensive. He was assisted by Mr. Lee Hollingsworth, IV, ITF Junior World Champion in Tul. The first seminarwas hosted by Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon IV and was held in Galway City. This consisted mainly of colour belts and was aimed at developing sine wave motion. He also emphasised the importance of relaxation and an absence of stiffness between movements. Later that day, after having travelled to the South of the country, Master Nicholls proceeded to deliver a more advanced seminar to the mainly dan grade group that awaited him eagerly. This seminar was devoted mainly to Gup Tul, while also focusing on correct sine wave motion and other factors of power. Afterwards, chief instructor of the IUTF, Mr. Don Dalton, VI, presented Master Nicholls with a memento in appreciation for his visit to Ireland.
