2008 News
Brydone is European Champion
Mr. Leon Brydone has just won the ITF European Championships in Italy. Mr. Brydone is a student of Mrs. Mannion in the IUTF Athlone club. He also travels to train with Master Dalton most weekends. Mr. Calvin Thomas (instructed by Mr. McCarthy) also won a bronze medal in the same section (-71kgs). This has been a fantastic year for Mr. Brydone (age 22). He was a part of the team Ireland which won the team sparring at last year´s ITF World Championships. He also won a team sparring gold at the 2007 WKA World Championships.
The Annual Hwa-Rang Cup
The Annual Hwa-Rang Cup was held in Limerick in June. In the Patterns division competitors were asked to perform an optional pattern at the quarter final and semi final stage. In the final, optional and designated pattern were required, ensuring that the eventual winner be proficient in all of their patterns. Sparring divisions were also kept small in order to make this tournament as competitive and fair as possible. All Students received 2 medals, regardless of where they placed and Hwa-Rang Cups were awarded to the 3 best overall competitors.
Special thanks to all our umpires for giving up their time, without which it would not be possible to run these events. Umpires were; Mr Ruairi Buckley, Mr Willie Moloney, Ms Claire O'Sullivan, Mr Kevin Larkin Snr, Mr Pat O'Callaghan, Ms Carol Asworth, Ms Aisling Griffin, Ms Tara Collins, Mr Kevin Larkin Jnr, Mr Tim Tierney, Ms Melissa Power, Mr John O'Connor.
Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon teaches a successful course in Madrid
By Mr. Alejandro Veyssiere, V (ITF Spain)
More than fifty Taekwon-Do lovers of all ages and various Spanish regions were able to enjoy a very complete course directed by the international instructor Shane Fitzgibbon, celebrated in Madrid the weekend of May 31 and June 1. The workshop was organized by the Madrilenian Traditional Taekwon-Do Association (AMTT) and took place in the facilities of the Malvar School and was attended by fourteen black belts, including four international instructors, the national coach, several components of the Spanish National Team, representatives of Andalusia, Canary Islands and Alicante, as well as the instructors and teachers of the major clubs in Madrid.
In the first training session, Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon, who was assisted by Ms. Lisa Connolly and all the instructors, showed his large experience as an international competitor explaining different sparring techniques which define his personal fighting style. At all times, Mr. Fitzgibbon made it clear that his techniques were not intended to change the fighting style of the practitioners, but that these techniques could be new ideas that can be added to each fighter’s repertoire, according to his/her own style. At the final of the first training session, all the workshop participants were delighted with a set of self-defence techniques, with specific work on neck chokes and ground techniques.
The Sunday training session started with the application of the fighting techniques shown on Saturday in the competition sparring situation, and also detailed work on basic principles of Taekwon-Do technique. In this way, Mr. Fitzgibbon emphasized the fundamental principles that must be realized in each Taekwon-Do movement and technique, as the proper execution of wave movement, the action and reaction principle, rotation, balance control, concentration, backward motion, and all those aspects that determine the power and effectiveness of the attacking and defensive techniques. Before the session ended, an exclusive technical session for the black belts took place. After that, the workshop was closed, the organization thanked all the participants, instructors and authorities through the presentation of participation certificates. Also, the AMTT gave Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon and Ms. Lisa Connolly several presents to remember their visit to Madrid and to recognize their work in spreading Taekwon-Do, based on building friendship between the instructors and students from Madrid with the Irish Taekwon-Do representatives.
Master Class in Cork
Master Dalton and Master Norman Creedon conducted a special work shop for TKD Alliance members in the Lough Parish Community Hall, Cork. This was the third such work shop in the last six months for the group. The session lasted for four hours. Master Creedon took the group through a thorough warm up for approximately 20 minutes. This was followed by an extensive session on Ho Sin Sul. Master Creedon, who also holds a 5th Dan in Hapkido demonstrated why he is one of the most respected Taekwon-Do Pioneers in Ireland with his vast knowledge and beautiful technique. This was followed by master Dalton who covered Yul Gok, Toi Gye and Hwa Rang. He finished up with Moon Moo for the 4th Dans. Master Dalton and Master Creedon will follow this session with another in September.
Master Class in Killarney.
Master Dalton travelled to Killarney to conduct a Master Class for the students of Mr. Moriarty (5th Dan). The event took place on the June Bank Holiday weekend. Section one focused on Tul while the second half was on Matsogi. Mr. Moriarty was Master Dalton`s first student and a five time Irish Competitor of the Year. Master Dalton commented on the high standards and commended Mr. Moriarty on his sterling work over the last few years.
British Championships (MWTA), Margate.
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The IUTF travelled to British Championships (MWTA) in Margate in April with over 20 competitors. The event was hosted by Master Wolf (8th Dan) and was extremely well organised. The eight matted areas ran continuously and the colour belts and black belts were finished by 6.00pm. The IUTF contingent was mainly made up of colour belts and they did particularly well with many winning two trophies. Jordan Dalton the South West TKD and Coachford TKD won two gold medals. Master Dalton, Mr. Riordan and Mrs. Dalton were also helping the organisers although in truth, MWTA had more than enough referees to run the day. Mr. Brydone and Ms. Ashworth also refereed. Mr. Brydone was unable to spar due to a broken hand acquired in the Open European Championships where he won a bronze medal. However he competed in patterns and was narrowly beaten in the final. Mr. Ambrose Murphy 5th Dan, (Pulse TKD/ITF Ireland) also attended the event with his students. The two ITF Ireland groups travelled together from Cork and made the short journey to Margate via coach. On the Sunday the Irish contingent had the opportunity to participate in a Master Class with Master Wolf which was enjoyed by all. ITF Ireland/IUTF would like to thank Master Wolf and MWTA for the fantastic hospitality over the weekend and we look forward to next year`s event.
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Grading Examiner, Master Dalton assisted by the panel of Mr Riordan V, Mr Fitzgibbon V And Mrs Dalton V put them through an intensive test covering the full IUTF Syllabus. Colour belt students were asked to perform all 9 Tul, Step Sparring, Free Sparring, Demonstrations of Sparring and Padwork drills, Fundamental exercises, Breaking, Self-defence and Theory. Each group spent over 90minutes of intensive examination with the black belts spending even more time. In addition every member had to demonstrate their refereeing skills. A special mention goes to James Stack of the South West Taekwon-Do Center who tested for 2nd Dan. James (age 16) received the highest score in the test and had to spar a total of 14 bouts!
This year’s Championship was held in Gort Sports Centre once more as it proved so popular with both visiting and home competitors in 2007. The tournament was of a very high standard with patterns divisions in particular showing the improvement across all grades. For the first time, a designated pattern was introduced into the semi-final/final match which proved to be a real match decider between the contestants. As always the sparring was fast and exciting with the onlookers being extremely entertained.
The manager of the Sports Centre commented that “he had never met such a well-behaved group of children and courteous adults,” at any event held in the center previously. Barna instructor, Mrs. Sally Whelan observed that “a great day was enjoyed by everyone at this, the first Taekwon-Do competition attended by Barna School members.”
Open European Championships (GST)
The Open European Championships which was organised by Great Southern Taekwon-Do was held in Neptune Stadium in April. The event attracted 14 countries with almost 1000 competitors. Black Belts were in action on Saturday and colour belts were featured the following day. The IUTF had over 50 competitors at the event (mostly colour belts) and they fared extremely well on the day. Many were placed in both sparring and patterns. A special mention should go to Daniel O`Sullivan who won gold in sparring and gold in patterns. Daniel is instructed by Mr. Moriarty (5th Dan) in the Killarney Taekwon-Do Club. He attends squad training every week and has just been promoted to black belt. The IUTF would like to thank GST for the invitation in this well run event.
Competitor of the Year Awards
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Mr Fitzgibbon was presented with the Male Irish Competitor of the Year Award for 2007 at the IIC banquet on 30th March. The award was presented to him by IUTF chief instructor, Master Don Dalton. Master Dalton is Mr. Fitzgibbon’s own instructor, and Mr. Fitzgibbon has trained under him for over twenty years. The, recently promoted, Master spoke for several minutes of his student’s dedication to Taekwon-do, and the kind of person he was, emphasising that to Mr. Fitzgibbon, the award was secondary to the training and competing. Master Dalton also explained how Mr. Fitzgibbon is one of his original three students from the early days of the Tralee school, the others being Mr. John Riordan and Mr. Jason Moriarty. The four instructors stood for a photo together demonstrating the camaraderie and togetherness that the Irish United Taekwon-do Federation is built upon.
The two major achievements of last year, for Mr. Fitzgibbon were: winning in ITF team sparring and winning in WKA team sparring.
Ms. Moira McElligott of Listowel Taekwon-Do and UCD Taekwon-Do received the Ladies Irish Competitor of the Year Award. 2007 was a great year for Ms. McElligott. She won Gold in the Copa America in Argentina as well as Silver in the individual -70kg sparring in the ITF World Championships. The ultimate was the Gold Team medal at the same event. Ms. Mcelligott also won a silver medal in the WKA World Championships in Germany.
The Young Competitor of the Year award went to Emir Curran of Caherciveen who won a silver medal in the ITF Worlds in individual sparring. Mis Curran is a student of Mr. Riordan who is doing sterling work with the IUTF Juniors over the last few years.
President Choi IIC in Ireland
by Ms. Sandra Doyle
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This was to be the second International Instructors course with Master Choi in Cork and the excitement was palpable. Organized by Mrs. Patricia Dalton to an incredible degree of finesse from an exceptionally fine hotel at a very reasonable cost to a wonderful banquet and probably three of the most exciting days we have ever spent. She have earned our deepest respect and admiration for pulling off such a fantastic event with such amazing success and attention to detail. As soon as Master Choi entered the room you could feel his presence and the excitement building. One of the first things we learned was to pay our respects to the founder General Choi Hong Hi, his father, and the founder of Taekwon-Do : we did this by the simple act of performing a silent bow. He is without a doubt one of the most humble men I have ever met and yet he is someone of incredible stature and importance. For me he is the living embodiment of what it means to be a true martial artist. There is no-one on this planet who has more knowledge on the art of Taekwon-Do. His ability to produce power and grace from nothing is a constant source of amazement. President Choi`s use of humour and stories of his childhood served to put us at our ease. He was assisted by ITF Ireland President, Mr. Dalton, as well as numerous international masters. They walked among us making corrections and giving assistance in a relaxed and friendly manner. Prior to any physical training President Choi talked about the real meaning of “Do” in Taekwon-Do - the moral code. This is a subject very close to Master Choi's heart. He stressed that as students of Taekwon-Do we must strive to be good human beings, and question every action we carry out, ensuring that we are always selfless, caring and above all honest with ourselves. Honesty he pointed out, is one the most important traits any human being can have. Through honesty, comes integrity. As instructors, he mentioned that above all we must strive to be honest with our students, remembering that some so-called Taekwon-Do instructors are only interested in ripping off their students and running Taekwon-business as opposes to Taekwon-Do, these people have no place in our family. The physical training kicked off and by 9.30pm we had covered both exercises Saju Magki and Saju Jirugi, as well as Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Do san and touching on Won Hyo. Soon it was 9.30 and we had run over time without realising it because we were so absorbed in what we were doing - we were having too much fun.
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Day two started at 10am with a warm-up conducted by Master Harry, who is always smiling and clearly loves what he does. Master Choi again talked about the Do, and how easy it is to practice TaeKwon but how difficult it is to practice TaeKwon-Do. He told us we must try to bring the Do into our everyday lives and become true Martial Artists. He told us he found it difficult himself because of his humanity and his human failings but he tried to start each day and do his best to observe the tenets of TaeKwon-Do. We completed Tul Won Hyo to Toi Gye and did work on the turning kick. The attention to detail and finesse was incredible. Again we finished a little over time because we were all so focused on what we were learning and enjoying the experience. Later that evening we attended a banquet and celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the I.T.F. - we even had a birthday cake complete with candles. Master Nicholls arrived and spoke to us about the importance of the etiquette, apologising for his lateness due to flight delays and again he praised Mr and Mrs Dalton for their excellent and considerable work in organising the I.I.C. Several presentations were made to all the visiting Masters and Master Choi was presented with a beautiful hand crafted vase. In his speech he repeated how true a Martial artist Mr Dalton was in every sense of the word.
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He said he was just the kind of person he was travelling the world looking for and if Mr Dalton had not found him then he would have certainly found Mr Dalton. He explained how his TaeKwon–Do family was important to him and how he felt like they were his brothers. He expressed his happiness that TaeKwon-Do was one of the fastest growing and most popular Martial Arts and how he felt at last we were fulfilling his father’s wishes by spreading the Art throughout the world. We all sang Happy Birthday to the I.T.F. and Master Choi blew out the candles on the cake which was ceremonially cut by Master Choi, Master Nicholls, Mr. and Mrs Dalton, and Master Wheatley. The evening ended on a high note with the presentation of the I.U.T.F. competitor of the year awards, with Eimear Curran getting junior competitor of the year, Ms. Moira Mc Elligot taking senior female competitor and Mr Fitzgibbon taking senior male for the second year running.
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Day three started at 10am and we got straight into it (after Master Choi introduced Master Lee Won Il, one of the pioneering ITF Masters who is featured through out the Ho Sin Sul section of the 1972 encyclopedia. We then continued with Toi Gye and moving on to the three first degree Tul. We completed all three covering all the minutiae - chambering, trajectory, development of power, sine wave. Master Choi stressed that Tul should be elegant and beautiful as well as powerful and precise. They should look nice, have grace and nice lines, and that by combining power and technique with elegance and grace we can achieve this. We worked on the back kick in some detail, with the point being made that if you turn the body too much it becomes a back side kick and not a back kick. All of a sudden it was all over and Master Choi commented that felt so welcome that he didn’t want to leave. |
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He seemed genuinely sad to have to finish up and said he was having too much fun - I think we all were. Then Master Lee Won Il addressed us in Korean, which Master Choi translated for us, and delivered a rousing and touching speech. He said how watching us made him want to go get his Dobok and join in. He brought many people close to tears with his deep praise for President Choi and left us all feeling renewed. The whole weekend left us all feeling a regenerated love of what it is we do and teach, a new sense of purpose and enthusiasm for the Art and a desire to be better not just at Taekwon-do but to be better people all round. Master Choi and Master Lee Won Il posed for photos with each group and finally departed the dojang leaving us with a sense of loss and a desire to do it all again at the next available chance. The next day I learned that President Choi had promoted our President Mr. Dalton to Master. He referred to him as the Jewel in the I.T.F. crown. There is no harder working or more deserving person – Congratulations Sir - we are all very proud of you.
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Every year numerous IUTF clubs participat in the annual St. Patrick`s Day Parade. Here is just one report from the Loughrea school.
St Patrick's Day is a time for celebration and parades and since this year the theme of the local parade in Loughrea was sport and fun, it was an ideal opportunity to celebrate two and a half years of Loughrea Taekwondo Club. There was nervousness beforehand about whether we would have a reasonable turnout, whether the banner and flags would be ready but most of all would we get the traditional St Patrick's Day weather of hail, rain or snow - our traditional doboks would not be ideal for such conditions ! But guess what - the weather in Loughrea was beautiful; cold but bright and sunny. We assembled in the car park, all 18 of us (along with all the other participants ; many childeren from different schools and clubs and assorted vintage tractors and other vehicles). We added a bit of colour to our look with green hats and shamrock, and Irish flags painted on all faces courtesy of Issac's Mum.
Soon the parade was off. We marched proudly up the main street of Loughrea (between groups from the mini-rugby club and the Brownies) demonstating a few basic moves for the crowd. And at the end, in front of the stand and parade officials, we gave a brief demonstration of our art and Mrs Doyle accepted a small trophy acknowledging our participation in the parade. Thank you to those who gave their time to proudly promote their club.
2nd South Kerry Friendship Tournament, Caherciveen.
Well done to all who took part and made the second running of this annual tournament such a huge success. Students had the opportunity to compete at both patterns and sparring with the patterns division this year being run on a round by round basis. With 8 per division this meant the eventual winner would have to perform 3 times in front of the judges. Sparring divisions were split by age and level of experience. Gold, Silver, Bronze and runners up medals were presented to all competitors at the end of each section.
Special thanks to all our black belts (Mr Buckley, Mr Moloney, Ms O'Sullivan, Mr O'Callaghan, Mr Larkin snr, Mr O'Connor, Ms Ashworth, Ms McCarthy, Ms McElligott, Mr Spence, Ms Curran, Mr Larkin jnr and Mr Tierney) for a great job refereeing and judging, and to Cahirciveen and Waterville club members for their help in ensuring the smooth running of each ring.
Our Chief Instructor, Mr. Dalton is promoted to VII dan, Master
By Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon, V
IUTF chief instructor, Mr. Don Dalton has just been promoted to Master, VII dan by none other that ITF President Choi, Jung Hwa himself. Having highly praised Master Dalton at the banquet of the Irish IIC in March, President Choi personally promoted Master Dalton on the Monday afternoon. Master Dalton has done phenomenal work developing Taekwon-do over the last twenty years – not just in Ireland but world-wide. He is responsible for thirteen countries in Africa registering with the ITF and has led the IUTF from one to forty plus clubs, and much more. It is little wonder that President Choi has referred to him as “the jewel of the ITF.”
Master Dalton’s integrity is second to none and it is largely this that has led to the loyalty of his three longest training students – Messrs Riordan, Moriarty and Fitzgibbon, who have been training under him for almost twenty-three years. The huge amount of work Master Dalton has done promoting Taekwon-do would have been impossible but for the support of his family, particularly, Mrs Dalton. All members of the IUTF, know that Master Dalton was a Master in our eyes long before he officially received the title.
Sir, I am proud to be your student, and I know I can safely speak on behalf of every other IUTF member when I state that there is no-one more deserving of this honour. Congratulations.
Master Maidana Returns To Ireland
The eagerly awaited return of Master Maidana to his second home was worth the wait. Master Maidana again travelled the entire Irish country conducting eight work shops which were each attended by large numbers of students and instructors. The sessions covered both sparring and patterns to the delight of all concerned. Workshops were held in Cork (2), Dublin (2), Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Wexford. According to ITF Ireland President Mr. Don Dalton, “Master Maidana never ceases to amaze me with his deep love for Taekwon-Do. His amazing knowledge and technique has become famous in Ireland and I really look foreword to having the opportunity to train with one of the world’s great masters every year. He has helped to expand our knowledge of Taekwon-Do greatly and our members regard his workshops as one of the highlights of the year.” Irish Taekwon-Do pioneer Mr. Aidan Walsh (who has attended hundreds of seminars since the 1970s) rated the Master Maidana Dublin workshop as being one of the greatest he had ever participated in. Master Maidana covered basic steps suited for sparring as well as a number of kick pad and focus mitt drills. He also trained the Irish enthusiasts in Tul up as far as Choong Moo. Master Maidana will return to Europe in March of next year. The IUTF/ITF Ireland is now hoping to host Master Galarraga for an International Umpire/Referee Course as well as some Master Classes towards the end of October. This will act as a precursor to the International Irish Championships and Celtic Team Cup which will be held on November 1st and 2nd. Please contact Mr. Dalton at iutf@hotmail.com for further details.
Munster Championships
| This years Munster Championships were held in Tralee. The IUTF event also featured “Pulse Taekwon-Do” under Mr. Ambrose Murphy 5th Dan. They are fellow members of ITF Ireland. There was also a large contingent from GST. IUTF students travelled from as far as Dublin, Athlone and Galway as well as the usual large contingent of local competitors from Cork and Kerry. The competition lived up to the IUTF norm of finishing on time (4.00pm) and the new venue of Mounthawk School proved to be popular with all concerned. The next IUTF competition will be held in Galway on April 13th (Connaught Championships). |
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WKA Trials
This years WKA trials were held in the Cork Institute of Technology. Kickboxers from around the country travelled to Cork with the intension of qualifying for the upcoming WKA World Championships which will be held in Disneyland, Florida next November. There was a large contingent from Dundalk and Dublin. The event finished at 4.30pm thanks in part to the great help from all the Kickboxers involved. WKA Ireland would like to thank Mr. Colin O’ Shaughnessy who helped to organise the six rings throughout the day.
IUTF Intervarsities
University College Dublin again hosted the IUTF Intervarsities for 2007. Mr. Mark Hargaden ran the rings for the first time and proved to be an excellent choice on the day. The main battle for prominence occurred between UCD and UCC with good natured rivalry being displayed throughout. Mr. Diarmuid McSweeney continued his good reign of form with a win in the heavyweight sparring section. All the UCC members stayed overnight for the Master Maidana seminar on the following day. It was a special Taekwon-Do weekend for all the IUTF students to enjoy.
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