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Mr. Patrick McCarthy of the London TKD Panthers travelled to Listowel TKD in order to conduct a special seminar on self defence. Mr. McCarthy is currently training in Jujitsu along with his normal TKD training. All participants were pushed to their limit as the Corkman put them through their paces. The IUTF will bring back the founder of TKD in Kerry on a regular basis as a result of the success of this course.

President of TKD International and the TAGB, Master David Oliver travelled to Millstreet TKD in order to conduct a senior dan test and to conduct a self defence seminar. Mr. Riordan and Mr. Moriarty of South West TKD were promoted to 4th Dan while Mrs. Dalton of South West TKD and Mr. Buckley of Listowel TKD were promoted to 3rd Dan. Mr. Moriarty and Mr. Riordan are the first students of Mr. Dalton to be promoted to 4th Dan. The intense grading was followed by an excellent seminar where Master Oliver developed intricate moves which built upon one another in a logical and flowing manner.

Galway IUTF instructor and Executive Committee member, Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon won the Grand Championship of the AIMAA Open Martial Arts World Championship. The Traleeman, who is one of Mr. Dalton’s first students, was awarded the Grand Championship by Grand Master Hee Il Cho (9th dan President of AIMAA). Mr. Fitzgibbon had easily won his light heavy weight section on the previous day in the points section and was narrowingly beaten in the continuous final. He then went up against the winners of the other weight divisions and after a total of 10 bouts was declared the Grand Champion. Irish coach Mr. Dalton afterwards praised the wonderful achievement when he said, “Mr. Fitzgibbon is well deserving of this win. He has worked endlessly over the last ten years towards achieving this goal and has had to demonstrate indomitable spirit by battling through six bouts with a broken toe. This is the type of mental strength that is required to reach the top.”

Mr. Fitzgibbon: "It is a given that hard training is a prerequisite for achievement, however Mr. Dalton's skilled coaching gives IUTF competitors a tremendous advantage that other associations just don't have. The weekly squad sessions are also an essential vehicle for any fighter to reach the top of one's game. You have to set yourself a goal, and then do what it takes both mentally and physically and if you are to reach that goal."

The Irish United Taekwon Do Federation attended the Open Taekwon Do World Championships in Einhoven, Holland and demonstrated how much the association has matured by winning gold medals in both boys and girls junior teams as well as a team bronze for the men. In addition there were individual medals for Mr. Philpott (senior bronze), Padraig O’ Connor (Junior Gold), Siobhan Duggan (junior silver). The men’s senior team had a fantastic battle with TAGB England with each bout capable of going either way. However the Junior members excelled and particular praise should go to Padraig O’ Connor of Listowel who won two gold sparring medals in both the individual and team sparring. Brenda Cremin (junior team gold) of Rathmore Taekwon Do also looks a fantastic prospect for the senior ladies team. The teams were coached by Mr. Dalton (senior) and Mr. Riordan (junior). The senior team was IUTF funded.

Mr. Riordan took a large contingent of coulor belts to the TAGB British Championships along with a spattering of black belts. The attendance for the event was massive with additional competitors drawn from right across Europe. Mr. Mark Philpott of Millstreet and Kanturk TKD won a total of six bouts to win the -63kg section. There was also a special team event organised on the day in which the hastily picked Irish team lost out by one point to Poland in the final.

IUTF members travelled to Iran for one week to train and also to compete in the Fajar Open Championships in Teheran. The trip turned out to be a fantastic cultural experience which will remain with the Irish members for years to come. The team also had the opportunity to spent two days in Baku, Azerbaijan. While in Iran the IUTF team (Mr. Dalton, Mrs. Dalton, Mr. Keane, Mr. Coakley and Mr. Cashell) were guests of honour of the Iranian Hapkido Assoniation. The treatment of the Irish team was second to none, with every last detail being organised by the wonderful hosts. The competition was a huge success for the IUTF with the three competitors, Mr. Keane, Coakley and Cashell winning a total of eight medals (ie. three medals for ther weight sections, two medals in the open weight section and three medals for team Europe versus team Asia). The event also featured fighters from such far away countries as Pakistan and Finland. Afterwards Mr. Dalton put on a demontration of special breaking techniques, self defence and patterns, which was featured on Iranian television.

The first AIMAA Open Martial Arts World Championships, held in Dublin, was a roaring success for the IUTF. Gold medal winners included Messrs Dalton, Riordan, Moriarty, Fitzgibbon, Mrs. Dalton and numerous junior winners (including Padraig O’ Connor, Mark Dowling, James Lyne, David Keane) The Charleville TKD club were narrowingly beaten by AIMAA Ireland team in the final of a large team section. The Charleville members included Mr. O’ Sullivan, Mr. Keane and Mr. Coakley. There were numerous other winners, most of which were in the continuous section.

The Irish United Taekwon Do Federation faced the All Ireland Taekwon Do Association in a junior and senior team challenge in County Cork. In the end the event ended in an easy win for the IUTF members who completely dominated their opponents. There was special boost for local practitioner Mr. Mark Philpott who had huge local support during his winning bout.