Recent Articles in Martial Arts Press:

Article on Mr. Shane Fitzgibbon in Taekwon-do and Korean Martial Arts Magazine (Britain)

"A Profile on Shane Fitzgibbon"

Irish United Taekwon-do Federation star Shane Fitzgibbon has become a well-known name in the Taekwon-Do Tournament circuit. Fitzgibbon is a third degree black belt in the exciting Korean art. He took up the art in his hometown of Tralee as a young teenager under the instruction of IUTF Chairperson Don Dalton. One of the first members of Dalton’s South-West Taekwon-Do Centre in Tralee, he was dedicated in his training to the last. Attending class twice a week he also used to train at school during lunch hour where he would work out on weights and stretching. As a result, he was an important part of the South-West TKD Centre team which lost only once in a five year period. At that time the South-West TKD Centre was part of Master Norman Creedon’s Taekwon-do Federation of Ireland. Creedon graded Fitzgibbon to his first degree Black Belt in December ‘92. At this stage, he had entered University College, Galway. It was his devotion to training that drove him to endure ten hours on a bus each weekend to take part in a class in Tralee.

It was during the emergence of Dalton’s Irish United Taekwon-Do Federation (IUTF) of which was Fitzgibbon was a founding member, that he discovered an interest not just in instructing but also in being part of TKD development nationally. Because the IUTF has an open-minded approach to developing the Federation and its members, Fitzgibbon was able to play an integral role in its development, as a member on the committee. This experience was to become invaluable later. In 1995 the IUTF team travelled to Kent, England to participate in a training weekend organised by Corkman and then chairperson of Global Taekwon-Do International: UK, Frank Murphy. Said Fitzgibbon, “that weekend was a real eye-opener to me. It was my first international exposure and I got to see exponents like three times world champion, Tony Sewell in action. Since that first IUTF-GTI meeting we have maintained a good relationship.” Later that summer Fitzgibbon travelled to Worcester as part of a three person Irish Team to compete in the British Team championships. He was undefeated in the sparring and patterns with the Irish Team winning the event. Fitzgibbon then went to the Irish Open Taekwon-do Nationals in September that year, his confidence sky-high after the British event. He emerged from the tournament the only competitor with three prizes. Having won the destruction division, and after coming third in the Patterns, he determinedly steamrolled his way to the Light-Heavyweight Sparring title.

As a result of his Trojan work in the spreading of TKD in Galway with three Taekwon-do centres by 1996, Fitzgibbon was elected National Promotions Officer for the IUTF and he also became Connacht Area Supervisor. Competition was never far from his mind however and he proved a formidable opponent as he travelled to every major tournament around the country amassing victories consistently. In April ‘96, at the Cork Open Taekwon-do Championships the IUTF team took on the GTI: England squad. “This event was one of the highs of my career to date,” said Fitzgibbon who won on a unanimous decision. His victory seemed to spur on the thirty or so students of his that were present at the tournament, because he had the pleasure of seeing them receive no less than twenty-one prizes between them. Shortly after that he successfully defended Irish Light-Heavyweight title.

Fitzgibbon was indeed proving to be on a victory streak. Celebrating his twenty-second birthday in October that year he looked forward to another triumphant season. Unfortunately he suffered a serious back injury at the end of that month as a passenger in a road accident. It meant putting aside all training. Due to the severity of the pain he was in, Fitzgibbon had to wonder whether he would recover sufficiently to compete at the same level again. Six months later he began stretching out stiff muscles. Then, Fitzgibbon surprised all the black belt competitors at the 1997 Irish Nationals by making an unforeseen comeback managing to hold onto his Light-heavyweight title for yet another year in spite of his seven month back injury. Due to his exertions it was necessary to give himself a long rest from competition, so that September, Fitzgibbon returned to University to complete a postgraduate qualification in Chemistry/Biochemistry. He also used the year to push through his original group of students to black belt level. It was also an opportunity to show them that competition is only a small part of Taekwon-do and that self-improvement is the primary objective. “An aspect of the martial arts that I dislike is those instructors who, due to laziness or arrogance, stop training. I feel this is a bad example. I try and influence my students to strive for excellence by having a thirst for knowledge myself and never being satisfied that I know enough.

Since then Fitzgibbon has begun teaching Taekwon-do as a professional instructor. His clubs range from Galway right across to Athlone. Under the banner of Connacht Taekwon-do Schools, the schools are integrally linked together to form the closely knitted western division of the IUTF. Shane is also proud to have participated as part of the IUTF team at the Taekwon-do International Open World Championships in ’98. He made it to the quarterfinals in both the individual sparring and with the team in the team event. Since then he has been largely involved in the decision to forge a strong link with Taekwon-do International, which is chaired by Mr. Dave Oliver, 6th dan. “We have discovered in Taekwon-do International, a truly growth-orientated organisation, that is constantly developing, and we are looking forward to growing with it.”

Fitzgibbon was unlucky enough to miss this years World Championships back in May in which the IUTF senior team scooped bronze medals. This was due to his recurring back problems. However, in June, Fitzgibbon travelled to the Gambia for the West African Championships where he was successful in winning two gold medals for both sparring and patterns. These complimented the two gold and one silver medals he took from there in 1998, his first visit to the West African country. This year he also clinched his fifth successive Irish Light-heavyweight title.

So what next for Shane? “At present I am completing a course in fitness instruction under the International Therapeutic Examination Council (ITEC) to keep myself up to date with newly discovered training ideas and concepts. One thing I have learned as an instructor is that to teach effectively, one has to be open to development and learning new ideas. This is an attitude that prevails in all of the instructors throughout the IUTF.”

I am also training hard for the upcoming Open Martial Arts World championships being held by Grandmaster Hee Il Cho in September at the National Basketball Arena, Dublin. That will be a serious challenge and I’m looking forward to it. There are many areas within Connacht that have never seen Taekwon-do, so I hope to expose them to it in the near future. A large portion of my time at the moment is spent in preparation for my 4th dan test. Attaining this level is one of my main goals over the next couple of years.”

Shane Fitzgibbon first launched Taekwon-do in Galway city eight years ago at the age of eighteen. Since then, he has successfully brought more than a dozen students to the coveted black belt status, with many more due for that promotion soon. With Fitzgibbon currently extremely active both in instructing and competition, he is sure to be on the lips of fellow martial artists for some time to come.

Shane Fitzgibbon can be contacted by telephone at 00353-87-2070577 or via the Connacht Taekwon-do Schools Internet site at http://www.connacht-taekwondo.com