ON Saturday, September 12, seven young local Taekwondo students were awarded their black belts by Master Shane Mckeahnie, head instructor of Strike Martial Arts in Ballina.
Alanna Nesbitt, Oscar Williams, Tanisha Faulks, Isabel Mayo, Isaac Mayo and Joe Norton were all awarded their 1st Dan black belts.
Lily Brand was awarded her 2nd Dan.
This was the biggest black belt grading conducted since Strike moved into their purpose-built school in 2007.
Master Shane was very proud of the way the students conducted themselves on the day.
“All seven students showed enormous focus and physical ability demonstrating the skills they have learnt over a number of years,” he said.
Alanna Nesbitt was the youngest at only 10 years old to be awarded her black belt. She is a current member of the high-performance team representing Queensland at the national championships in October.
Family and friends came from as far away as Sydney to witness the grading.
http://www.ballinaadvocate.com.au/
Black belts awarded
Taekwondo is Not Taekwondo Without Its Kicks
This article explains a few things about tae kwon do, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.
The kicks used in Taekwondo sparring are more striking than in any other martial art. Even though the kicks in poomse are simpler than the ones used in sparring, they can be equally as impressive if executed properly.
Also, a good, solid front kick is more impressive than an impromptu tornado or double roundhouse kick. What is it that makes a great taekwondo kick?
1. Balance.
Balance may not be seem as obvious as you think. And balance is more than just not ending up on the floor. It is a matter of fluidity, of gracefulness, of naturalness.
With a properly balanced kick, the supporting foot does not wobble, the hands do not flail about, and the athlete does not rush to complete the kick.
Also, the athlete begins and ends the technique in the proper stances without having to correct the stances to accommodate the kick.
Practice moving within your stances. When you feel comfortable doing simple things within your stances, you should try to kick from one stance into another.
2. Proper form.
Having proper form is a requirement to having a beautiful kick. Proper form may be defined as the correct positions to which the entire body enters as it performs a kick from start to finish.
It is wise to talk with your instructor or other certified professional martial artist to learn the more articulate details of proper form. They will have the answers to any questions that you may have.
Those of you not familiar with the latest on tae kwon do now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.
3. Control.
The kick in Taekwondo is not supposed to be like that of a whip. It does not have to be so fast that it cannot be seen.
Instead, the kick is to be relished and beheld as the single most attractive feature of Taekwondo. It is therefore necessary to control the kick. Controlling the kick involves the ability to freeze the kick for a split second at full extension.
This ė°¼reeze?is the life of the kick. It is the most memorable and beautiful part of the kick. Controlling the kick is not that easy though. Usually it involves much concentration and many years of practice.
Form is a must to both control and power. If you are not sure that you are doing the kick with proper form yet, keep working on the form part before you begin working on the control part.
Control takes some muscle development and patience, but it is well worth all the effort in the end.
4. Power.
Nothing is worse than seeing someone perform a kick with great form, balance, and control, but with no power.
If this is the case, that person is better off as ballet dancer than a taekwondo practitioner. There is no such thing as an excellent kick that has no power.
Take note that proper form is needed to achieve control. And control is the factor that leads to power.
Bear in mind also that if you try to develop power without mastering the proper control first, it may result to permanent damage to your joints. So be very careful.
The process for developing power in a taekwondo kick is very similar to developing control in that same kick.
Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of tae kwon do. Share your new understanding about tae kwon do with others. They'll thank you for it.
William Doyle
LC junior will stand tall for USA Taekwondo team
At a thin 5-foot-5, junior Christian Medina never is mistaken for a football player while walking the halls at Lake Central High School in St. John.
He doesn't play soccer or baseball, and he's no boxer. But Medina certainly packs a punch -- with his hands and feet.
Medina's sparring expertise earned him a spot on the USA Taekwondo Junior National team. He'll represent the United States at the Pan Am Championships from Nov. 19-23 in El Salvador. A welterweight (130-138 pounds), he's one of 10 American boys and 10 girls, ages 14-17, competing.
Medina won a silver medal in sparring at the U.S. Open Tae-kwondo Championships in Las Vegas in February. He's been busy since, earning a spot on the national team.
Medina first qualified in Illinois, then made the top four at National Junior Olympics to earn a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a fight-off. He was unbeaten in round-robin sparring.
Medina is a fourth-degree black belt who started training at age 4. Why? His father, Luciano Medina, also is his instructor. Dad is a sixth-degree black belt grandmaster and owns Champion Taekwondo in Chicago, where Christian trains.
Luciano credits "explosiveness and technique" for his son's success. He's also turned a negative, his short stature, into a positive.
"Christian knows how to fight inside," Luciano said. "Being short, he often has a psychological edge. Opponents see him and think they'll have an easy match, going against a short, little kid. But when he steps into the ring, he takes charge."
Christian said he's almost always the shortest person in his class.
"Taller kids tend to kick long and have trouble bending their legs," he said. "I know how to fight inside really well."
Christian said not every LC student knows his name.
"But most know what I do; they call me the 'Karate Kid,' " he said with a smile. "I'm friends with everybody at school."
* How bout a blast from the past? Former boys basketball players from three Porter County Conference schools will help rival Kouts raise money for bleachers for its new gym during Saturday's South County Reunion Games.
Host Kouts' team of 1980s players will face Boone Grove '80s players at 6 p.m. Kouts' 1990s players play Hebron at 7:15, and Kouts' players from the 2000s meet Morgan Township at 8:30.
The $5 fee is for a good cause and will bring back memories.
http://www.post-trib.com/index.html
Taekowndo Park in Muju, Korea to House World Taekwondo Academy
The Taekwondo Park in Muju, South Korea, whose ground-breaking ceremony took place on Sept. 4, 2009, will house the World Taekwondo Academy, a global taekwondo education and research center designated by the World Taekwondo Federation.
The Taekwondo Park, which will serve as the mecca of takwondo worldwide, is scheduled to open in 2013, with a total construction cost of $185 million.
The ground-breaking ceremony drew about 1,500 people from at home and abroad, with the attendance of WTF President Chungwon Choue and Mr. Dai-soon Lee, chairman of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, which is in charge of the construction and operation of the Taekwondo Park.
Among the dignitaries were Korean Prime Minister Seung-soo Han; Mr. Wan-joo Kim, governor of North Jeolla Province; Mr. Dae-ki Kim, the second vice minister of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Yong-sung Park, president of the Korean Olympic Committee; and Mr. Sye-kyun Chung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party.
The event, which took place on the 2009 Taekwondo Day, also attracted four members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC): Mr. Ivan Dibos from Peru, Mr. Phillip Walter Coles from Australia, Mr. Samih Moudallal from Syria, and Mr. Dae-sung Moon from Korea.
About 650 taekwondo leaders, including 70 foreign taekwondo masters, attended the ceremony. Eight taekwondo grandmasters, who are over the age 70 and have served abroad over 30 years, received citations from the Korean culture, sports and tourism minister. 18 other taekwondo masters also received citations.
Taekwondo Promotion Foundation Chairman Lee, who also serves as a vice president of the WTF, made a brief history of the Taekwondo Park project, followed by congratulatory speeches by Korean Prime Minister Han and North Jeolla Province Governor Kim.
During the ceremony, VIPs wrote some congratulatory words on Korean paper to mark the occasion, which will be later inscribed on the cornerstone of the Taekwondo Park. The highlight of the event was when VIPs pushed the button to ignite the blast to break the ground for the Taekwondo Park.
“On the occasion of the 2009 Taekwondo Day, I would like to offer my congratulations on the ground-breaking of the Taekwondo Park,” said WTF President Choue in a video-taped message for the participants in the event.
“The World Taekwondo Academy, which will be located in the Taekwondo Park, will serve as an international academic center of the WTF for studies, education and research of taekwondo,” he said.
Dr. Choue said, “The WTA, the Korean version of the International Olympic Academy (IOA) for the Olympic sport of taekwondo, will be the home of about 70 million taekwondo practitioners around the world.”
The WTF Rules and Regulations stipulates, “The WTF designates the World Taekwondo Academy in Korea to function as an international academic center of the WTF for studies, education and research of taekwondo.”
On Aug. 15, 2009, an international symposium on the development of taekwondo curriculum for the WTA was held at the University of Berkeley in the United States. The results of the symposium will be presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Taekwondo Studies on Oct. 12 and 13, 2009 on the occasion of the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“To meet the growing educational demands worldwide, a new educational system is required. That is WTA. WTA is an educational institute, where leaders from all social standings, students and professionals related to taekwondo spread taekwondo spirit and Olympic spirit, and study taekwondo philosophy,” said a participants in the symposium.
The WTF designated Sept. 4 as Taekwondo Day at its General Assembly in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2006, and has since marked the day. On Sept. 4, 1994, the IOC decided to adopt taekwondo as an official sport of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
In 2007, the Korean government enacted a law on taekwondo promotion and the establishment of the Taekwondo Park. On Sept. 4, 2008, the Korean government and the four taekwondo organizations, the WTF, the Kukkiwon, the Korean Takwondo Association, and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, jointly celebrated the Taekwondo Day.
Abdul Majid, Abdullah triumph in national karate championships
Dubai: Mohammad Abdul Majid and Marwan Abdullah took the top honours in the Kumite and Kata categories at the end of the UAE National Team Karate Championships, held at Al Mizhar here on Friday.
Daeej Raisi, vice-president of the UAE Taekwondo and Karate Federation, was the chief guest alongside Iqbal Othman, an official from the sponsors of the event, Iffco - the company behind the Tiffany range of products.
The race for honours in the Kumite was evenly contested but Abdul Majid held a narrow edge due to his superior reach.
Though going down 2-3 to Khalid Sulaiman during the preliminary round, Abdul Majid staged a good recovery to score handsome wins against Mohammad Khamis and young Ahmad Salem to finish ahead of both of them on points and grab first place honours.
Sulaiman followed in second place, while Mohammad Sulaiman took third place honours and completed the podium placings.
In the Kata, Abdullah was streets ahead of his opponents. The 17-year-old won 5-0 against Salem and Khalid Sadek to reach the finals of the event.
Abdullah Eisa beat Humaid Chamis 4-1 and Hamad Al Najar 3-2 to set up a meeting in the final against the double gold medal winner at last month's GCC Karate Championships in Bahrain.
The UAE National Team Karate Championships were held to assist the national squad's preparations for the upcoming Asian competition in China.
