2010 Kick Off Camp – Gold Coast

Starting the Year with a Bang!

The Year is 2010

• The Event… The Brain Child of Master Michael Daher (8th Dan) This is the 2nd Annual IL Shim Taekwon Do Kick Off Camp
• Where… Tallebudgera Beach
• The purpose… open to all IL Shim Clubs from around Australia, the design is to share knowledge, have fun and make some new Friends.

Hosted by IL Shim Gold Coast branch, Instructors John Abdallah (3rd Dan) and Michelle Reisser (3rd Dan); the format consisted of various Senior Dan Instructors taking an hour to introduce and analyse an aspect of TKD with the participants of the camp.

A highlight of the Camp is the inclusion of a mystery guest instructor, whom only a handful of people know about… This year’s mystery Guest was NZ’s very own Master Paul Mcphail (7th Dan)

Click on Photo to see the Album

DAY 1

First Class, Master Mcphail Instructing a class on combinations and rhythm. Everything has to flow; it’s almost like a dance between 2 combatants. Getting your movements to Flow is the key to success in any sparring situation. The combination – sliding front forefist punch, sliding out on contact finishing up with a stance reversal 3 movements in a flowing motion, much like a waltz, this analogy was realised when you could hear many people saying 123…123…123 out loud while practising.

Following this was a lesson in an aspect some TKD practitioners seem to forget, especially those who don’t frequent tournament s often, the hands. To quote a line from a famous NZ film “Too much weights, not enough speed work!” If time is taken on the development of the speed and technique of your hands the myth that all Taekwon-Do practitioners have no idea how to use their hands will be dispelled.

The purpose of the camp is to have fun, Observe and React; A variation on musical chairs. The goal of this exercise every round was to not be left standing without a purple stick in your hand. There were always 2 less sticks than people participating in the round which determined who was out. Last Round… a determined Shawn Sutton beat his opponent of 1/3 his size to take the win!

Self Defence Techniques shouldn’t be taken lightly, Master Daher demonstrated swiftly and deadly; 4 situations were taken and an escape solution was explained. 1 arm grab, 1&2 arm lapel grab, and the bear hug. The end solutions were similar in the fact that u end up using your opponents arm like a joystick playing on an Xbox. So simple really….

The day continued with a game that took a spin on the game of soccer…. playing on our knees and with the hands. Hitting the ball was allowed and grabbing was not, the only exception was the goal keeper. 6 teams whittled down to 4… Down to 2, the sand was hard and the sun was hot, but to the victor went the spoils.

As the Sun went down and Day 1 drew to a close, an important aspect of mental and physical fitness was discussed, Nutrition and TKD. With the amount of distress our bodies take sometimes, especially at some Tournaments…. It is important to think about how we fuel our bodies and keep them ready for action. The camp was not all about physical tests, but also an acknowledgement of the effects of life. The body cannot live without the mind and vice versa.

DAY 2

Master Mcphail kicked off with a continuation of the previous days class, by adding a move to the 3 combination sequence, 1234… 1234… 1234… This quickly turned into a lesson in patterns… Know your pattern inside out was his motto of the hour… even backwards. Starting of easy (apparently) we broke down Chon-Ji and performed the backwards variation. Next Up Dan-Gun, which after the dust settled a blue belt named Sabastian DeViana, managed to get from start to end with little difficulty.

The Obstacle course is a staple of outdoor activities and it’s no different with this event. The group Split in Half tackled four pads at each corner of a square field and on each leg an obstacle of sorts whether it is a pad to jump over or 6 to run over. The rest were concentrating on one task… The Flying Side Piercing Kick, difficulties are set as the transition from jumping off the sand to jumping off a meter ledge. The stakes were raised with the addition of a vertical kick pad to jump over…

As the day drew to an end the last hour of the seminar was instructed by Master Daher. Prior to this hour Master Daher had said “In this session you will get wet!” Everything was done in waist deep water; Patterns, Line work, jumping techniques, push ups, and sit ups. Finally a test of Endurance, and teams were devised where we participated in relays, dragging each other through the water…

All in all the weekend went by with great success, the event was enjoyed by all and it was great seeing people from around the country. Bonds were formed Friendships made and its through things like this that the TKD family grows stronger! Countdown for 2011, the 3rd annual Kick off camp is just around the corner; with more fun and games, experience to draw off and another important mystery guest! Stay Tuned.

Michael Young – 1st Dan

IL Shim Taekwon Do Gold Coast