Instructor’s Course – Parramatta 2011

 

The instructor’s course was fun, enjoyable and very helpful.

The course helped me learn things that I had never heard of, like a low stance. The first time Master Daher said to perform a low stance I just went blank, I had no idea what he was talking about. But after the course I have a couple of new moves to add to my knowledge of tae kwon do.

At the start of the course, I was very nervous because I didn’t know how many people would come, and I didn’t want to forget my patterns. The start of it was the scariest part, and by the second session the nerves went away and I started to have the best time ever.

The course atmosphere was just great because if I made a mistake then Master Daher would help fix it straight away. There were many black belts also who shared their knowledge with the group. I also learnt that you should never be afraid of asking a question, because if you don’t know the answer Master Daher, the senior instructors and the other black belts will help you understand the answer.

 

Tae-Kwon

Brendan Love 14 years

(1st Kup-IL Shim Aberdeen)

On Saturday 15th October 2011 the Parramatta and Toongabbie Il Shim Taekwon-Do Clubs held a mini tournament to provide our younger students with the opportunity to experience competition and what it’s like performing “on the mats” and in front of an audience. It was also a great opportunity for our black belts to gain some experience in corner judging, coaching and umpiring.

In a nutshell… the day was a fantastic success with 35 competitors taking part. I was very pleased with every aspect of the event, and I was very happy when Master Daher told me he felt the same. All students participated with great spirit and it was wonderful to see the junior students demonstrating many of the techniques they have been learning in class.

We began the day with pattern divisions. It was clear that there were some nerves in many of our competitors who hadn’t been in a competition before, but they courageously did their best and will learn a lot from the experience. The benefit of experience is that these students will feel much more relaxed next time they have the opportunity to compete. Many students also had the benefit of advice from Master Daher as to how they could improve their techniques.

We then had the sparring divisions. All of the competitors did very well, really giving it their best. I was really pleased to see a number of students that weren’t sure if they should compete, deciding to give it a go… and then win medals! Well done!! I was also very impressed by the behaviour displayed by all competitors.

A few of our black belts (Mr Jasser, Mr Azad, Mr Massoud) and Mr Paul Wehbe (4th Kup) then entertained the audience with several rounds of demonstration free-sparring.

While on the subject of sparring, Miss Marlee Tyson (I Dan) did an absolutely outstanding job of refereeing all of the sparring bouts. I think all that attended would agree that Miss Tyson looked more like a seasoned professional than somebody who was refereeing their first tournament! Well done Marlee (Mr Kelly would have been proud of you!)

Master Daher and our Black Belts assisted with handing out the medals for those students who had achieved 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their events. There were some beaming smiles from the medal winners and lots of photographs with Master Daher after the event. (See full list of results below)

I would like to thank our black belts for assisting in various roles on the day: Ms Therrien-Tremblay, Mr Jasser, Mr Azad, Mr Ali and Mr Massoud. A special mention for Mr Paul Wehbe (4th Kup) who also assisted with throughout the day – thanks Paul.

Thank you to Mr Charles Mouyat for taking photos on the day. There will be some photos from the event on the website soon.

Thanks to Sam Daher for providing assistance to transport the mats to and from the venue and helping out on the day.

Thank you to Ms Therrien-Tremblay and Miss Tyson for their baking skills and initiative, and to Mrs Tyson for looking after the table of goodies throughout the day.

And a huge thank you to all of the parents and friends who came along and supported the students. It was very pleasing to see so many so many parents making the effort to provide the opportunity for their children to compete. And thanks to all those who helped pack up after the event… it was one of the quickest pack-ups I’ve ever seen!

In closing, I thank Master Daher for his support, his presence on the day, and his ongoing guidance. I believe all of our competitors, as well as those assisting with judging and umpiring, gained invaluable knowledge and experience through participating in the event.

We hope to have another mini-tournament in February to get students ready for the General Choi Cup in Sydney in March 2012. We’ll keep you posted.

Regards,

Nathan

Nathan Tyson (II Dan)

Instructor

Il Shim Taekwon-Do

Toongabbie

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Instructors Course 2011 – by Paul Harper

On the 8th and 9th of October I had the privilege of travelling to Sydney to be trained by an 8th Degree Master. The first part of the course focused on sharpening our skills on the way we teach. This sort of refinement can only come from a person whose knowledge and experience far exceeds your own. A refined method of teaching walking stance to children will go a long way to improving the most fundamental techniques of our art. During the second part of the course I had the privilege to train with my Master Instructor. It was fantastic to be a student once again. The highlight was spending time on Sunday morning working through Yon Gae tul. Finding the time and opportunity to concentrate on the Senior Dan patterns is difficult and this experience was one to savour.

Overall a fantastic weekend where we as Instructors could be students once again and train under an exemplary ITF Master.

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A report by Gerard Kelly IV Dan IL Shim Sunshine Coast

IL Shim Umpire Manager

 

Well once again I have travelled to be taught by a great Master, but this is a Master we see all the time so it doesn’t mean anything I hear you say! Nothing could be further from the truth! To get your patterns corrected by an 8th Dan Master is something you should NEVER take for granted and personally I find it very rewarding! But this was only a small component of what we covered over the 2 days of intense mental and small amount of physical work! How to train young students, different ways of leading your people, how to break down movements so that they were easily digested and many more!

Having the opportunity to go through the higher black belt patterns was a highlight for me personally as I don’t get the time with Master Daher that you juniors do so to get to train with him in this manner was just fantastic!

We also got the opportunity to go through some umpiring drills to get the guys and girls comfortable with the terminology we use as referees!

Lots of fun was had by all at the BBQ at Master Dahers newly refurbished house and all in all I found this course to be very beneficial! When’s the next one I hear you ask? Keep your eyes peeled on the website for more info!!

Tae kwon

Gerard Kelly

Henry’s Corner October 2011 (1)

Dear Friends

Real emotional content! Can anyone guess who uttered this line in which movie? ………. It was Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Whatever criticism we can make about the quality of the acting in his films there is no doubt that Bruce Lee was a special individual and his skills in martial arts were extraordinary. Sorry, my friends, but I am sure you can agree that it is difficult to write regularly on the topic of martial arts without at least once dwelling on this individual and his enormous contributions to the popularisation and propagation of our discipline.

Unfortunately, due to various factors such as the need for commercial appeal, return on the investment made and lack of funding, the art got buried in commerce in Bruce Lee’s movies. He was avant-garde in his approach, a pioneer and an innovator. He had an intellectual and unbiased attitude to martial arts that transcended all boundaries and was both entirely practical and philosophical. Even though the cinematic qualities of his films were low grade they maintained an element of realism by not resorting to the fantastic and unbelievable stunts of “Kung Fu flicks.” At least Bruce Lee’s tales were underpinned by some moral and theory behind the techniques. Gee, I feel like a movie critic now!

There are two lines in Enter the Dragon which have remained in my memory. The first one is what I mentioned above and the second was “Power is the value that makes all other values possible.” This second line was said by, not surprisingly, Han, who was the bad guy. This statement did not stay in my memory because it was in any way palatable but because it represented the extremely pragmatic view of an amoral person who sought dominance over others rather than harmonious co-existence. It succinctly expressed the naked ambitions of a person whose beliefs are the very antithesis of what a true martial artist should hold in his or her heart. What an apt statement from the bad guy!

Needless to say, I am not intending to focus on Han’s view of life today but what Bruce Lee said to his protégé in the beginning of this film. Real emotional content! For those of you who haven’t seen the film, this took place in the beginning at what was supposed to be the Shaolin Temple. Bruce Lee was instructing a student and suggesting that he allow his emotional content to propel his kick rather than let it be a purely mechanical movement or let anger be the driving force.

In one of my previous contributions, I asked if you ever wondered what drives that kick and punch, whether you have ever considered the emotional content of all the moves you make in a dojang.

Let us consider the anatomy of a kick or punch. The dissection reveals two different seemingly opposing parts, the physical and the emotional, which in fact complement each other and interact as parts of a dynamic system. Here you are finding the concept of yin and yang operating within a single martial art technique.

When a technique has the proper mechanical components, that is, if the physical execution has been carried out with the correct stance, angle, coordination, etc., maximum force will be achieved. Correct? Of course not! What really propels the technique to achieve maximum effect is the emotional content of the practitioner.

The correct physical execution of a technique will result in a quantifiable and calculable amount of force. It is the emotional content which provides the impetus that propels that kick or punch to achieve far greater force beyond the mechanics of the move.

Then, what is this emotional content? It is the raw energy derived from the focus which is achieved by the clear objective we have in mind. I do not mean the objective of simply executing a proper technique so we can break that board or tile, but the more profound raison d’etre of a martial artist, the tenets that we uphold, the belief system which gives us our identity as Taekwon-Do practitioners.

Let us draw an analogy to sales. When I train sales consultants, I always remind them that purchasing decisions are not ultimately based on rational reasons but emotions. Utilising product knowledge and convincing clients of the benefit of a product or service is simply the basic mechanical step, which undoubtedly has to be handled well, but if you do not get them emotionally involved in your offerings you will not close the sale. The ultimate objective of this process is for the client, the company and sales consultant to all win.

Likewise in Taekwon-Do, the mechanics of the technique is the skeletal component, but the flesh and blood is the emotional content. It is when the practitioners are practicing with the spirit of the art, the emotional content, in mind that they are able to execute the techniques with much greater effect and relish the noble pursuit of building a better world.

Do you remember this aphorism? “It is all in the mind!”