December 2011 - IL SHIM

2011 – Henry Pak

Henry’s Corner December 2011 (2)

2011

Dear Friends

As another year draws fast to an end and we reflect on the achievements and challenges we had in 2011, let us be thankful for the fellowship and camaraderie we share through our art of Taekwon-Do. I have simply titled this article 2011 so I can freewheel and talk about various issues that concerned and affected us in this year that is coming to a close. After all it is the festive season and I am allowed to let loose and be a bit expansive, aren’t I? So here I sit in the tranquillity that night offers, floating through the vast and endless energy of the universe and surfing the freedom of my mind. How poetic! Settle down, Henry!

The litmus test of a discipline is its ability to provide the cohesion which keeps its members united under a system of belief which promotes our growth as human beings and our growth happens in relation to other people because, as independent as we like to think ourselves to be, we are not solitary beings and our lives are inextricably linked with those around us.

In one of my previous contributions titled “The Unifying Force of Taekwon-Do” I dwelled on the universal appeal that the core values of Taekwon-Do have and how it serves to unite the people of our world. There is literally a supermarket of belief systems out there. Look around you and you can hear them being sold. Just listen to them! “Gather around everybody and tell us what you need! Boy, do we ever have one that will make you the life of the party! Here is one that should suit you but if it doesn’t make you popular we will exchange it for another one! As a matter of fact why don’t we tailor make one for you!” Ethics and morality are up for sale and people choose belief systems based on how “convenient” it is for them and not based on their truthfulness or validity. The core values of Taekwon-Do are not for sale. Our tenets are what we believe everyone should embrace as the foundation for building a better world.

The moral obligation of a Taekwon-Do instructor has a close correlation to faith. A belief is theoretical and faith is practical. You can believe something is true but unless you live your life according to that belief it is not faith. To use the vernacular, faith is “Putting your money where your mouth is.” If we have faith in the art of Taekwon-Do, we will be the vanguard of the protection and propagation of its core values. The instructors need to be in philosophical agreement that our focus is on the edification of the individual.

We are practitioners of the art of Taekwon-Do. An art is a product of human creativity and Taekwon-Do is a way of life. Hence we are meant to be pursuing a way of life where we are practicing and disseminating the values we uphold. I have experienced the unlimited power of the mind to both create and destroy. When I stood on the crossroads of either total oblivion or salvation I experienced an epiphany, a realization that it was either an inability or unwillingness to put my beliefs into practice that was at the root of my problems. That is, I had to convert my beliefs into faith. I had to live my life according to my beliefs. Once again, you can believe in something as much as you like but it is purely academic unless you are putting it into practice.

For a Taekwon-Do practitioner, how this power which exists in all of us is channelled will depend on both internal and external factors. What is certain is the importance of training, discipline, and moral guidance, both endogenous through self reflection and exogenous through proper counsel to overcome the impediments to channelling this energy in the proper direction.

I am delighted that Master Daher has a new found determination to propel Il Shim Taekwon-Do to the heights that we all know it can reach. A mountaineer may climb the Everest simply because “It is there,” but we must take Il Shim Taekwon-Do to the zenith of its potential because “We can and we must.” Simple words that are pregnant with moral obligation for we must propagate the core values of Taekwon-Do. Grandiose, it may be, but the intention must come from a humble heart or it will be self defeating.

With news of the resurgence of Il Shim Taekwon-Do we are filled with joyful anticipation for the advent of glorious days ahead for our organization. When an organization goes through a spurt of growth, it is easy to bask in the favourable turn of events and neglect to maintain the momentum and use this opportunity to propel us to greater heights. Success would be self defeating if it breeds complacency and not foster greater ambitions.

The reconciliation between ethics and business is a perennial issue for commercial entities, especially ones like ours which is supposed to focus on the moral enrichment of its practitioners. We may feel as if we are constantly treading a fine line between integrity and the pursuit of profit but, for an entity such as ours, focusing on our core values should deliver profit as a natural by-product. Hence we remain faithful to our determination to not focus on the making of money as practitioners of Taekwon-Do but paradoxically end up achieving profit through concentrating on our core values.

Improvisation and adaptation are keys to survival, relevance and progress but isn’t there a timeless quality about Il Shim Taekwon-Do that sets it apart from other martial arts organizations? In other words what is our USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? Without this element we would be just another martial arts organization wading through a sea of mediocrity.

We are all aware that our core values are special but let us not forget that there are other martial arts organizations that also aspire to morally and spiritually uplift its members. Hence, I am suggesting that our uniqueness comes not only from the SUBSTANCE of what we are but from the DELIVERY of this content. The success of Il Shim Taekwon-Do will be achieved through the projection of our image as an organization which focuses on and

promotes integrity, respect, justice, humility and charity and demonstrating how through the practice of Taekwon-Do we can instil these values in everyone. We are all aware that these values are universally embraced but it is by packaging them in the spectacular techniques of Taekwon-Do and educating the public about the connection between these values and the physical manifestations of Taekwon-Do that we should be able to attract many people to come and participate and enjoy the benefits of our art. All public exhibitions and tournaments must be accompanied by a clear explanation of the substance of our art so as to change the public perception that Taekwon-Do is just a fancy form of fighting. I fervently believe that, once we can change the public perception of Taekwon-Do and introduce them to the moral and ethical foundations of our art, membership will boom. In an age of world-wide turmoil, insecurity and chaos, the core values we embrace have special relevance.

There may be some people out there who are saying, “But I just want to learn how to defend myself!” This is fine too, except if you do not immerse yourself in the spirit of this art you will be missing out on all the riches it has to offer. There is also another angle. The physical techniques of Taekwon-Do will allow you to defend your body but the spirit of this art will arm you with the fortitude to deal with the chaos in this world. Don’t you wish to protect both your body and mind?

I have been made aware of a comment by two different people regarding my articles for our web site. These two readers felt that my articles “would go over people’s heads.” Please allow me to respond. I am simply writing in a manner and style which I have written in all my life and the contents are what I believe to be the core issues but they obviously felt that my articles were either too in-depth and/or the vocabulary and expressions I employ are beyond the grasp of many people. I sincerely appreciate any feedback and I invite people to send them to me directly but may I say that I do not agree with “dumbing down” the expression of one’s thoughts since this is condescending to the readers.

When I read a book by a renowned sociologist many years ago, I recall him saying in the introduction that he did not believe in talking down to his audience because this is essentially condescending. He meant that he would use the full length and breadth of his power of expression to deliver his thoughts and it would be up to his readers to decipher what he wrote if need be and investigate and question his message.

So I agree that it is up to readers to challenge themselves to digest and hopefully gain some new insight. Our main objective in communication is to be as clear and precise as possible. Anyway, I never thought my articles would be difficult for most people to comprehend.

We are in the business of morally and physically enriching people. In order to do this we must vigorously challenge the existing paradigm and elevate our approach so everyone is encouraged to contemplate in-depth on our reason for being.

One other comment I would like to make is that those of you who have read all my articles to date would have noticed that there has been a recurring theme in many of them. I have been trying to encourage the practitioners of Il Shim Taekwon-Do to stay focussed on core values as this is the heart of the art and my entreaties in this regard may have sounded esoteric to those who are new to our discipline. To take away the core values which are contained in the student oath and tenets is tantamount to taking the soul out of the art. Training in Taekwon-Do without concentrating on the spirit of the art is like reducing it to a system of physical movements.

May I say that I appreciate all feedback because it is through your comments, encouragement and criticisms that I will also grow.

I wish you and your families all the best for this festive season and may there be peace on earth in the New Year!

Please send me your thoughts to henry239@tpg.com.au

28 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton

Aberdeen Master Class and Grading 17th December 2011

Past Events

Aberdeen Master Class and Grading 17th December 2011.

After months of fine tuning, hard work and leadership practice master class and grading day had arrived. I was very nervous, as I am sure everyone else was, but I was even more nervous than previous grading’s cause this grading was for my Black Belt.

I arrived a little early to help set up the mats and help warm up the class, then Master Daher arrived….(even more nervous now). He greeted us all with smiles and told us not to look so worried and allowed us to choose if we wanted to grade first of have master class. Grading won, no more time for nerves. Aberdeen 171211

We all settled and said the student oath, started warming up and the grading began. I copped a few a few great kicks and punches and so did a few of the others but all us students tried very hard and am pleased to announce to go with my now black eye I am also a Black belt.

Master Daher presented myself and Brendan Love with our belts and also our new Do bocks, we were both very happy and proud of our achievement as we had both been working very hard together with the help, patients and understanding from our fellow students and our wonderful trainer Mr Christensen. Master Daher allowed us time to change into new Do bock and master class began.

In master class we were shown and also allowed to demonstrate correct foot and hand positions. Both Brendan and I had learnt these at the instructors course we attended in October, however it was a great opportunity to refresh and refine these fundamental movements.

Tae Kwon

Emily Tisdell

1st Dan

19 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton

The 3rd ITFNZ Instructors Conference

Past Events

The 3^rd ITFNZ Instructors Conference

By Steve Weston, 6^th dan, Tasmania

The first weekend of December saw a gathering in Rotorua of over 70 Instructors from throughout new Zealand along with the Oceanic President and another lone Australian Instructor for the 3^rd Instructors conference.

The weekend began on Friday with a senior dan grading of 3 candidates for 6^th dan, 2 for 5^th dan and 11 for 4^th dan. Following an afternoon of an intensive closed doors session that included a question and answer component for each candidate on their submitted thesis the candidates spent another 3 hours performing the open section their test in front of Senior Master Daher and ITFNZ Masters Davidson and McPhail as examiners and a large contingent of the conference delegates and members of the public.

All candidates had previously been required to fulfil fitness goals for the previous six months prior to testing and where therefore in peak physical condition for the grading.

The consequence was an awe inspiring display of patterns, sparring, self defence and breaking from all candidates. As should be expected the quality of performance was reflected by the rank of the candidates with the sixth degree performers showing the precision and accuracy that comes from many years of experience but could not detract from the level of enthusiasm displayed by the 5^th and 4^th degree candidates. Of particular note was the patterns performance of Mr Lawrence Manjika, the prearranged sparring routines of Mr Matthew Breen and Mark Banicevich and the gritty determination of the 59 year old Florinda Patterson in achieving her 4^th degree. Given that the preparation for the grading was so intensive it comes as no surprise that all candidates were successful in achieving their next rank. Congratulations go to all the candidates.

On Saturday morning the conference began with Master McPhail doing a quick session suitably titled “outside the square” that covered a range of training methods including the use of foam rollers to stimulate the fascia surrounding tissue and muscle as well as looking at some higher level “planking techniques” to develop core strength, and some ideas about how to recode the process of learning skills. Master McPhail provided some terrific supporting research on core strength by Professor Stuart McGill from Canada.

The next session led by Carolina Dillen, assisted by World Champion Jeremy Hanna. These two individuals develop a training program based around high intensity workouts that develop skills rapidly at a high level of competence with maximum strength and flexibility. They have numerous acronyms for their sessions from WOW to GPP and every session they present provides the practitioner with a challenging and dynamic workout. One of the most important features of the classes these young professionals provide is the recording of results from the routines practiced. By setting down the results the programs measure outcomes and development of student’s progress, an important feature that allows the student to set goals and measure their improvement. It is clear that these programs from two young and dynamic instructors will really attract those students who want to achieve high level skills rapidly in a fun atmosphere.

Following a short break Master Daher then provided an interesting session on kicking drills and provided some good ideas on working with children as well as getting better skills for adults. In particular his skills improved speed and strength in techniques as well as accuracy and focus. Master Daher’s simple message about ensuring the foot shape was correct for each individual kick at the beginning of the technique was an important feature in ensuring the correct execution of the technique. He also demonstrated some excellent exercises for developing concentration and focus.

After lunch, the invited guest speaker Mr Lee Paroroe who is a former naturopath who now works extensively with high performance sporting personalities, gave a fascinating session on “Power Posture”. This is about being body centred and involves the principles of shiatsu, neuromuscular therapy and self-mastery. His approach is to do a needs analysis for each athlete and involve them with whole body training encompassing their physical, mental and emotional state. Even though this approach may sound rather vague, its execution is much more specific, with very targeted exercises to develop speed, agility, core strength and flexibility. His knowledge of trigger points to switch off tension and relax the body was extensive, leading to improved athletic performance.

The last conference session for the day was presented by Mr Michael Lowe, who brings not only his Taekwon-do experience but also his teaching knowledge and ability. The implementation of the “NZ student centred coaching” was very clearly articulated by Mr Lowe and raised interesting discussion throughout his session. He outlined the reasons for the implementation of this approach to dealing with our athletes, and explained how this would lead to a career path for potential club, national and international coaches with International Taekwon-Do. This approach to coaching should create independent, confident and motivated exponents who will eventually be able to develop their own coaching needs. He explained that the rationale behind the approach was to allow the athlete to set out their objectives and have ownership of their learning process. The coach who can develop these skills will need to have excellent communication skills and be an excellent active listener. They must also be able to make their athletes think about their own learning processes in order to develop their programs.

Saturday night saw a tremendous meal with lots of convivial celebration once the results of the grading where announced. Mr Banicevich provided a comprehensive and professional report on his trip to Europe and the first ITF convention with only minor interruptions from his young son who clearly takes after his father in exuding charm and capturing the attention of his audience. Mr Thompson as CEO then outlined the progress of International Taekwon-Do that showed how well the plans are for the expansion and development of the body are going.

Sunday morning provided Master Davidson in his usual restrained style to outline the ITF Code of Conduct document he developed in conjunction with Mr Gautier, Ms Tran and Master Weiss. New Zealand exponents can feel proud to have contributed substantially to this document with much of it paralleling the code of conduct for NZ coaches developed by SPARC. It does reflect well the values of the Ideal Instructor and the philosophy of ITF Taekwon-do espoused by the Encyclopaedia of Taekwon-do.

After a short break the groups were separated into rank divisions and allocated to Master instructors to cover the senior patterns. This gave all of the newly promoted instructors their first opportunity to learn their new patterns with some of the best Instructors International Taekwon-do has to offer. This session brought together of the collective knowledge of the participants to achieve a clear understanding of how many of the techniques should be performed. The slightly less formal atmosphere to that of an IIC encouraged the participants to ask questions and gain a good understanding of how to achieve the best results when practicing their patterns.

The weekend was completed with a Q and A session of an expert panel that provided instructors with the opportunity to clarify many procedural and technical queries and generated a lot of interest and polite debate.

It is clear from the attendance and overall positive feeling that pervaded the weekend that these Instructors conferences will continue in the future and perhaps become even more regular than the five year span between each one so far.

18 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton

Exposed!

Past Events

EXPOSED!

Battle Hardened World Leading Taekwondo Expert 8^th Dan Black Belt Champion Master Daher Reveals

Little-Known Shortcut Training Secrets That Boosts Strength, Fitness, & Flexibility Within 2 Hours!”

For the man or woman that wants to get fit fast, without delay…

It all started at the largest Victorian Taekwondo Master Class and Grading Dec 2011

The room was packed with students both senior and juniors all waiting to see the masters in action and they weren’t disappointed!!

3^rd Dan Blackbelt John Dwight Passionately started the class while waiting for the Grand entrance of Master Daher and 5^th Dan Black Belt Mr Paul Harper.

Master Daher is a true leader whom is very grounded even with all his international achievements and celebrity status, for example he sat down on the floor with all of us and shared his wisdom as an equal, which is a rare quality and just highlight is magnificent Leadership ability.

The whole day was jam packed with highlights, my personal favorite was the Brand New fighting/self defense technique that Master Daher personally develop, which had never been shown before…that’s right you wont find these amazing techniques anywhere else in the world.

So if you want world class training attending the Master Class is a MUST !!

Darren Stephens

1^st Dan Black Belt IL Shim Melbourne

18 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton

Masterclass and Grading – Victoria, Dec 2011

Past Events

Over the weekend of the 10th and 11th of December we had the pleasure of hosting Master Daher to deliver Masterclasses & Gradings for our Victorian based clubs. The weekend saw 57 participants across two days (a record number of attendees for Victoria). A big thank you to Mr Dave Proctor, Mr John Dwight, Mr Steve Harper, Mrs Michelle Harper and Charles Sammut for their assistance across the weekend.

The Masterclass covered a mix of sparring techniques and drills and also self defence from a seated position on the floor. I had the personal experience of being on the other end of Master Daher demonstrating the techiques which was a lot of fun! Spending the weekend with Master Daher was a highlight for me personally as we discussed what is in store for Il Shim for 2012 and beyond. Very excited to part of the next phase of the journey of Il Shim.

Here are some notes from our senior belts:

Sunday 11th December 2011, the day commenced at 9.00am as IL Shim Melbourne and Latrobe Valley members started arriving at the Fairhills High School, with a Masterclass starting at 9.30 am, followed by a grading at around 11.00am. 42 students lined up ready to start the day with a general warm up.

Master Daher commenced the masterclass with a talk on respect for one’s self, followed by sparring drills (attack and counter attack with kicking combinations), followed by self defence in the seated position – defending and restraining the attacker. With a short break after the masterclass, the grading commenced with approximately 30 students grading. Performances were generally okay but I feel we all need to work on our technique along with an endeavour to maintain and or improve the levels required.

A few words of thought :-

Respect yourself and others will respect you.
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
Therefore be true to one’s self and success will come to you in many ways.

Taekwon,

John Dwight

3rd Dan IL Shim Melbourne

14 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton

Respect

Henry's Corner

Henry’s Corner December 2011 (1)

RESPECT

Dear Friends

Respect is a word that gets bandied about in this world and is a concept that is frequently cited as being central to human interactions, both with others and oneself. Hence it would be worthwhile for us to stop and ponder upon what this word actually signifies and the impact and consequences of the presence or lack of this quality in our lives especially as practitioners of Taekwon-Do.

There were a couple of incidents that I had heard of and encountered recently that spurred me onto writing about this concept here.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had encouraged a young man who resides in my neighbourhood to go and observe an Il Shim Taekwon-Do class since he had expressed an interest in studying a martial art. He went to the Parramatta branch and along the way he stopped to ask someone who was instructing some form of fitness class where the exact location of the Taekwon-Do class was. To cut a long story short, this instructor attempted to stop this young man from taking up Taekwon-Do since he claimed he could teach him a different style of fighting that would be more effective in a combat situation and he proceeded to denigrate our art of Taekwon-Do. How base is this! Not only does this man lack an understanding of the efficacy of Taekwon-Do as an art of self defence but he has resorted to a tactic which shows no respect to others.

I am a member of the Lions Club and one of the principles we are taught to abide by is that in promoting our own business it is not necessary to tear down the business of others. Even as a commercial tactic it is not wise to disparage your competition since your motive will be transparent to your clients and you will lose credibility. There is nothing wrong with selling the merits of your own business but it is ethically wrong and commercially counterproductive to speak disrespectfully of your competition.

The second catalyst for this article is Master Daher’s answer to someone’s question at dinner a few days ago. He was asked by someone what Taekwon-Do was all about and he simply said it was about respect. I thought about this afterwards and felt that this was one nice way to sum up our art and spurred me on to contemplating the correlation between Taekwon-Do and the concept of respect.

So what is the meaning of respect? It is almost like asking people what the meaning of love is. Respect is a word that is oft-expressed but has a nebulous form in most people’s consciousness. Allow me to define it. RESPECT IS THE GENUINE INTEREST IN AND CARE FOR THE HUMANITY OF OTHERS. Hence, self-respect would be the recognition of the inherent worth we have as human beings and maintaining our dignity.

To respect someone is not about offering blind obedience or absolute submission. In essence, respect is a concept void of any hierarchy. Respect should not be confused with fear or deference. It is about equality and, ipso facto, is about mutual regard for each other. We respect noble qualities in others and their talents and achievements but we also respect their needs and their desires. We do not have to like someone or agree with their views to respect them. Respect is about acknowledging every human beings inalienable right to dignity and equal consideration. Respect is not about tolerance since tolerance is about forbearance and respect is about genuine caring and recognition of the worth and needs of others.

One of the lessons I never forgot from my course on the Theory of Diplomacy at university is that even when you are victorious you need to give the other side a face saving way out because, first of all, subjecting your opponent to humiliation shows no respect for their right to dignity. Secondly, if your opponent is humiliated you will have created an enemy who will not forget you. If you can show caring, compassion and respect in your victory you may be able to maintain peace and your opponent may accept their defeat as one chapter in their journey and they will respect you for the respect you have shown them. That is why in Taekwon-Do tournaments we need to show our opponents the respect they deserve. Even in victory we must demonstrate our noble qualities and acknowledge the worth of our opponents and if not share the prize, at least, celebrate our common efforts to advance the higher values of our art.

In Taekwon-Do respect is shared by all members as a vital element in achieving the goals of being champions of freedom and justice and building a more peaceful world. The student oath to respect the instructor and seniors is valid in the sense that students need to submit themselves to the instructions of their instructors and seniors in order to facilitate their learning but essentially respect should flow in every direction. This will maintain cohesion and a culture of goodwill where we can focus on using Taekwon-Do to create a better world.

Food will nourish your body but respect will nourish your heart!

P.S. Please do not hesitate to send me your thoughts to henry239@tpg.com.au

11 December, 2011/0 Comments/by Shawn Sutton