News from the Stawell Club

Quality over quantity

December 15 saw the final grading of the year take place for Il Shim Stawell, with Mr Paul Harper & Mrs Michelle Harper braving ongoing road works to attend. The numbers were a little disappointing, with only 6 students being able to grade. However, as has often been the case in the Stawell club, when we lack numbers we make up for it in sheer determination.

The Masterclass gave students instruction in the four aspects of competition taekwon-do, with Mrs Harper sharing her experience as a representative of ITF Australia in patterns to help students understand what judges are looking for, and Mr Harper breaking down, as it were, the finer points of power breaking, sparring and special technique.

TKD SparringChon JiAlthough it was not during the Masterclass, there was one piece of advice given to students by Mr Harper that had incredible results that were immediately visible. When questioned, all of the students grading had admitted that correct hand position was one of the most difficult aspects of taekwon-do to learn. Mr Harper’s simple advice, to get your hands in the right position before carrying out a particular move, drastically improved student’s performance in their patterns. While this is something we might share with beginning white belts, it is easy to forget that such pearls of wisdom can also benefit young students of any level.

Group shotFor the first time since becoming instructor at the Stawell club one of my students did not show the skill level required to advance to their next belt, in this case, red tip. While disappointing for the student involved it was a valuable lesson that I had been unable to successfully communicate verbally to my senior belt students. If you do not practise regularly at home you will not pass your grading!  Going for your 3rd Kup is a very different story to going to your 8th. (Are you reading this Stawell seniors??)  Only hard work is rewarded, not just attendance. The five remaining students who ranged from 9th Kup to 5th Kup were outstanding, showing excellent power and flexibility.

As always, everyone in attendance learnt a huge amount with the help of Mr & Mrs Harper, who are able to share their wisdom in a wonderfully uncomplicated and oft amusing manner. And as always, we are all very grateful to you both, and looking forward to putting everything into practise before the first grading of the new year.

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Travelling around Victoria and interstate to compete in ITF tournaments is one of the great joys of learning taekwon-do, and certainly one of the most beneficial in terms of the learning that takes place in the process.  However the time, cost and travel involved mean that it is a privilege many of my students at Il Shim Stawell have not had the opportunity to undertake.  For this reason I decided earlier in the year to hold a ‘mini tournament’ for the club, open only to members of Il Shim Stawell.

Events were limited to patterns and special technique, and categories to 10th – 6th Kup and 5th to 1st Kup. Mats were kindly loaned by the local gymnastics club, and the judging panel consisted of myself and two former Il Shim La Trobe students, Trent Pakarinen Stephens and Claire Jones. Being such a small event the need for stewards was virtually nonexistent, however we did have a first aid team on site, just in case.

Carlee side kickThe nervousness of students, whether competing for the first time or not, reiterated the benefit of competition experience. Even some of the more experienced students came unstuck in their patterns by watching their competitor rather than focusing on themselves. It was pleasing to see the tremendous spirit shown by all competitors, and the decision as to whom to award the ‘Spirit of Taekwon-do’ trophy required much deliberation.

Heath turning kickThe tournament achieved a 100% success rate in competitor satisfaction and enjoyment, and I’m sure the students all benefited greatly from the experience. While I still have a lot to learn in the refereeing department I would like very much one day in the future to extend the invitation to other Il Shim Clubs and expand the itinerary to cover all four events.  Watch this space!

Corinne Leahy

Il Shim Stawell

Masterclass August 2012

What we lacked in numbers we made up for in determination and good looks . . .

Sunday August 19th held the first grading and masterclass undertaken in Stawell without the supervision of our former instructor and wise elder ( J ) Mr Steven Harper.  Had he been able to be there I’m sure he would have been chuffed.  The effort students put in in the lead up to the grading was rewarded with all 12 of us going up a notch in the kups.

The day began with a masterclass on sparring led by Mr Paul Harper.  Foot work, creating opportunities for point scoring, coping under pressure and putting pressure on the opponent were key features of the very informative, if a little exhausting, session.  Students then put all of their practice into, erm . . . practice, running through fundamentals, patterns and kicking combinations.  A special mention must be made to Tyler McHenry who scored exceptionally well and came very close to double grading.  Well done Tyler!  It was also lovely to have Miss Amber Harper back in the hood, we would love for her to be a regular visitor.

We’ve got plenty to work on before the next grading, but if all of the Stawell students do as well in December as they did on Sunday they can be very happy campers.  A very big thank you to Mr and Mrs Harper and family for a great day and for making the journey to Stawell to put us through our paces.

Corinne Raymant – Instructor, Stawell

Masterclass August 2012 Sparring drills Masterclass August 2012

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On Saturday the 2nd of April, Master Daher and Mr Paul Harper travelled to Stawell to run our first grading and masterclass for 2011. For many of the students it was their first time meeting Master Daher.

The masterclass commenced with a focus on the self defence techniques Master Daher had showed us at the masterclass in December, 2010. We had been practising them during class but Master Daher wanted to teach us the fine detail of the movements. We practised No.1 – release from an arm grab, No.2 release from arm grab with wrist control and No.3 release from someone grabbing the clothing at the elbow and control. The students picked up the finer details of the movements very well and we will certainly be incorporating these movements into our syllabus.

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The second half of our masterclass concentrated on fundamental movements. Master Daher had the class run through some basic fundamental movements and quickly analysed and diagnosed problems with the class. We started at the beginning with the stable rock of our art, our stances.

We first worked on the length of our walking stances, which for many of our students starting out is a real problem. Master Daher taught us that walking stance is natural, that we shouldn’t force our bodies to do anything out of the ordinary and that the only difference between walking in the street and our walking stance is the length. We bring our balance to our centre line in both instances but stride longer in walking stance. We then used the lines painted in our gymnasium to guide us in our width of stance and where to place our feet for a correct walking stance. The class then walked up and down the hall trying to perfect the one shoulder width and one and a half shoulder width in length stance that is our walking stance.

We then practised our L-stance with a firm focus on the weight distribution of 70% back and 30% front. The correct length of our L stance is one shoulder width from the outside of the rear foot (the footsword) to the toes of the front foot. The correct width for L-stance is 2.5 cm between the heel of the front foot and the rear heel. Both feet are pointed 15 degrees inward. We also practised moving in our walking stance using the lines as our centre of gravity. The lines were an excellent aid in trying to perfect our stances.

The grading then commenced with all students working hard to pass. All students did very well. As always there are many things to work on after a grading and we will be working very hard to correct their techniques.

Thank you to Master Daher and Mr Harper for travelling to Stawell, we look forward to seeing you both again for our next grading and Masterclass.

View more photos in our Gallery

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On the 12th of December, Master Daher along with Mr Paul Harper travelled to Stawell to oversee the second Master Class and Grading for the Stawell Club. The students were keen to finish off the year with a bang and had worked hard to achieve what they have in 2010.

The focus for our second Master Class was Self defence. Master Daher ran through four scenarios and broke down each into easy to remember steps. The smiles on the students faces confirmed that they were certainly enjoying the training. Every class will now incorporate these new self defence techniques to hone the students abilities.

The grading commenced after the Master Class and there were quite a few anxious students. Master Daher commenced the grading session highlighting the need for power and hard work. During the grading Master Daher focussed on the need for a long walking stance. Each student was implored to take a positive outlook on Master Daher’s comments regarding their technique.

To finish off the grading Mr Steve Harper, was awarded his Second Degree black belt by Master Daher after grading at the Black Belt grading on the Gold Coast in September 2010.

The students of Stawell look forward to learning their new patterns and self defence techniques and will welcome Master Daher back for the next grading to be held in April 2011.

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The 8am start on the Sunday saw quite a few sore bodies back on the floor. I had woken in the middle of the night with a cramp running down the inside of my hamstring. OUCH! We were all quite fatigued Sunday morning, our thoughts while we worked on our step sparring routines were with our seniors still on the floor performing 3rd and 4th degree patterns. I found my core was quite stiff and sore as well as hamstrings and quads. Po Eun sitting stances had been worked on for quite a while the day before! After the 3rd and 4th degree patterns were completed we ran though some step sparring and breaking. We finished off the 2 day session with a fitness test. Nothing could prepare any of us for this. Our heart rates were maxed out multiple times!

The entire grading was a physical and mental challenge. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted but each of us certainly earnt our promotion. As Master Daher had told us during the grading we were the first (but not the last!) to earn a black belt promotion over two days. Il Shim is the only organisation to run black belt grading over two days. The experience was something each of us will remember for the rest of our lives. Master Daher has promised that the next black belt grading will be even harder. I am already looking forward to my next grading.

Thanks to Master Daher in his guidance and advice over my years of training. I would also like to thank my brother Paul and sister in law Michelle. Finally, I would also like to thank my wife Catherine for her support and my children Amber (especially for being my step sparring partner!), Rose and Zavier. Also a special mention to my constant canine companion when I get up to train at 5.45am five days a week! Thanks Hannah!

Recovery after the grading consisted of relaxing in a swimming pool, well earnt I believe!

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Master Daher conducted the Master Class before the grading and introduced himself to the not only the students but also the many spectators as well. After his brief introduction highlighting Master Daher’s experience and outlook on Martial Arts the class got down to business. Master Daher quickly established a rapport with the students and their nerves calmed. One of the highlights of the Masterclass was Master Daher teaching the white belts Chon-Ji in 10 minutes! Many of the students were invited onto the floor in pairs and individually to perform a pattern they had only briefly seen performed by the more senior students of the class. Each student, under the tuition of Master Daher, performed very well with the whole hall looking on. This would have to be the fastest ever lesson in how to perform our first pattern and the students performed it so well the senior belts were left wondering what the secret was! The Masterclass ran through many of the fundamental techniques of Taekwon-Do and was extremely successful.

Grading Report

The Masterclass had eased some of the nerves of the students, however, Mr Harper was remained nervous, wondering how his club would perform. All of the students performed extremely well with everyone passing.

Eleven students were graded from white belt to yellow tip. With eight students grading to yellow tip and the three younger members of the class grading to W/S. All of the students were presented with their certificate and promoted to their next belt by Master Daher on the day. There were many smiling, relieved students after the grading, not to mention Mr Harper!

 The Stawell students and Mr Harper look forward to Master Daher’s return for our next grading in December.

Comments:

Emily (8 years of age) – I think it was fun and the teacher was interesting.

Austin (10 years of age) – I am very proud of myself for grading to yellow tip. I really enjoyed the whole experience.

Koedy (14 years of age)– I was hard but worth it.

Tom (14 years of age) – It was different but fun to get yellow tip

Cory (13 years of age) – It was fun but hard at the same time

Darren – Learnt a great deal of information. Thank you for the opportunity

Sharon – Great experience, encourage more in Stawell. Thanks, Sir.

Graham – Inspirational – just great. Worth all the time spent.

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