Success at UKTA English Open

Congratulations to the students of Grandmaster Howard’s Taekwon-Do School who performed so well at the recent UKTA’s English Open Championships in Guildford. The six students; Emmet, Eoin, Finn, Joyce, Max, and Sofia, were part of the RITA’s colourbelt squad development programme and represented Ireland at the event.

All the students did themselves and their coach (Mr Adam Fox) proud and moved their performance up a level on the day. ‘They all listened to their instructions and often had to did deep to win. The sections were big, and it was great that they got 3 or 4 rounds of experience before reaching the medals’ said Mr Fox.

The young martial artists returned to Dublin with a total of 11 medals. The medals; 6 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze, were won across all three events (patterns, sparring and special technique).

The students, who come from Blanchardstown, Cabra, Castleknock, and Navan road, are still only 11 and 12 years old and showed that they are prepared to work hard and make sacrifices to improve their Taekwon-Do skills.

‘All six of them have come up through our Tigers and Dragons (children’s development programme) and have been training since they were 6 or 7 years old’ said Master Howard. ‘They have developed really well and being part of the colour belt squad has helped them to move up to the next level’ he added.

But as we know Taekwon-Do is more than about winning medals. It is about self-improvement and moral development. This is best summed up by what Mr Fox said to the squad at the end of the successful day. ‘What made me happy today was that the umpires and officials complimented you on your courtesy, respect and politeness. Your hard work, training and desire to be better were evident in your performances today. The medals were a bonus’.

Mr Leon McSherry and Mr Patrick Choi also competed at the weekend. Mr McSherry won silver in the 3^rd/4^th degree patterns. While Mr Choi won a bronze in the 2^nd Degree patterns.

Mr Fox and Master Howard would like to thank all the parents who supported their children during the trip and over the months of preparation. They would also like to thank the tournament organiser Mr David Norris and the UKTA members for their hospitality and warm welcome over the weekend, and for hosting a tournament of the highest standard. Finally thanks to the National Team black belts who shared their experience and coaching skills with the squad members on the day

Results

Emmet O’Rourke	Gold Sparring, Bronze Special Technique
Eoin McLoughlin	Gold Special Technique, Silver Sparring
Finn Howard	Gold Special Technique, Silver Sparring
Joyce Yu	Bronze Sparring
Max Cleary	Gold Sparring, Bronze Patterns
Sofia Hu	Gold Sparring, Silver Special Technique

Fun Challenge - Dragon's Homework

GRANDMASTER HOWARD’S TAEKWON-DO SCHOOL

Presents

Cabra Fun Challenge 2015

Sunday 19^th April 2015

St Joseph’s Hall, Navan Rd

Tigers: 10-12pm, Dragons: 12.45-3pm

Special events for boys and girls of the Taekwon-Do Tigers & Dragons

All Spectators Welcome

www.grandmasterhoward.com

Home Practice for Fun Challenge for the Dragon Class

This is a special class to prepare your child for real tournaments in the future. It is a fun event and is designed to encourage your child to practice their Taekwon-Do at home. It will be held in the St Joseph’s Hall, Navan Rd.

Events

· Pattern (of their grade, 4-directional punch, or Chon Ji)

· Stretching routine –15 seconds to impress the judges with your flexibility.

· Jump turning kick to a pad.

· Team sparring

Safety Equipment

All children will be sparring and will need to bring their gums shields. Boys will need their groin guards.

Your child will be put on a team for the team sparring. If they can’t attend please text me to let me know so I can rearrange the team

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thanks

Instructor

Master Robert Howard

087-56987624

Cost: As this special class has grown in recent years we now need to charge a small fee (€5) to cover the cost of the hall and the medals. Maximum €10 per family.

Application Form- please return to Master Howard byTuesday 31^st March

Child’s Name: ; Age

Belt: Please circle your child’s class: Tigers or Dragons

My child can attend the fun challenge and I enclose €5 for this special class.

Parent’s signature:

Fun Challenge - Tigers Homework

GRANDMASTER HOWARD’S TAEKWON-DO SCHOOL

Presents

Cabra Fun Challenge 2015

Sunday 19^th April 2015

St Joseph’s Hall, Navan Rd

Tigers: 10-12pm, Dragons: 12.45-3pm

Special events for boys and girls of the Taekwon-Do Tigers & Dragons

All Spectators Welcome

www.grandmasterhoward.com

Home Practice for Fun Challenge for the Tiger Class

Events

· 4-Step Kick

· Stretching routine –15 seconds to impress the judges with your flexibility.

· Jump overhead kick to a pad.

· Team sparring

Safety Equipment

All children will be sparring and will need to bring their gums shields. Boys will need their groin guards.

Your child will be put on a team for the team sparring. If they can’t attend please text me to let me know so I can rearrange the team

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thanks

Instructor

Master Robert Howard

087-56987624

Cost: As this special class has grown in recent years we now need to charge a small fee (€5) to cover the cost of the hall and the medals.

Application Form- please return to Master Howard byTuesday 31^st March

Child’s Name: ; Age

Belt: Please circle your child’s class: Tigers or Dragons

My child can attend the fun challenge and I enclose €5 for this special class.

Parent’s signature: _________________________________________________

Fun Challenge and other important dates

Fun Challenge and other important dates

Dear Parents,

As mentions in class we are having your annual Fun Challenge on Sunday 19^th April 2015. This is a special class to allow your child to show their new skills and develop their competition skills in a fun and safe environment. There will be four events; stretching, 4-step kick (4 directional punch for Dragons), jumping kick, and sparring. Please see pages for more information.

The event will take place in St Joseph’s School, Navan rd, (Tigers, 10 am- 12.30 pm, Dragons (1 pm – 3.30 pm).

To cover the cost of the medals and trophies etc, there is a charge of €5 per child with a maximum of €10 per family.

Other important dates

Due to Easter and other events, there will be a few days with no classes in April.

17^th March – St Patrick’s Day (no Tuesday class)

21^st March – Saturday -Dragons class is 10 am to 11am just for this day, as your instructors (and other students) are going to the English Taekwon-Do championships.

3^rd April – Good Friday – No class

4th April - Easter Saturday - No Class

7^th April – No Tuesday class.

11^th April – ITF Ireland Cup Tallaght (open to yellow tag Dragons,) – No Saturday class.

19^th April – Fun Challenge

Taekwon-Do Tiger’s & Dragon’s Code

I will practice the goals of Taekwon-Do.
I will respect my teachers and parents
I will never misuse Taekwon-Do.
I will always do what is right.
I will make the world a better place.

Patterns: video and information sheets on the Dragons 4-Directional Punch and Chon-Ji tul are on www.grandmasterhoward.com. Go to members area; username: Dragons, password: training

Tigers 4 STEP Kick (Yearly Cycle C)

Start: sitting ready stance

Moving to the right

1) Bring the left foot to the right foot, lift the right knee, do a right leg side kick with right high punch (left hand on the left hip) land in Sitting Stance

2) Bring the left foot to the right foot, lift the right knee, do a right leg side kick with right high punch (left hand on the left hip) land in Sitting Stance

3) Bring the left foot to the right foot, lift the right knee, do a right leg side kick with right high punch (left hand on the left hip) land in Sitting Stance

4) Bring the left foot to the right foot, lift the right knee, do a right leg side kick with right high punch (left hand on the left hip) land in Sitting Stance

Moving to the left (turn face to the left)

1) Bring the right foot to the left foot, lift the left knee, do a left leg side kick with left high punch (right hand on the right hip) land in Sitting Stance

2) Bring the right foot to the left foot, lift the left knee, do a left leg side kick with left high punch (right hand on the right hip) land in Sitting Stance

3) Bring the right foot to the left foot, lift the left knee, do a left leg side kick with left high punch (right hand on the right hip) land in Sitting Stance

4) Bring the right foot to the left foot, lift the left knee, do a left leg side kick with left high punch (right hand on the right hip) land in Sitting Stance

With practice you should be able to.....

have the kicking leg fully straight at the end of the kick
pull the top of your foot back so that you kick with the side of your foot
turn your standing foot in the opposite direction to your kicking leg
do a high punch while kicking and put the other hand on your hip

Colour Belt Squad Selection

Congratulations to the members of Grandmaster Howard’s Taekwon-Do School who were selected for the RITA’s national colourbelt squad. The squad will represent Ireland at the UKTA’s English Open on 21/22nd March, in Guilford.

Head coach of the colourbelt squad development programme, Mr Adam Fox, announced the squad on Sunday after the Scion Open tournament in Cork. He said that he picked the squad not based on talent but based on hard work and improvement. He told the selected members “you worked hard to be good enough to be picked, but now you need to work harder and improve further”.

The RITA’s colourbelt squad is a development programme aimed at raising the standard of its competitors and giving them more practice and experience at tournaments. Next Colour Belt squad training is in Carrick-on-Suir on Sunday 22nd February (11-2pm).

Students were selected from four RITA schools; Carrick-on-Suir, GM Howard’s, Kilmacow, and Stillorgan.

The students from GM Howard’s school selected are list below and come from are from Cabra, Navan rd, Castleknock and Blanchardstown;

Emmet O’Rourke
Eoin McLoughlan
Finn Howard
Joyce Yu
Max Cleary
Sofia Hu

See www.rita-itf.org for a full list of the students selected