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"WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN, OR WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN'T, YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT"                                                          Henry Ford

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                                                                                                                                 NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

JOIN US  IN LIVING SPRINGS CHRISTCHIURCH OLYMPIC TAEKWONDO CLUB CAMP 2012

"This is a great opportunity to spend a fun weekend with the club with focus periods of taekwondo" Where – Living Springs The camp will cost $100; cover all meals; morning/afternoon tea; and two nights’ accommodation. Secure your place For club members 14 and above, secure your place by giving your name and a non- refundable deposit of $20.00 to Nic, Neil or Joanne by 30th Jan 2012. (Age 10 – 13 if they wish to go please see Neil or Yorick)

Black Belt/ Black Tab Syllabus Self Defence Refresher 

Master Spatcher will be going over the complete self defence syllabus for the black belts/instructors and any black tabs who wish to revise. Even if you can only attend for part of the class come along.

Please wear dobok and bring your syllabus book, knives and sticks (if you have them) and a pen to take notes if required

When: Wednesday 25th January 2012,  6:00pm till 8:00pm 
Where: Shirley TKD Club, St Albans / Shirley Working Mens Club, 269 Hills Rd, Shirley

 

Black Belt Training Survey

Black Belts – please complete the Black Belt class survey so we can better meet your training needs this year.  Survey location is Christchurch Olympic Black Belt survey.  It will be open until the end of January.

CLUB PRIZE GIVING

Thank you everyone for attending and supporting the club with a great spread of food. There was a really good club atmosphere and I appreciated that I could attend and be part of a club with so many positive attributes. Thanks to the instructors and an especial thanks to Anita for all her help organizing the event and for the encouraging words during the prize giving. Have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. I look forward to seeing you all again during 2012.

View Prize Giving Pictures

Club Gradings Saturday 26^th November 2011

Junior Black belt Grading

The day began early at 7:30am for our 3 Black Belt applicants:  Abbi, Katie and Jimmy.  There was definitely a nervous tension in the air that morning but as more and more Black Belts, Students and friends and family arrived to watch the atmosphere quickly turned to excitement.  The Grading was taken by 6^th dan Master Peter Shaw who ensured all 3 applicants were put through their paces and pushed to their limits.

Although nerves provided the usual hurdle, all 3 students remained focussed and performed admirably.  Knowing how hard they had all individually worked on their fitness and technique leading up to the grading it was great to see how much they had each improved in the areas that they had each concentrated on.

The highlight for me was both the sparring and the board breaking.  Watching the determination and effort was inspirational and the fitness levels were amazing.  I think it is clear that our Tournament Classes are second to none, producing not only top performing Tournament Fighters but also giving our Students an excellent level of mental and physical stamina  for a Grading.  The breaking was a fantastic way to finish the grading with all 3 applicants breaking every board convincingly. 

I know I am not the only person who is very proud of Abbi, Katie & Jimmy.  It is not until you complete your own Black belt grading that you truly understand the preparation, determination and above all mental toughness that is required to get you through. It never ceases to amaze me how our Junior members continue to conduct themselves with maturity beyond their years setting a great example for the rest of Club.  It just goes to show that if you persevere and put the hard work in, anything is possible.

Congratulations to Abbi, Katie and Jimmy, we look forward to your contribution to the Club as new Junior Black Belts and watching each of you continue your success.

Kids Class Grading

Following the excitement of the Junior Black Belt Grading we had the Kids Class Grading at 11:00am.  It was fantastic to see all the kids sitting down the back of the Dojang watching our new Junior Black Belts receive their new black belts and certificates prior to their Grading starting and I am sure it provided great inspiration for them. 

The kids showed a great level of concentration and it was obvious that all students were trying hard to improve on their technique and have been listening hard to their Instructors.  There will always be new things to work on but it is great to see kids really trying and improving from one grading to the next. 

Of special note I commend the 3 white belts who endured a long 2 hour grading as their first introduction to Grading!  A 2 hour grading in front of a room full of Black Belts and spectators is a daunting prospect to any adult let alone a child and I admire the way they all gave it their best shot on the day.   There were some wonderful results and I know the Kids Class Instructors were very proud of all of you.

Combined Hoon Hay & Shirley Adult Grading

The final Grading of the day started at 1:00pm and was the Combined Hoon Hay & Shirley Adult Grading.  We had a total of 17 people grade ranging from white belt through to Blue Belt.  Steven Lovelock, Black Belt from Shirley took the group through a tough warm-up and fitness session that set the tone for a tough, physical grading. 

Again it was pleasing to see good focus and determination and some good levels of fitness.  Again our tournament fighters seem to benefit from the fitness training and mental toughness that tournaments require.  I highly recommend attending some tournament classes as you progress through the grades as it will set you in good stead as you work towards Black Belt. In addition to this it was obvious to see those that had been attending Liam’s Sunday Poomsae Class.  The attention to detail that Liam can offer in this class is excellent preparation for any grading and I highly recommend that Students who want to improve their Poomsae get along and make use of Liam’s knowledge and experience. 

As with any Grading there are always the areas that we need to focus on for next time and perfecting basic techniques in terms of stances, blocks, kicks and strikes will be high on the agenda for 2012.  Be prepared for some serious fine tuning as we look to maintain a high standard within the Club.  Remember that attendance is crucial if you wish to grade and without a high level of attendance it is very hard to learn the required syllabus. So make it your mission in 2012 to get to every class and then see the benefits at the next grading.

Thanks to the Black belts

I’d like to thank all the Black belts who attended and participated in the day’s Gradings.  It is something pretty special when you see the walls lined with Black Belts and I know that our Students grade with more intensity when the Black belts are there supporting and encouraging.  We have a really strong team of people that all play a critical part in the Club and in particular Gradings. Thank you for giving up your time to support the Club and our Students.

Thanks to the Committee

Finally a big thank you to our fantastic Committee Team who supported the 3 Gradings with a sausage sizzle and a portaloo! The portaloo was a great idea and anyone who has graded will appreciate how good it is to have a toilet so close the dojang! (enough said)  The sausage sizzle and drinks provided were also greatly appreciated by Students and spectators.  These innovative ideas from our Committee really made it a great, social day for the Club and made what was a very long day so much more bearable for all.   Thanks to everyone for their efforts.

Anita Harding 

"A huge thank you to everyone that has helped get my kids to where they are today in taekwondo and life"

Seven and a half years ago my kids started at the Christchurch Olympic Taekwondo Club.  When we walked into the dojang I was so amazed at the atmosphere of the club. Karesha was 8, Jimmy was 5, and we were made to feel really welcome.  I remember looking at the kids who had achieved their blue belts and thinking - wow - I hope my kids can get to that level!!  They did, and even went further to become Black Belts!!  It has to be by far the most proud moment of my life when my kids both got their black belts, and Karesha with her senior belt was outstanding.  I am so proud of my kids for so many reasons but to have stuck at a sport for nearly 8 years is pretty incredible, plus fighting around NZ in this sport too.  The 3 months leading up to each of their grading’s has at times been trying as they don't always want to train but on the whole they were really easy to persuade and bribe.  Jimmy loved getting to go "out the back" and eat the cakes and lollies after the grading and going outside to discuss the kids grading as a first time black belt!! He finally took off his new uniform that Alan got for him at 5.30pm that night! Between going to the dojang 4 times a week some weeks for many years and plus cleaning it every 2nd week I feel like I live there sometimes but is has been so worth it as we have made some life long friends and have had so many fantastic times and laughs with the club, especially going away on tournaments.   A huge thank you to everyone that has helped get my kids to where they are today in taekwondo and life, you are all so amazing.

Andrea

 

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