International Irish Open Championships
Cork City November 2006
Senior Black Belt Results
Black Belt Matsogi:
Male -54kg:
1.. James Stack (Ireland)
2.. Eoin O’ Muinneachain (Ireland)
3.. Tomas Crotty (Ireland)
Male -63kg:
1.. Michael Belle (England)
2.. Winojj Ramsoebagh (Holland)
3.. Aristides Palopoli (Argentina)
Male -71kg:
1.. Dave Pixton (England)
2.. Josh Atiya Alla (England)
3.. Ariel Alemanno (Argentina)
1.. Tim Kool (Holland)
2.. Kirk Stephens (England)
3.. David O’ Sullivan (Ireland)
1.. Sean Keane (Ireland)
2.. Richard Belle (England)
3.. Daniel Modarelli (Argentina)
1.. Lucy Wolf (England)
2.. Nicole Jarvis (England)
3.. Mary Manion (Ireland)
Ladies -58kg
1.. Valesca Den Boer (Belgium)
2.. Janice Connolly (Ireland)
3.. Carla Dunne (England)
Ladies -64kg
1.. Stacey Weatherer (England)
2.. Emma Deakin (England)
3.. C. O’Sullivan/A. Foley (Ireland)
Ladies +64kg
1.. Kathy Dunne (Ireland)
2.. Moira McElligott (Ireland)
3.. Rebecca Dearlove (England)
Male I Dan:
1.. Chris Quemby (England)
2.. Steffan Fusco (Ireland)
3.. Jamaine Hemmings (England)
Male II and III Dan:
1.. Ezequal Unzien (Argentina)
2.. Gerardo Foigelman (Argentina)
3.. Diarmuid McSweeney (Ireland)
Male IV Dan:
1.. Christian Oriolani (Spain)
2.. Ariel Alemanno (Argentina)
3.. Graham Connolly (Ireland)
Female I and II Dan
1.. Annmarie Rooney (England)
2.. Valesca Den Boer (Belgium)
3. Claire O’ Sullivan (Ireland)
Female III and IV Dan:
1.. Janice Connolly (Ireland)
2.. Rebecca Dearlove (England)
3.. Mary Mannion (Ireland)
Benidorm, Spain November 2006
A small group of our members joined the WKA Ireland squad to take part in these championships and returned with 1 Gold and 2 Bronze medals. Gabbie Naughton (Newcastle West TKD) won Gold in the -25kg sparring. Jessica Naughton won Bronze in the -30kg sparring division, a fantastic achievement as this was the first major international tournament for both girls. Ms Claire O'Sullivan (Cahirciveen TKD) won bronze in the Korean forms division. Ms O'Sullivan was unfortunate to lose a very close quarter final match in the -60kg sparring as was Ms Moira McElligott in the +65kg division.
Master-class with Master Jose Maidana
Newcastle West, October 2006
On Saturday October 7th, Newcastle West Taekwon-Do club played host to Argentina's National team coach Master Jose Maidana, 7th Dan. Master Maidana was in Ireland for a series of Master-classes in Newcastle West, Tralee, Galway, Athlone, Wexford, Cork and Dublin. Master Maidana has been coach to Argentina for 12 hugely successful years, during which time they have been among the top medal position in several World Championships. During the session in Newcastle West, Master Maidana covered sparring strategies and training techniques which he uses in his national squad sessions. Club head Instructor Mr. Riordan and 3 of his black belt Instructors; Ms. Claire O' Sullivan, Ms Maryann O'Brien and Ms. Julieanne McAuliffe, also attended a 2 day Instructor training seminar with Master Maidana which was held in Kanturk. This seminar ran from 9am to 4pm each day and comprehensively covered the grading syllabus from white belt through to black belt.
ITF European Championships
Wetzlar, Germany July 2006
ITF National Association Germany (NAG) played host to the 18th Senior, 9th Junior.1st Veterans and 1st colour belt European Championships.
A huge IUTF/ITF Ireland squad took part under the guidance of Senior team manager/senior men's coach, Mr Dalton - Junior team manager/junior boy's coach, Mr Riordan - senior ladies coach , Mrs Dalton - Junior girl's coach, Mr Fitzgibbon.12 members of Riordan's Taekwon-do Schools (RTKDS) were among a very successful squad which returned an impressive medal tally (see IUTF web-site for full results).
Mr Riordan made a successful return to competition winning 4 medals in the Veteran's (over 37) section, including Gold in the -80kg sparring division.
Results of RTKDS members;
Veteran's:
Mr John Riordan (Instructor), -80kg sparring Gold, 4th to 7th dan pattern Bronze, Team pattern Bronze, special technique Bronze.
Senior Ladies:
Ms Claire O' Sullivan (Cahirciveen), -58kg sparring Gold, team power silver, team sparring silver.
Ms Julieanne McAuliffe (Newcastle West), +70kg sparring silver, individual power silver, team sparring silver.
Ms Moira McElligott (Listowel), team sparring silver, team special technique silver, team power silver, individual power bronze
Ms Jennifer Kelly (Listowel), -52kg sparring silver, individual special technique silver, team special technique silver, team power silver.
Junior Boy's
John Spence (Listowel), -63kg sparring silver, team sparring silver, team special technique gold.
Tim Tierney (Newcastle West), -52kg sparring bronze.
Junior Girl's
Labhaoise Keane (Listowel), - 53kg sparring bronze, team sparring bronze, team special technique gold, team power gold.
Emer Curran (Cahirciveen), team sparring bronze, team special technique gold, team power gold.
Colour Belt
Mr Danny O' Connell (Listowel), individual sparring bronze.
Click below to see photo's from European Championships
Taekwon-Do Ireland West Cork Open
Bandon, Co Cork May 2006
A small number of students from Riordan's Taekwon-do Schools took part in this event, some with one eye on the forthcoming ITF European Championships. They returned an impressive tally of trophies in both junior and senior divisions. Results were;
Sparring;
Senior ladies;
Black belt lightweight - Emer Curran, Cahirciveen Tkd - 2nd
Senior Men;
Green to Red lightweight - Mr Danny o' Connell, Listowel Tkd - 1st
Junior boys;
U-17 Black belt - John Spence, Listowel Tkd - 1st
Junior Girls;
U-14 Black belt - Holly Doyle, Listowel Tkd - 2nd
U-10 Green to Black - Jessica Naugton, Newcastle West Tkd - 1st
Gabbie Naughton, Newcastle West Tkd - 2nd
Pattern;
U-10 Jessica Naughton, Newcastle West Tkd - 1st
Gabbie Naughton, Newcastle West Tkd - 2nd
Photos from Taekwon-do Ireland West Cork Open - Click to enlarge
IUTF Annual Black Belt Grading
Kanturk, Co Cork April 2006
Congratulations to the following members of Riordan's Taekwon-Do Schools who were promoted to 1st degree black belt at this years grading. A special mention must go to Ms Moira McEliigott of Listowel Tkd who achieved the highest overall score.
Listowel Tkd - Ms Moira McElligott, Ms Jennifer Kelly, John Spence, Holly Doyle.
Cahirciveen Tkd - Mr John Murphy, Keith McCarthy.
Newcastle West Tkd - Ms Imelda Somers, Jamie Herlihy, Aisling Yataki, Jessica Naughton.
The 1st Annual Hwa-Rang Cup
Listowel, Co Kerry - April 2nd, 2006
Click to see more photos from the tournament
The 1st annual Hwa-Rang cup proved to be a huge success with 120 competitors from Riordan's Taekwon-do Schools taking part, Mr O'Sullivan also had a small number of students attending from his Charleville club. The main goal of this event was to introduce new students to the tournament stage in a friendly low key atmosphere, also there were also many more seasoned competitors taking part. The tournament ran very smoothly and took just under 4 hours to complete. Special thanks to referees/judges and senior students who worked so hard to accomplish this.
The day began with individual patterns split by age and grade and progressed to team patterns. The overall standard of students patterns has improved greatly since the recent introduction of team patterns, it proved to be a tough task for the judges to decide on the winning teams. The day ended with sparring, numbers of competitors in each divisions were kept to a minimum to ensure fairness for all. Congratulations to all students who took part.
The Hwa-Rang cup for best overall competitor was presented to Gabbie Naughton of Newcastle West Taekwon-do club.
HWA-RANG CUP RESULTS BELOW
INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS
white belt
Gold - Sean McElligott - Listowel, Silver - Eamon Lacey - Listowel, Bronze - Sarah Corbett - Newcastle West
yellow tip 1
Gold - Donna McCarthy - Cahirciveen, Silver - Nikita Harnett - Newcastle West, Bronze - Aoife o' Donoghue and Casey o' Donoghue - Cahirciveen
yellow tip 2
Gold - Kieran Kennedy - Newcastle West, Silver - Niall o' Shea - Cahirciveen, Bronze - Brian Dillon - Listowel and Sean o' Sullivan - Waterville
yellow tip 3
Gold - Jonathan Regan - Listowel, Silver - Natasha Regan - Listowel, Bronze - Shane Corridon - Listowel and Gavin Dillon - Listowel
yellow stripe
Gold - Aaron Stack - Listowel, Silver - PJ Herr - Charleville, Bronze - Tracy Collins - Charleville and Jack Mulvihill - Listowel
yellow belt
Gold - Patrick Condon - Listowel, Silver - Fiona Mahoney - Listowel, Bronze - Triona o' Donnell - Listowel and Liam Mahoney - Listowel
green stripe 1
Gold - Darragh o' Regan - Listowel, Silver - Robyn Doyle - Listowel, Bronze - Donal Doyle - Listowel
green stripe 2
Gold - Lauren Flavin - Listowel, silver - Laura Greaney - Newcastle West, Bronze - Liam Kelly - Listowel
green/blue stripe
Gold - Barry Mc Mahon - Newcastle West, Silver - Jackie Quinn - Newcastle West, Bronze - Laura Stack - Listowel
blue/red stripe
Gold - Gabbie Naughton - Newcastle West, Silver - Eoin Kenny - Listowel, Bronze - Liam o' Connor - Listowel
red/black stripe
Gold - Emma o' Shea - Cahirciveen, Silver - Jessica Naughton - Newcastle West, Bronze - Aisling Yataki - Newcastle West
TEAM PATTERNS
white - yellow stripe
Gold - Newcastle West 1, Silver - Taekwon-do ghosts, Bronze - Taekwon-do tigers
yellow/green stripe
Gold - The Lions 1, Silver - Cahirciveen United, Bronze - Team Titons
green - red
Gold - The Jags - Silver - The Lions 2, Bronze - L.A.D Tigers
SPARRING (Divisions were split by age/height/experience level)
U-8 Boys 1
Gold - PJ Herr - Charleville, Silver - Liam Mahoney - Listowel, Bronze - Frankie Herr - Charleville and Neilus Mackessy - Listowel
U-8 Boys 2
Gold - Shane o' Connor - Cahirciveen, Slver - Donal Doyle - Listowel, Bronze - Ronan Carmody - Listowel and Jason Kenny - Listowel
U-8 Boys 3
Gold - Danny Quinland - Listowel, Silver - Adam Corbett - Newcastle West, Bronze - Darragh o' Regan - Listowel and Aaron Stack - Listowel
U-10 Boys 1
Gold - Eamon Lacey - Listowel, Silver - Kieran Kennedy - Newcastle West, Bronze - Kevin McElligott - Listowel and Sean o' Sullivan - Waterville
U-10 Boys 2
Gold - Sean Moran - Cahirciveen, Silver - Adam Greaney - Newcastle West, Bronze - Patrick Buckley - Listowel and Gavin o' Reilly - Newcastle West
U-10 Boys 3
Gold - Pol Clees - Waterville, Silver - Cian o' Se - Cahirciveen, Bronze - Conor o' Connor - Cahirciveen and Dillon o' Donoghue - Waterville
U-10 Boys 4
Gold - Liam o' Connor - Listowel, Silver - Joshua Hilliard - Listowel, Bronze - Patrick Quinn - Newcastle West and Jack Gogarty - Listowel
U-12 Boys 1
Gold - Sean McElligott - Listowel, Silver - Jonathan Regan - Listowel, Bronze - Connor Corbett - Newcastle West and Gavin Dillon - Listowel
U-12 Boys 2
Gold - Colm o' Dwyer - NewcastleWest, Silver - James Pearce - Listowel, Bronze - Patrick Condon - Listowel and Luc White - Listowel
U-14 Boys
Gold - Daniel Jones - Newcastle West, Silver - Christopher Brouder - Newcastle West, Bronze - Colm Murphy - Cahirciveen and Liam Kelly - Listowel
U- 8 Girls 1
Gold - Tracey Collins - Charleville, Silver - Laura McCarthy - Cahirciveen, Bronze - Sarah Stack - Listowel and Chloe Sugrue - Cahirciveen
U-8 Girls 2
Gold - Gabbie Naughton - Newcastle West, Silver - Amy Lynch - Newcastle West, Bronze - Katie o' Sullivan - Listowel and Chloe Collins - Charleville
U-10 Girls 1
Gold - Natasha Regan - Listowel, Silver - Fiona o' Malley - Charleville, Bronze - Chloe Corbett - Newcastle West and Rachel o' Connor - Cahirciveen
U-10 Girls 2
Gold - Catherine Corbett - Newcastle West, Aoife Kelly - Newcastle West, Bronze - Denise Buckley - Listowel and Aoife o' Donoghue - Waterville
U-10 Girls 3
Gold - Lauren o' Dwyer - Newcastle West, Silver - Jessica Naughton - Newcastle West, Bronze - Triona o' Donnell - Listowel and Cliona Doyle - Listowel
U-12 Girls 1
Gold - Emma o' Shea - Cahirciveen, Silver - Lauren Flavin - Listowel, Bronze - Levana o' Connor - Newcastle West and Laura Greaney - Newcastle West
U-12 Girls 2
Gold - Aisling Yataki - Newcastle West, Silver - Feral Ashworth - Waterville, Bronze - Laura Stack - Listowel and Amber Greaney - Listowel
U-14 Girls
Gold - Holly Doyle - Listowel, Silver - Aoife o' Sullivan - Cahirciveen, Bronze - Danielle o' Driscoll - Listowel and Jackie Quinn - Newcastle West
International Instructor Course
ITF 40th Anniversary Celebrations Cork March 24th to 26th, 2006
Members of Riordan's Taekwon-do Schools who attended the course
Mr John Riordan 5th Dan, Mr Ruairi Buckley 4th Dan, Mr Willie Moloney 3rd Dan, Mr Tony Lucey 2nd Dan, Ms Claire o' Sullivan 2nd Dan, Mr Pat o' Callaghan 1st Dan, Ms Julieanne McAuliffe 1st Dan, Ms Tara Collins 1st Dan, Ms Carol Asworth 1st Dan, Ms Maryann o' Brien 1st Dan, Ms Ruth Mc Carthy 1st Dan, Emer Curran 1st Dan, Ms Imelda Somers 1st Gup Ms Moira McElligott 1st Gup, Ms Jennifer Kelly 1st Gup, John Spence 1st Gup, Mr Liam Somers 2nd Gup, Mr Danny o' Connell 2nd Gup.
Below is a full report of the weekends events by Mr Jon Mackey (IUTF Dublin)
With nearly 250 Taekwon-Do practitioners from around the world in attendance, the weekend couldn't have gone any better. As the Taekwon-Do students, Instructors and Masters descended on Silver Springs Hotel, the atmosphere was buzzing as old friends met once again and new friendships were made. The weather was typically Irish but that didn't dampen spirits as bus loads of Taekwon-Doists made their way to the Neptune stadium for the first part of the IIC on Friday evening.
With everyone lined up, Mr Dalton brought the assembled practitioners through one of his legendary warm ups. With everyone stretched and ready to go, each dan grade was put into groups and a Master assigned to each one. In attendance that evening was Master Trevor Nicholls (UKITF), Master Mark Ogbourne (PUMA), Master Isaac Harry (UKITF), Master Bhup Sahota (GBITF), Master Peter Sanders (Netherlands) and Master Robert Wheatley (USITF). Each Master took a designated group for specific training. Master Sanders concentrated on Self Defence, detailing special joint locks and manipulations. Master Sahota taught the fundamentals of Sine Wave motion and also the importance of meditation and the power of the mind. Master Wheatley concentrated on pattern work bringing the higher degree's through So-San tul. Master Ogbourne taught boxing techniques, Master Harry concentrated on kicking drills and Master Nicholls spoke about the need for Taekwon-Do self defence training to become more realistic and street orientated.
After a thoroughly enjoyable time at Neptune stadium, it was time to head back to the Hotel and an early night for everyone as Master Choi arrived early the next morning to continue training.
On Saturday Morning the students were brought through some fundamentals by Master Wheatley and Mr Dalton and were suitably warmed up and ready to for the arrival of our President, Choi Jung Hwa IX degree Grand Master. When President Choi entered the room accompanied by ITF VP MR Michael Tibollo, he was greeted with a tumultuous round of applause. He addressed the students briefly and thanked the IUTF and Mr and Mrs Dalton for the work in organising the event. We then got down to brass tacks as President Choi led the assembly through each Taekwon-Do pattern with remarkable detail and precision. You could see real awe on the face of the younger students as President Choi demonstrated techniques with amazing speed and power. The day flew by and as it drew to a close President Choi finished up with Yul Gok tul covering each 38 movements with detail. The assembled students then paid their respects to President Choi for a wonderful days training and applauded him as he left the Dojang.
That evening the stage was set for all in sundry to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the International Taekwon-Do Federation- established in 1966 March 22nd by President Choi's late father and founder of Taekwon-Do General Choi Hong Hi. When everyone was settled in and President Choi arrived, everyone was treated to a special video dedicated to the memory of General Choi which was accompanied by a heart warming rendition of Frank Sinatra's 'my way' sung by Ms Frances Tibollo. With many people holding back a tear or two, President Choi emotionally spoke about the work his father did within the ITF and dedicated himself and asked others to work hard to promote the authentic art form of Taekwon-Do.
After the traditional toasts, everyone sat down to enjoy a splendid dinner, after which special awards were handed out to people in recognition of their work in the ITF and Taekwon-Do in general. President Choi also announced a special recognition award for all those coaches and staff who were present at the World Championships in South Korea in 2004. He said this was a very special occasion for the ITF as it was the first time the that authentic Taekwon-Do was returned to land of its inception. After all the speeches and awards of recognition and achievement Master Wheatly rose to give the results of an earlier dan grading. A big cheer arose from all the IUTF members in attendance when it was announced that Mr Mark Philpott was successfully promoted to 4th degree International Instructor. Not to be out done in the cheering stakes, PUMA had an equally proud reason to cheer as Master Wheatley announced that it had been agreed by the ITF promotions committee that Mr Mark Ogbourne PUMA vice chairperson was to be elevated to 7th Dan Master! A visibly shocked and emotional Master Ogbourne humbly thanked the Masters present and in particular President Choi. As everyone returned to the celebrations President Choi assisted by Mr Dalton blew the candles out on the ITF birthday cake as Master Sanders lead everyone through a few bars of 'Happy Birthday'.
The following day's training was started again by Mr Dalton who warmed the students up suitably. President Choi then brought everyone through Joong Gun tul. After Joong Gun, President Choi concentrated for a number of hours on power kicking. He outlined how best to use the body's mass to its full potential while kicking. The correct technique was explained for side piercing kick and turning kick respectively. The students then were able to practice the kicks on the focus shields as President Choi looked on and corrected where needed.
After the time spent on kicking drill, president Choi continued on with tul, reaching Ge Baek tul by the end of the day. All in all the weekend was jam packed with technique, advice and power development. In usual form President Choi dedicated his time after the seminar to photo's and signing's. It was sad to see it was all over, I for one wished it was just starting at this point! When everyone was finished and changed, the goodbye's were said and warm hugs were all around as new and old friends parted. Thankfully the goodbye's are only for a short while as undoubtedly we will be together again for many more training sessions to come.
Photos from the weekend click to enlarge
ITF Referee Course
London England, February 2006
Mr Dalton, Mr Riordan and Mr Fitzgibbon attended the 3 day international referee/umpire course hosted by Master Trevor Nichols VIII at the crown Plaza Hotel Heathrow, London. The course was conducted by the chairperson of the ITF tournaments committee, Master Nestor Galaraga VIII. The course covered all aspects of ITF tournament rules and organisation. After 3 days of intense instruction and practice in what was a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere Messer's Dalton, Riordan and Fitzgibbon were presented with Class A ITF International Umpire certificates.
IUTF Annual Black Belt Awards and 20th/25th Anniversary celebrations
Tralee, Co Kerry January 2006
The Annual black belt presentation was held at the Abbeygate hotel in Tralee. This years ceremony took on a special meaning as it is 25 years since Mr Patrick McCarthy introduced Taekwon-do to Co Kerry and 20 years since Mr Don Dalton began teaching in Tralee, following Mr McCarthy's move to London. The dinner was preceded by a seminar with Messer's Dalton and McCarthy with over 140 students attending. Black belt certificates were presented to those who were promoted at the previous dan grading. IUTF competitor of the year awards went to; Mr Shane Fitzgibbon, Galway (senior Men), Ms Aoife Foley, Millstreet (senior Ladies), John Spence, Listowel (Junior).
Mr Dalton and Mr McCarthy then presented awards of recognition to a number of Instructors who have played a major role in the development of Taekwon-do in Kerry. Many speeches were made in what turned out to be a very emotional occasion as it became difficult to put into words what has been achieved over the past 25 years, and the impact that these 2 men have had on their lives during this time.
Pictured above; Mr Riordan with his parents Mrs Mary and Mr McCarthy presents award to Mr Riordan
Mr John Riordan, Mr Patrick McCarthy, Mr Don Dalton.
Student of the Year Awards
Pictured are the members who were awarded student of the year and competitor of the year for 2005
Pictured above is John Spence of Listowel Taekwon-do Club who was awarded IUTF Junior Competitor of the year for 2005. The Award was presented by IUTF Junior Team Manager Mr John Riordan at the Annual IUTF presentation dinner. John won many tournaments during 2005, his most notable being Silver at the Taekwon-do International World Championships in July and Gold at the Irish Open in November. This award was first presented in 2001, previous winners are listed below;
2001 & 2002 Padraig o' Connor - Listowel, 2003 John o' Connor - Listowel, 2004 Marc Dowling - Tralee.
Pictured above - Gabbie Naughton, Newcastle West.
Gabbie was awarded junior competitor of the year and was also presented with the Golden Four award for her achievement of winning Gold at all four major IUTF tournaments in 2005, one of only two people in the IUTF to achieve this.
Munster Open Championships
Tralee, Co Kerry - January 2006
Senior Red/Black Belt Divisions
Black Belt Pattern
Female Male
1st Ms Claire o' Sullivan - Cahirciveen 1st Mr Jon Mackey - IUTF Dublin
2nd Ms Mary Mannion - Athlone 2nd Mr Leon Brydone - Athlone
3rd Ms Norma Carroll - Millstreet 3rd Mr Noel o' Brien - Mallow
Black Belt Sparring
Female Lightweight Heavyweight
1st Ms Norma Carroll - Millstreet 1st Ms Moira McElligott - Listowel
2nd Ms Claire o' Sullivan - Cahirciveen 2nd Ms Orla o' Shea - Cahirciveen
3rd Ms Aoife Foley - Millstreet 3rd Ms Julieanne McAuliffe - Newcastle West
Male Lightweight Middleweight Heavyweight
1st Mr John o' Connor - Listowel 1st Mr Marc Dowling - Tralee 1st Mr Sean Keane - Charleville
2nd Mr John Roche - Tralee 2nd Mr Leon Brydone - Athlone 2nd Mr Kevin Larkin jnr - Newcastle West
3rd Mr Eoin Moynihan - Ballyvourney 3rd Mr Stephen Edwards - Tralee 3rd Mr Diarmuid Mc Sweeney - Ballyvourney
click on photo to enlarge
Click to see photos from colour belt and junior divisions