INTERNATIONAL IRISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
CORK CITY, NOVEMBER 2007
The Irish Open Championships were held over the weekend of 24/25 November in Neptune Stadium, Cork City. The tournament was again a huge success with competitors from England, Scotland, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Germany and Ireland taking part. Saturday was reserved for black belts and Sunday for colour belts.10 members of Riordan's Taekwon-do Schools competed in the black belt divisions on Saturday winning 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.
John O'Connor and John Spence both from Listowel made it to the final of the -63kg section with John O'Connor winning. Tim Tierney (Newcastle West) Won bronze in the -58 kg section. John Spence and Tim Tierney also fought on the junior boys team. The boys were dominant in this event, beating the INTA team 3-0 in the final. Current Senior World Silver Medalist Claire O'Sullivan (Cahirciveen) and Labhaoise Keane (Listowel) competed in the -58kg section. Claire unfortunately had to retire during the semi-final due to injury, which also ruled her out of the team event. Labhaoise went on to win silver losing out narrowly to her GTI England opponent in the final. Current Junior World Silver Medalist Emer Curran (Cahirciveen) won gold in a very tough under 17 division and also won gold with the junior girls team along with Labhaoise Keane. Both girls won their bouts in a 3-1 final victory against INTA.. Kevin Larkin (Newcastle West) won silver with the senior mens team who lost a very close final to England which ended with 2 wins each and 1 draw. David O'Sullivan fought World Hyper weight Champion Richard Belle in the decider and Richard proved to be too strong on this occasion.
COPA AMERICA
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
NOVEMBER 2007
The IUTF were invited to compete at the Copa America, hosted by the Argentinean Taekwon-do Association. Moira McElligott (Listowel Taekwon-do) was the only Irish female team member to travel and she rounded off a fantastic year by winning Gold in the -70kg division at these Championships.
WORLD KICKBOXING ASSOCIATION (WKA)
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
KARLSRUHE GERMANY, AUGUST 2007
Congratulations to Moira McElligott of Listowel Taekwon-do on her silver medal at WKA World Championships. Moira was competing on the National Ladies Team who made it to the final but were defeated by Northern Ireland.
MR AIDAN WALSH SEMINAR
LISTOWEL CO KERRY, AUGUST 2007
Listowel Taekwon-do club had the honour of hosting a seminar with a true Taekwon-do legend, Mr Aidan Walsh. Mr Walsh has been training for almost 40 years and was instrumental in spreading Taekwon-do to the South-West. Mr Walsh was assisted by his student Mr Terry Donnelly. The IUTF can trace it's roots back to Mr Walsh as he was grading examiner for Mr Dalton, Mr Riordan and Mr Moriarty in their early days of training.
Mr Walsh led the group through a series of sparring techniques, kicking drills and boxing techniques. He stressed the importance of executing each technique scientifically using as little movement as possible to gain the maximum effect. It was truly inspirational to see Mr Walsh perform perfect technique so effortlessly and with great agility and flexibility.
The IUTF looks forward to further seminars in the future with Mr Walsh.
9TH JUNIOR/14TH SENIOR ITF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND, AUGUST 2007
The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham was the venue for the 9th junior and 14th senior ITF World Championships. The event was run over four days with 5 rings running from 10am to 9pm each day. This was the most successful ever championships for an Irish squad with all 4 teams (senior male/female & junior boys/girls) taking medals. Both Senior teams won gold and both junior teams won bronze in sparring.
The first 2 days were the junior divisions;
Emer Curran of Cahirciveen Taekwon-do won all her eliminations to make it to the final, losing out in a very close contest to her English Opponent. This was Emer's first time competing at a World Championship and she showed great composure throughout the tournament and became more confident with each bout. Emer was also on the girls team who won bronze in sparring and silver in power breaking.
John Spence of Listowel Taekwon-do fought some fantastic bouts in particular his quarter final against Ukraine, a match which President Choi commented as being one of the fights of the tournament. John lost his semi-final against an opponent he had beaten at last years European Championships, this was another superb match with only a single point separating them at the end. He was also on the junior boys team who won bronze.
The second 2 days were the senior divisions;
Moira McElligott of Listowel Taekwon-do Made it to the final of her sparring division where she met Stacy Weatherer (2004 World Champion). Moira had beaten her already in the quarter finals of the team event but failed to get past her this time taking silver medal. Moira was on the Senior female team who won gold in sparring, defeating England, Argentina and Japan. Moira will be competing at the WKA World Championships later this month.
Claire O'Sullivan of Cahirciveen Taekwon-do began a great week by becoming the first IUTF member along with Mr Shane Fitzgibbon (bronze 5th dan tul) to win a pattern medal at the ITF World Championships, winning bronze in the 3rd Dan division. Remarkable considering she graded in April and had only 3 months to learn 3 new patterns to competition standard. Claire also made it to the final of her sparring section but unfortunately lost out to her Argentinean opponent. Claire was on the senior female team who won gold in sparring and was also team captain.
click on photo to enlarge
2ND ANNUAL HWA-RANG CUP
NEWCASTLE WEST, JUNE 2007
Pictured above are Hwa_Rang Cup overall winners
blue/black - Jessica Naughton - Newcastle West
yellow/green - Neilus Mackessy - Listowel
white/yellow stripe - Ciara O'Sullivan - Waterville
click to see all photo's from tournament
RESULTS (L - LISTOWEL, N - NEWCASTLE WEST, C - CAHIRCIVEEN, W - WATERVILLE)
INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS
black tip/black belt
1st Jessica Naughton - N, 2nd Emma O'Shea - C, 3rd Jenny Sheehan - C
red belt
1st Jack Gogarty - L, 2nd Liam O'Connor - L, 3rd Cliona Doyle - L
blue belt
1st Gabbie Naughton - N, 2nd Lauren Flavin - L, 3rd Sarah Kennedy - C
green belt 1
1st Neilus Mackessy - L, 2nd Donal Doyle - L, 3rd Eoghan Healy - L
green belt 2
1st Christopher McKenna - L, 2nd Robyn Doyle - L, 3rd Sean Moran - C
green belt 3
1st Aisling O'Connor - N, 2nd Michelle Downes - N, 3rd Fiona Mahoney - L
yellow belt 1
1st Fiona O'Mahony - C, 2nd Sarah Corbett - N, 3rd Fern Ashworth - W
yellow belt 2
1st Rebecca Long - L, 2nd Chloe Corbett - N, 3rd Fionuir O'Connor - C
yellow belt 3
1st Matthew O'Neill - C, 2nd Adam Corbett - N, 3rd James Guidera - N
yellow stripe 1
1st Grace O'Sullivan - W, 2nd Ciara O'Sullivan - W, 3rd Paul Kennedy - L
yellow stripe 2
1st Gerard Aherne - N, 2nd Shaunagh Cournane - C, 3rd Shean Halpin - L
yellow stripe 3
1st Lonan Collins - C, 2nd Jackie Clifford - W, 3rd Geremy Chute - L
white belt 1
1st David Brosnan - L, 2nd Ciara Aherne - N, 3rd Neasa Ni Chunaill - W
white belt 2
1st Cian Keenan - L, 2nd Bryan Corcoran - C, 3rd Jimmy O'Connell - N
TEAM PATTERNS
white/yellow stripe
1st Jackie clifford, Ciara O'Sullivan, Grace O'Sullivan
2nd Bryan Corcoran, Lonan Collins, Gerard Aherne
3rd Paul Kennedy, Geremy Chute, Robert Sloan
yellow/green 1
1st Malandra Ong, Nikita Harnett, Doireann Ni Chunaill
2nd Lauren O'Dwyer, Paul Noonan, Saoirse Enright
3rd Fiona O'Mahony, Laura McCarthy, Fionuir O'Connor
yellow/green 2
1st Owen O'Sullivan, Pol Clees, Sean Moran
2nd Gavin O'Reilly, CJ Roche, Adam Corbett
3rd Aisling O'Connor, Michelle Downes, Fern Ashworth
blue/black
1st Maxime Moone, Jessica Naughton, Gabbie Naughton
2nd Emma O'Shea, Jenny Sheehan, Aoife O'Sullivan
3rd Patrick Quinn, Colm O'Dwyer, Bobby Enright, Jackie Quinn
SPARRING (Split by age and grade)
GIRLS
1. gold - Aoife O'Sullivan - C, silver - Jenny Sheehan - C, bronze - Jackie Quinn - N & Hollly Doyle - L
2. gold - Lauren Flavin - L, silver - Sarah Kennedy - C, bronze - Aisling O'Connor - N & Maxime Moone - N
3. gold - Jessica Naughton - N, silver - Amber Greaney - L, bronze - Emma O'Shea - C & Cliona Doyle - L
4. gold - Ciara O'Sullivan - W, silver - Jackie Clifford - W, bronze - Grace O'Sullivan -W & Meagan Shanahan-N
5. gold - Leanne O'Neill-C, silver - Saoirse O'Connor-C, bronze - Neasa Ni Chunaill-W & Shaunagh Cournane-C
6. gold - Lauren O'Dwyer -N, silver - Saoirse Enright -L, bronze - Chloe Corbett -N & Gabbie Naughton -N
7. gold - Fionuir O'Connor-C, silver - Ava O'Connor-N, bronze - Malandra Ong-N & Sarah Stack-L
BOYS
1. gold - Thomas O'Brien-L, silver - Bobby Enright-N
2. gold - Colm O'Dwyer-N, silver - Patrick Quinn-N, bronze - Liam O'Connor-L & Jack Gogarty-L
3. gold - Colm Stack-L, silver - Eoghan Healy-L, bronze - Gavin O'Reilly-N & Donal Doyle-L
4. gold - Danny Quinland-L, silver - Sean Moran-C, bronze - Adam Corbett-N & Christopher McKenna-L
5. gold - James Guidera-N, silver - Paul Noonan-N, bronze - Matthew O'Neill-C
5. gold - Neilus Mackessy-L, silver - Liam Mahoney-L, bronze - Stephen O'Connor-C & Jason Kenny-L
6. gold - Geremy Chute-L, silver - Paul Kennedy-L, bronze Robert Sloan-L & Lonan Collins-C
7. gold - Bryan Corcoran-C, silver - Sheann Halpin-L, bronze - David Brosnan-L & Dara O'Connell-N
8. gold - Darren Curtis-N, silver - Michael Stack-N, bronze - Jer Long-L & Ben Stack-L
PRESIDENT CHOI MASTER-CLASS
LONDON, ENGLAND MAY 2007
Grandmaster Choi Jung Hwa conducted a 2 day master class under the invitation of the UKITF. The seminar was held on May 12/13th at the Crown Plaza Hotel, London Heathrow. This coursee was open only to 2nd degree upwards and specifically focused on the black belt patterns. In attendence from the IUTF were Mr John Riordan, Ms Mary Mannion and Mr Jon Mackey.
I.U.T.F ANNUAL DAN GRADING
KANTURK, CO CORK APRIL 2007
Congratulations to Ms Claire O'Sullivan (Cahirciveen), Mr Pat O'Callaghan (Listowel) and Emma O'Shea (Cahirciveen) on their successful promotions at this year's Dan Grading. Ms O'Sullivan was promoted to 3rd degree, Mr O'Callaghan to 2nd degree and Emma to 1st degree. All three are very dedicated students who take an active role in all IUTF events including competing and refereeing at tournaments, attending seminars and instructing. Ms O'Sullivan also acheived the joint highest score along with Mr Diarmuid McSweeney of Ballyvourney TKD.
NATIONAL COLLEGE SOCIETY AWARDS
N.U.I. GALWAY APRIL 2007
Congratulations to all members of Mary I TKD society who won the National award for best society in a small College. Receiving the award from the Lord Mayor of Galway were, Ms Maryann O'Brien (Chairperson), Ms Claire O' Sullivan (Instructor) and Ms Julieanne McAuliffe (Treasurer).
MARY IMMACULATE COLLEGE SOCIETY AWARDS MARCH 2007
Pictured below (centre) is Ms Claire O'Sullivan Instructor of Mary I College TKD. The club won best society for the year 2006/07.
IUTF COMPETITOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS
BLARNEY, CO CORK MARCH 2007
Ms Claire O'Sullivan of Cahirciveen TKD was presented with the National Senior Female competitor of the year award for 2006, at the annual IUTF presentation dinner held at the Muskerry Arms Hotel in Blarney, Co Cork. The Senior Male award went to Mr Sean Keane of Charleville TKD. The Junior award went to Diarmuid McSweeney of Ballyvourney TKD.
MUNSTER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
KILLARNEY, CO KERRY FEBRUARY 2007
This year's championships were held at the Presentation Hall in Killarney. Over 250 competitors took part making this the largest Munster Open in recent times. Below is a selection of photo's from the event.
Click to enlarge
MR PATRICK MCCARTHY SEMINARS
LISTOWEL, TRALEE, CHARLEVILLE
FEBRUARY 3rd - 6th 2007
Mr Patrick McCarthy 6th Dan, Chief Instructor of London Panthers Taekwon-do conducted a series of self-defence seminars for the IUTF. Mr McCarthy began training in his home town of Cork in the early 70's and introduced Taekwon-do to Kerry in 1981. Mr McCarthy regularly conducts seminars for the IUTF, he possesses a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of martial arts training. In these seminars Mr McCarthy focused on chokes and pressure points as well as close quarter blocking and countering drills. These seminars are always well received by Instructors and Students alike and this year was no exception.
IUTF ANNUAL REFEREE/UMPIRE COURSE
KANTURK, FEBRUARY 2007
Dan grading candidates assembled in Kanturk on Sunday February 11th to complete the annual IUTF refere/umpire course under IUTF Vice-President Mr John Riordan. This course is required by all who wish to test at the IUTF dan grading.
SOUTH KERRY FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT
CAHIRCIVEEN, JANUARY 2007
Just over 100 junior members of Riordan's Taekwon-do School's took part in this tournament which was held at Colaiste na Sceilge, Cahirciveen. Students competed in individual and team pattern and sparring. This was the first tournament for many and was a great opportunity to make the break through to competition and meet and make friends with students from other areas. Special thanks to all our senior black belts for their hard work refereeing and judging throughout the day.
Click to see photos from tournament
RESULTS
LWL - LISTOWEL, NCW - NEWCASTLE WEST, CVN - CAHIRCIVEEN, WVE - WATERVILLE
Patterns
Black tip/black belt - 1.Jessica Naughton ncw, 2. Emma O'Shea cvn, 3. Aisling Yataki ncw
Red belt - 1. Lily Toomey lwl, 2. Cliona Doyle lwl, 3. Amber Greaney lwl
Blue/red stripe - 1. Gabbie Naughton ncw, 2. Liam O'Connor lwl, 3. Feral Ashworth wve
Green/blue stripe one - 1. Shannen O'Donoghue wve, 2. Sean Moran cvn, 3. Robyn Doyle lwl
Green/blue stripe two - 1. Neilus Mackessy lwl, 2. Sean O'Donoghue wve, 3. Eoghan Healy lwl
Yellow/green stripe one - 1. Lauren O'Dwyer ncw, 2. Aoife O'Donoghue wve, 3. Fionuir O'Connor cvn
Yellow/green stripe two - 1. Michael O'Donoghue wve, 2. Jack O'Shaughnessy ncw, 3. Matthew O'Neill cvn
Yellow/green stripe three - 1. Conor Corbett ncw, 2. Mikey Sugrue cvn, 3. Padraic O'Donoghue wve
Yellow stripe - 1. Saoirse Enright lwl, 2. CJ Roche ncw, 3. Doireann ni Chonaill wve
Yellow tip one - 1. Lonan Collins cvn, 2. Pierce Lynch cvn, 3. Ciara O'Sullivan wve
Yellow tip two - 1. Jackie Clifford wve, 2. Grace O'Sullivan wve, 3. Meagan Shanahan ncw
White belt one - 1. Colm McMahon ncw, 2. Bryan Corcoran cvn, 3. Stephen Corcoran cvn
White belt two - 1. Constance Edwards ncw, 2. Saoirse O'Connor cvn, 3. Maria Sands cvn
Sparring Boys
Age 13 plus
1. Colm Murphy cvn, 2. Padraic O'Donoghue wve
Under 12
1.Colm O'Dwyer ncw, 2.Conor Corbett ncw, 3.CJ Roche ncw & Eoin Kenny lwl
Under 10
1.Michael McCarthy cvn, 2.Eoghan Healy lwl, 3.Gavin O'Reilly ncw & Christopher McKenna lwl
Under 9
1.Shane O'Connor cvn, 2. Graham O'Sullivan cvn, 3.Tom Melvin lwl & Owen O'Sullivan cvn
Under 8
1.Jack Mulvihill lwl, 2.James Guidera ncw, 3.Matthew O'Neill cvn & Liam Mahony lwl
Under 7
1.Sean Jackman lwl, 2.Muiris Fitzgerald cvn, 3.Stephen O'Connor cvn & Michael O'Donoghue wve
White belt one
1.Patrick Devane cvn, 2.Stephen Corcoran cvn, 3.Tristan Huggard wve & Jack Curran wve
White belt two
1.Bryan Corcoran cvn, 2.Pierce Lynch cvn, 3.Colm McMahon ncw & Lonan Collins cvn
Sparring Girls
Age 13 plus
1.Katie O'Connor lwl, 2.Jenny Sheehan cvn, 3.Aisling Yataki ncw & Michelle Downes ncw
Under 12 one
1.Jessica Naughton ncw, 2. Emma O'Shea cvn, 3.Cliona Doyle lwl
Under 12 two
1.Shannen O'Donoghue wve, 2.Karen Kennedy cvn, 3.Katie Ambrose ncw & Fiona Mahony lwl
Under 10
1.Gabbie Naughton ncw, 2.Lauren O'Dwyer ncw, 3.Casey O'Donoghue cvn & Fiona O'Mahoney cvn
Under 8
1.Chloe Corbett ncw, 2.Barbara O'Connor cvn, 3.Ava O'Connor ncw & Chloe Sugrue cvn
White belt one
1.Leanne O'Neill cvn, 2.Katelyn O'Donoghue wve, 3.Maria Sands cvn & Saoirse O'Connor cvn
White belt two
1.Ciara O'Sullivan wve, 2.Cliodhna O'Dwyer ncw, 3.Jackie Clifford wve & Constance Edwards ncw