INTERNATIONAL INSTRUCTOR COURSE
BARCELONA OCTOBER 2009
ITF Spain president and European Tournament Committee Chairman Mr Fernando Perez hosted Master Nestor Galarraga VIII (ITF Tournament Committee Chairman) for their first International Instructor Course. Participants came from Ireland, England, Wales, Italy, Bulgaria, Scotland, Argentina and Spain. Representing the IUTF were; Master Don Dalton, Mr John Riordan, Ms Patricia Dalton, Mr Shane Fitzgibbon, Mr Alek Milanov, Mr Mark Philpott, Ms Lisa Connelly and Ms Claire O'Sullivan. Master Galarraga was assisted during the course by Master Jose Maidana (Argentina) and Master Don Dalton (Ireland).
Master Galarraga began the course with the basic patterns, covering in great detail the technical aspects and correct movement. Master Galarraga's knowledge of every aspect of Taekwon-do technique is vast, and his infectious enthusiasm and teaching ability makes for an incredible learning experience. During the course Master Galarraga also covered ITF sparring techniques and realistic self defence.
During the weekend three senior IUTF Instructors took part in a grading under Master Galarraga. All were successful. Mr Alek Milanov was promoted to 6th degree, Mr Mark Philpott to 5th degree and Ms Lisa Connolly to 4th degree. Congratulations to all.
These results were announced during the official banquet where the attendees were treated to 2 ITF full contact bouts. IUTF Senior team captain Mr Shane Fitzgibbon competed against Spain's Mr Leonardo Monreal. Mr Fitzgibbon displayed great counter attacking skills to take the victory. The second bout featured Mr Christian Oriolani (Spain) Vs Mr Hugo Reinoso (Argentina). With Mr Oriolani emerging the winner.
click to see photos from seminar and grading
INTERNATIONAL IRISH OPEN
NEPTUNE STADIUM, CORK, NOVEMBER 2009
click to see photos from irish open
4th ANNUAL HWA-RANG CUP
NEWCASTLE WEST, JUNE 2009
Robyn Doyle (Listowel) Winner of the Hwa-rang Cup in blue belt to black belt category
Darragh Mackessy (Listowel) Winner of the Hwa-rang Cup in yellow belt to blue stripe belt category
Sarah O'Flynn (Newcastle West) Winner of the Hwa-rang Cup in white belt to yellow stripe category
ITF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
UMAG, CROATIA MAY 2009
Pictured below left, Feral Ashworth (Waterville Taekwon-do) bronze medal winner -53kg junior sparring. In picture below right Mr Shane Fitzgibbon (Galway) Silver +80kg senior sparring and bronze 5th dan pattern, National Senior Coach Mr Riordan, Ms Norma Carroll (Millstreet) Gold -58kg senior sparring, Mr Leon Brydone Gold -71kg senior sparring.
Well done to all of our squad who competed at the ITF European Chamoinships in the beautiful coastal setting of Umag, Croatia. Our successful members endured much and showed great heart in their quest for a place on the podium. Feral was the youngest competitor in her division at age 13, competing against a much stronger 16 year old opponent in the semi-final, she fought bravely to take home a bronze medal. Mr Fitzgibbon had to curtail his training in the weeks prior to the event due to injury and was unable to make the -80kg division. He weighed in at 82kg and opted to compete in the +80kg division giving away at least 10kg and more each time he fought. Despite this he called on all his experience and outfought and outpointed his opponents with his superb use of the ring, eventually narrowly losing out to his Dutch opponent in the Final. Mr Brydone sustained an ankle injury in the semi-final which restricted him greatly in the variety of techniques he could use in the final, Mr Brydone showed great heart and overwhelmed his opponent to become the only person at this years championships to retain his title which he won last year in Sardinia. Ms Carroll sustained a cut above each eye in the semi-final which required stitches, counter attacking techniques were required to get through the final. Ms Carroll fought a brilliant tactical battle against her Croatian opponent to become European Champion.
IUTF ANNUAL DAN GRADING
ATHLONE APRIL 2009
Congratulations to four members of Listowel Taekwon-do Club who were successful at this years grading. Amber Greaney, Eoin Kenny, Cliona Doyle and Lauren Flavin were all promoted to 1st degree black belt. The grading was held at Mrs Mary Mannions Athlone Taekwon-do Club, following a squad training session under Master Dalton. This was attended by all who were due to test and many other students who were delighted to support the first squad session hosted by Mrs Mannion. Amber, Eoin, Cliona and Lauren have all been training under Mr Riordan at Listowel for Approximately 5 years. They devoted a large amount of time in preparation for the grading, training at their club twice weekly and attending squad sessions under Master Dalton each Sunday.
IUTF MUNSTER OPEN
TRALEE, CO KERRY MARCH 2009
The IUTF Munster Open Championships, held at Mercy Mounthawk School Tralee was again very well supported by all our members. Divisions were extremely competitive as the standard continues to improve year after year, particularly in the junior sections. This is surely great news for the future of our national squad.
click to see some of our members who were medal winners on the day
MASTER JOSE MAIDANA SEMINAR
NEWCASTLE WEST, MARCH 2009
Master Maidana conducted a sparring seminar in Newcastle West on March 21st. Students were led progressively through footwork, kicking and punching drills designed to be used in the tournament arena. These techniques were then put into to practice as each student paired off for sparring.
We have learned so much from Master Maidana over the past few years and he continues to be a huge influence on our training methods. His vast knowledge is truly inspirational. Master Maidana is in great demand and spent 3 weeks conducting seminars in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, Holland and Spain.
3RD ANNUAL SOUTH KERRY FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT
CAHIRCIVEEN FEB 2009
click to see photos from tournament
Well done to all who took part and made the third running of this annual tournament such a huge success. The main emphasis for this event is to encourage new members to enter the tournament arena. It was great to see so many white belts and yellow tags enter, we were able to devote 14 divisions to these grades alone. Students had the opportunity to compete at both patterns and sparring. Beginners sparring was run under point/stop rules and green belts up under continuous rules. Most were competing under continuous rules for the first time, and it was very encouraging for the future to see the techniques from the new IUTF syllabus being used to great effect.
Special thanks to all our black belts for a great job refereeing and judging, 17 of Mr Riordan's black belts turned up to assist, which enabled us to run 5 rings continuously . Much credit is due to them for giving up their time for our younger members.
During the tournament Mr Riordan presented 4 students who graded for 1st degree black belt last year with their certificates. They were; Ms Gerli Tull, Ms Aoife O'Sullivan, Ms Jenny Sheehan (Cahirciveen) and Feral Ashworth (Waterville).
RESULTS
Abbreviations for Clubs - Listowel LWL, Newcastle West NCW, Cahirciveen CVN, Waterville WVE, Lixnaw LXW
PATTERNS
white/yellow tag 1
Gold - Niall Cullen LXW, Silver - Sean O'Riordan LWL, Bronze - Darragh Devlin CVN & Ellie Cunnene LWL
white/yellow tag 2
Gold - Adam O'Flynn NCW, Silver - Dylan Murphy CVN, Bronze - Rachel Mangan CVN & Ciara Devlin CVN
white/yellow tag 3
Gold - Sarah O'Flynn NCW, Silver - John Paul Geoghegan NCW, Bronze - Warren Gleeson NCW & Dawn De Rohan Wilner WVE
yellow/green tag 1
Gold - Amy Cullen LXW, Silver - Rose Molyneaux LXW, Bronze - Francesca O'Connor CVN & Ciara Mahoney LWL
yellow/green tag 2
Gold - Aiden McMahon LXW, Silver - Aaron Quinland LWL, Bronze - Nicholas Tarrant LWL & Kathy Molyneaux LXW
yellow/green tag 3
Gold - Darragh Mackessy LWL, Silver - Adam Mahoney LWL, Bronze - Saoirse O'Connor CVN & Ciara NCW
yellow/green tag 4
Gold - Niall O'Shea CVN, Silver - Oisin O'Dwyer NCW, Bronze - Luke Cournane CVN & Johnny Keyes NCW
green stripe to blue tag
Gold - Geremy Chute LWL, Silver - Leanne O'Neill CVN, Bronze - Shaunagh Cournane CVN & Jack Mulvihill LWL
blue stripe to red tag 1
Gold -Lauren O'Dwyer NCW, Silver - Fiona Mahoney LWL, Bronze - Ava O'Connor NCW & Fionuir O'Connor CVN
blue stripe to red tag 2
Gold - Matthew O'Neill CVN, Silver - Liam Mahoney LWL, Bronze - Stephen O' Connor CVN & Sean Moran CVN
red stripe to black belt
Gold - Neilus Mackessy LWL, Silver - Darragh O'Regan LWL, Bronze - Feral Ashworth WVE & Donal Doyle LWL
Sparring
Girls Point Sparring
white/yellow 1
Gold - Bena Costello LWL, Silver - Sarah Landers CVN, Bronze - Saoirse O'Connor CVN & Kira Courtney NCW
white/yellow 2
Gold - Natalie O'Connor CVN, Silver - Ellie Cunnene LWL, Bronze - Ciara Devlin CVN & Ciara McCoy NCW
white/yellow 3
Gold - Dawn De Rohan Wilner WVE, Silver - Sarah O'Flynn NCW, Bronze - Francesca O'Connor CVN & Rachel Mangan CVN
white/yellow 4
Gold - Amy Cullen LXW, Silver - Ciara Mahoney LWL, Bronze - Rose Molyneaux LXW & Anna Breen NCW
Girls Continuous Sparring
green/blue 1
Gold - Lauren O'Dwyer NCW, Silver - Fiona Mahoney LWL, Bronze - Donna McCarthy CVN & Siobhan Moloney NCW
green/blue 2
Gold - Fionuir O'Connor CVN, Silver - Ava O'Connor NCW, Bronze - Chloe Sugrue CVN & Shaunagh Cournane CVN
red/black
Gold - Feral Ashworth WVE, Silver - Cliona Doyle LWL, Bronze - Amber Greaney LWL
Boys Point Sparring
white/yellow 1
Gold - Aidan McMahon LXW, Silver - Warren Gleeson NCW, Bronze - Ryan Prendergast NCW & John Paul Geoghegan NCW
white/yellow 2
Gold - Niall O'Shea CVN, Silver - Johnny Keyes NCW, Bronze - Oisin O'Dwyer NCW & Luke Cournane CVN
white/yellow 3
Gold - Darragh Mackessy LWL, Silver - Thomas Barrett LWL, Bronze - Ben Stack LWL & Tristan Huggart WVE
white/yellow 4
Gold - CJ Roche NCW, Silver - Thomas Molyneaux LXW, Bronze - Nicholas Tarrant LWL & Brian Shanahan NCW
white/yellow 5
Gold - Niall Cullen LXW, Silver - Sean O'Riordan LWL, Bronze - Darragh Devlin CVN & James Curran WVE
white/yellow 6
Gold - Robert McMahon LXW, Silver - Adam O'Flynn NCW, Bronze - Paddy Cunnane LWL & Dylan Murphy CVN
white/yellow 7
Gold - Aaron Quinland LWL, Silver - Chris O'Sullivan CVN
Boys Continuous Sparring
green to red 1
Gold - Donal Doyle LWL, Silver - Jack Mulvihill LWL, Bronze - Robert Sloan LWL & Neilus Mackessy LWL
green to red 2
Gold - Danny Quinland LWL, Silver - Geremy Chute LWL, Bronze - POl Clees WVE & Owen O'Sullivan CVN