Welcome to Quin TKD. Whether you are a current or prospective member of our club I hope that you find this website informative and interesting. Quin TKD is under the Instruction of a team which comprises some of the most qualified and successful Instructors in Taekwon-do Today. Quin TKD Instructors are ITF Certified Black Belts, Irish Sports Council Accredited Coaches, Garda Vetted, 1st Aid and Child Protection Certified. For more information browse our website or contact us by clicking here. Quin TKD Classes run in Quin Community Centre, Quin, Co. Clare.
Winter Kup Grading 2011
 Well done to all Quin TKD students who graded in December 2011. The level of performance was excellent throughout the day with several A level grades being awarded. The next Kup grading will take place in March 2012.
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Master Vitale visits Quin TKD
 Master George Vitale VIII Dan, cousin of Mr. Ryan visited the club in mid November 2011 to conduct some classes while on a visit to Ireland to visit family and friends. As always Master Vitale gave a very enjoyable and insightful class. His knowledge of Taekwon-do is exceptional and his annecdotes from his travels across the world are very educational and entertaining. Master Vitale was recently awarded a Phd in Taekwon-Do and is an authority on the history of this martial art. Master Vitale also took the opportunity to to promote the TKD movie he is involved in producing which will be releases across the world very soon.
Irish Cup 2011 success for Quin TKD
 The Irish Taekwon-Do Association Irish Cup took place on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of November 2011 at the University of Limerick, Sports Arena. 530 competitors took part in the event over the two days which included sparring and patterns as well as power breaking and special technique for black belts.
On Saturday, the competition took place for all cadet (14 – 17 year olds) and seniors 18 years and over.
On Sunday, the under 13 years competition took place.
We are very proud of squad of 27 competitors that competed over the two days, our umpires, coaches and helpers. Quin TKD did very well taking home 4 gold, 7 silver and 1 bronze. For more information click here.
Children's Cancer Research Fundraiser
The proceeds from the Taekwon-Do Annual Sponsored walk in aid of the Childrens’ Cancer fund Crumlin Hospital were presented to the hospital’s representative Gerry Culley in November.
The 10km walk took place last June. Four Clare clubs from the Irish Taekwon-Do Association participated, namely Ennis (based at the Ennis National School), Quin, Barefield and Ballyea.Most of the money was raised by the younger students. Indeed the original idea for the walk was that our healthy children would do something beneficial for those who were not as fortunate. Mr Culley accepted €4025 on behalf of the fund and paid tribute to the instructors, students, parents and especially the children who make this event such an annual success.Picture shows from left : Kevin Kinsella (Ennis), Anne-Marie Kinsella (Ennis), Gerry Culley, Laura Cullen (Quin)Stephen Ryan (Quin) & Michael Clune (Ennis)
Missing from photo : Jamie Rigney (Ballyea), Brian Coughlan (Barefield).
Record Success at European Championships for Irish Team
 The Irish Taekwon-Do Team returned from the European Championships in Slovakia with a record haul of 8 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals. This was the best performance ever by an Irish Taekwon-Do team and led to the team being placed in second place overall at the championships losing out to Poland. 30 countries competed at the Championships with 485 competitors participating.
The 38 strong team included competitors in almost every division and exceeded the previous record medal tally by more than ten medals. Leading the medal tally was 18 year old Naomi Coonghe from Cork who won gold in Individual Pattern and Micro Weight sparring and was also classed as the best overall junior competitor. This is the second European Championships in a row that Naomi has taken the accolade of best overall junior. Also of note are brothers Ryan and Adam Shelley from Whitehall in Dublin who took gold in junior male micro weight and middle weight sparring. Adam beat the current world champion and fellow Irish team member, Dylan Fitzgibbon, in an all-Irish final to claim the middle-weight title. For the first time ever, an Irish senior female team medalled at a European Championships. The team of Sabina Mason (Dublin), Laura Cullen (Quin), Leanne Egan (Shannon), Sarah Moore (Dublin) and Emma Justice (Cork) took bronze in female team sparring.
A massive congratulations to Quin TKD competitors Laura Cullen, who took 2 bronze medals, and Nicole Morairty who took home a Gold. This was the first Euros for the Girls and a massive acheivement for both of them. Mr. Ryan also competed in idividual pattern, where he met his rival Jarek Suska in round 2, narrowly losing out. Mr. Ryan also competed in all team events but was unlucky not to medal on this occasion.
The campaign was a great success overall, with strong performances from the entire squad. This is summed up by the number of medals, especially the number of Golds, with 7 individual European Champions returning to Ireland. Congratulations to the entire squad, the coaches (Mr. Stephen Cooley, Mr. Alan Troy, Mr. Niall Jones, Mr. Adrian Byrne) manager at the event (Mr. Jack Sheehan) and Irish Umpires (Mr. Pat Barry and Mr. Dave Elson).
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Visit the Irish ITF Taekwon-Do Team Facebook page for details of all the action.
Quin TKD Trio Selected for European Championships
 Congratulations to Quin TKD trio, Mr. Stephen Ryan, Ms. Laura Cullen and Ms. Nicole Moriarty who have been selected to represent Ireland at the European Taekwon-Do Championships in Slovakia. Mr. Ryan who has been competing at this level for many years will be competing in 4th - 6th dan patterns, team power, team pattern and team sparring. Ms. Cullen will compete in 3rd Dan patterns and Ms. Moriarty in junior team patterns. Everyone at Quin TKD is very proud of them and we wish them all the best in Bratislava. They will depart on Wednesday Oct 19th and return on Monday Oct 24th.
There will be no classes on Friday Oct 21st as all instructors will be at the championships.
470 Raised by Quin TKD for Children's Cancer Research
Congratulations to Quin TKD Members who raised 470 euro recently for Children's Cancer Research in Our Lady's Children's Hospital. The fundraiser was part of the annual Clare Taekwon-Do Schools Charity Walk in Aid of this fund. The money raised by Quin TKD will now be added to that collected by members from Ennis, Ballyea, Barefield and Scoil Mhuire TKD clubs and the Cheque will be presented on Saturday November 12th at 11.30am in the Ennis National School.
Register Now for Beginner Classes!!
  We are now taking registration of beginners in our Kids, Teens and Adult Classes. Click here for more information. Places are limited so sign up now to avoid disappointment.
Why not call now and try a free Taekwon-Do Class where you will improve fitness, self defence, learn a new martial art and make new friends.
New Black Belts for Quin TKD
 We are delighted to announce the promotion to I Dan Black Belt of Quin TKD members, Sarah McMahon and John Burton, following the ITA National Black Belt Grading. The Grading took place on Sunday June 19th in Cork, hosted by North Mon TKD Club. Sarah and John have been training hard in preparation for this test for many months now and their promotion is very well deserved. Congratulations to those promoted from other Midwest clubs at the grading also; Shahbaz Bokhari, Leanne Egan, Skye Slattery and Shannen Alldritt from Shannon promoted to I Dan, Mike Dolan from Barefield to II Dan, Darren Rigney from Ennis to III Dan and Annie Kinsella from Ennis to V Dan.
Midwest Regional Team Championships
 The Midwest Regional Team Championships took place in Shannon, Co. Clare on Sunday June 12th 2011. This event is run for the ITA (Irish Taekwon-Do Association) schools in the Midwest region on an annual basis, with a focus on team building, fun and skill development. 150 local children took part in team pattern, team sparring and special technique events over 3 rings.
The team patterns were the first event of the day and the children showed a high level of preparation, with well practiced routines. As the focus of the event was on participation and getting everyone involved in competition in an enjoyable way, divisions were set up to match children by age, size and grade, and teams were allowed to be mixed male and female. In sparring the rules were modified for the younger competitors so that all levels of skill could compete on as even a playing field as possible. For example under 8 divisions wore hogus (body armour) and there was no head contact. Under 10 divisions had the option of the body armour and with only light head contact. The older divisions competed in full AETF rules. In this way all competitors enjoyed taking part in the sparring. Even those who because of lack of confidence or fear of getting hurt would normally take a lot of persuasion to take part in the sparring had big smiles on their faces, because of the modified rules and because they really enjoyed the team atmosphere. The final event of the day was special technique. This was again done in a novel way. Competitors were divided by age group once more and competed in the high jump event. This was done on an elimination basis and the obstacle got higher each round until there was only one person left. This ended the day with a great atmosphere in the hall as all competitors cheered each other on.
Photos of the event can be viewed here
Dublin Open Success for Quin TKD
Congratulations to Quin TKD members who recently competed in the ITA Dublin Open. A small squad competed taking home 4 Gold and 3 Bronze medals. Well done to Mr. Ryan (Gold in Pattern, Gold in Sparring), Ms. Cullen, Luke Moriarty, (Gold Sparring, Bronze Pattern), Emma Moriarty (Gold in pattern), Davitt Ward (Bronze in Pattern), Joanne Potter, Cian O'Mara (Bronze in Sparring), Martin O'Mara, and Nicole Moriarty who assisted as Umpire for the event.
Tony Cleary Receives Introduction to Coaching Certificate
 Quin TKD member Tony Cleary was recently presented with his introduction to coaching certificate following completion of the TAB intro to coaching Taekwon-Do Course. Tony has been training with us for several years, he has been assisting regularly with the Children's White - Yellow Belt class.
Aine Kelleher Receives Introduction to Coaching Certificate
 Quin TKD member Aine Kelleher was recently presented with her introduction to coaching certificate following completion of the TAB intro to coaching Taekwon-Do Course. Aine has been traing with us for several years, she is also currently completing a teaching degree in the University of Limerick.
Kup Gradings Quin TKD
Congratulations to all Quin TKD members promoted in the Kup Gradings held on April 10th 2011. All students put in very solid performances and there were some very well deserved distinctions.
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Sarah McMahon Receives Introduction to Coaching Certificate
 Quin TKD club member Sarah McMahon was recently presented with her introduction to coaching certificate following her completion of the TAB intro to Coaching Taekwon-Do Course. Sarah is currently training for her 1st Dan black belt and also attends Mary Immaculate College, Limerick where she is completing a degree in Primary School Teaching.
Several other Quin TKD members have also complete the Intro to Coaching Taekwon-Do award and are in the process of completing their coaching assignments in the club before they are presented with their certs.
Updated Grading Syllabus available here
There have been some changes made to the hand and foot techniques that are asked at colour belt gradings. A documents containing all the techniques, in Korean and English, is available here. All students should download this file as it is essential for home practise. The file is password protected and the password is available from Mr. Ryan or Ms. Cullen.
Quin TKD Instructors receive IMAC Garda Vetting Certification
 As part of the benefits of IMAC membership instructors in the ITA must undergo Garda Vetting. This facility is only available to martial arts coaches affiliated to IMAC and Irish Sports Council recognised groups. Mr. Ryan and Ms. Cullen recently received their Garda Vetting certificates as part of this process. As well as this all ITA instructors are required to hold an ITF instructor teaching licence, an ITF Dan grade certificate, qualify as a level 1 coach, hold a current 1st aid certificate and undergo child protection awareness training.
St. Patrick's Day
Quin Taekwon-Do club will take part in the St. Patrick's Day parade again this year, joining with other ITA clubs from Ennis, Ballyea and Barefield. We will all meet together at the courthouse at 10.30am and are group 37. Participants are asked to wear full dobok and, if they wish, the Quin hoodie. Any other layers of clothing should be worn underneath the dobok. We look forward to seeing you there!
Evening classes will continue as normal on St. Patrick's Day and on Friday 18th.
Great success in New Zealand
Huge congratulations to Mr. Ryan on his amazing achievements at the World Championships in New Zealand. This was his first time competing in the 4th -6th Dan individual patterns division at this high level. The representative from Germany was the first opponent and proved no match for Mr. Ryan however, Mark Trotter came in the second round. Mr. Trotter is the New Zealand competitor and silver medalist at the last 2 world championships in this division. After a nailbiting round the referee's hand was raised on Mr. Ryan's side to progress him into the third round. There was then competition from Argentina and Norway before he finally came up against 17 time European Champion and now 5 time World Champion Jaroslaw Suska from Poland. There was very little between the two but Mr. Suska clinched victory in the end. A silver medal is amazing for the first time competing in this category.
On Saturday night, Mr. Ryan took part in the senior male team sparring and won a bronze medal again this year (he was on the team that won bronze at the Worlds in 2009). The team took a easy victory in the first couple of rounds before coming up against a strong Polish team. It all came down to the last fight (of 5) which unfortunately went Polands way.
We are delighted for Mr Ryan as he represented Quin and Ireland so well. We look forward to welcoming him back in class on Tuesday night.
The Irish team are doing very well over all. The following is the final medal tally :
Gold - Dylan Fitzgibbon -63kg sparring (junior)
Silver - Stephen Ryan 4th - 6th Dan patterns (senior)
Silver - Hong Keat Looi -71kg sparring (senior)
Silver - Paul King -63kg sparring (senior)
Bronze - Junior male team sparring
Bronze - Senior male team sparring
Bronze - Chloe Aboud -50kg sparring (junior)
Bronze - Nicole Butler -50kg sparring (junior)
See news archive |
