News Archive

ITA Cork Open Success for Quin TKD

The 2011 ITA Cork Open Taekwon-Do Championships took place in Neptune Stadium on Sunday 20th February. The event, which has been overseen for many years by Mr. Mark Buckley, ITA Tournament Director, attracted 428 junior and cadet competitors. The athletes competed in pattern and sparring events. The championships took place on six competition areas staffed by a team of 75 qualified umpires, under the direction of ITA Umpire Chairperson, Mr. Stephen Ryan. The tournament was programmed and scheduled by Mr. Richard Park, ITA Tournament Administrator and ran to schedule between 10am to 5pm sharp. The competitive level was high, with all bouts hotly contested for the honour of taking home one of the Cork Open trophies. ITA Would like to thank all competitors, coaches, umpires and supporters for making the 2011 ITA Cork Open a great day of Taekwon-Do.

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Quin TKD sent a squad of 22 competitors to the event. Each and every one fo the team did their club extremely proud with solid performances from everyone.  Quin TKD finished the day with 20 points overall, 2 Gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze. Special thanks also to Sarah McMahon who represented the club as umpire, Joanne Potter, John Moriarty and Aidan Foley who were club coaches for the event.

World Championships

Mr. Ryan will be travelling to New Zealand from March 2nd - 14th 2011 to represent Ireland at the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships. Classes will be running as normal while he is away except for Thursday 10th & Friday 11th March as the hall is being used for a production by the Drama Society. We will make up for these missed classes later in the season.

INTA Open Success for Quin TKD

A small squad from Quin TKD travelled to the INTA Open on the weekend of February 5th & 6th 2011. The club was represented by Emma, Luke & Nicole Moriarty (accompanied by Dad John) and by Mr. Ryan. All competitors acquitted themselves very well. Emma performed very well in patterns with strong performances but eventually losing out to a very dynamic Ellen Ince from Killester TKD. Luke put in a strong performance in patterns taking a bronze and cruised to gold in sparring. Nicole had a very solid performance in patterns taking a bronze, losing to national team member Chloe Aboud in the semis. Mr. Ryan put in a very polished performance on the Sunday taking Gold in III - VI Dan Pattern and Gold in -71kg sparring.

Watch a clip of Mr. Ryan in action in the final by clicking here

IIC Ireland a Great Success

The IIC hosted by the Irish Taekwon-Do Association (ITA), in Tralee, Ireland from January 28th – 30th was a great success. 138 people took part in the course from red belt to 8th Dan, including 50 4th Dan and above and 5 masters. Participants came from 9 countries; Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Ukraine, Spain, Jamaica, Belgium and Norway. The course was conducted by the ITF technical committee of Grandmaster Marano, Chairman of the technical committee, Grandmaster Trajtenberg acting President of the ITF and Grandmaster Bos, Secretary General of the ITF. The Grandmasters did an excellent jobover the three days of the course. They displayed fantastic knowledge that left participants with no doubt about the technical aspects of Taekwon-Do, inspired the participants with their passion and knowledge, and motivated everyone to train hard, stay in shape and always strive to put on the dobok and improve.

The IIC was attended by Quin TKD members: Mr. Ryan, Ms. Cullen, Ms. Moriarty and John Burton. Mr. Ryan and Ms. Cullen were also part of the Organising Committee.

To read a full report on the event click here

Winter Kup Grading 2010

Congratulations to the 14 members of Quin TKD who were succesfully promoted at the Winter Kup Testing conducted in Quin TKD ckub on Saturday december 18th, by Mr. Ryan V Dan and Mr. Rigney V Dan, assisted by Quin TKD instructor Ms. Cullen III Dan. All Quin TKD students put in very solid performances in each area of the syllabus and there were 6 distinctions achieved out of the 14 testing. Well done also to 5 of Mr. Rigneys students from Ballyea who were successfully promoted on the day.

Promotions:

Sean Culligan promoted to yellow tag
Ann Tynan promoted to yellow tag
Davitt Ward promoted to yellow belt
Patrick Darcy promoted to green tag
Joanne Potter promoted to green belt
Joanne Potter promoted to blue tag
Keeva Banting promoted to blue tag
Luke Moriarty promoted to Blue Belt
Luke McCarthy promoted to Blue belt
Harry McCarthy promoted to Blue belt
Tony Cleary promoted to red tag
Emma Moriarty promoted to red tag
Declan Staunton promoted to red belt
John Burton promoted to black tag

National Selections for ITF World Championships 2011

Well done to Quin TKD Instructor Mr. Stephen Ryan who was selected to represent Ireland at the ITF World Taekwon-Do Championships, which will take place in New Zealand in March 2011. Mr. Ryan has been selected in the following categories; Individual 4th - 6th Dan patterns, team sparring, team pattern, team power breaking.

The selection process was completed on Saturday November 20th in Cork where a tournament was used as the final part of the selection process in deciding the junior and senior squads to represent Ireland at this prestigious event. Being selected to represent Ireland is a fantastic honour and Mr. Ryan will be hoping to add to his collection of medals, having medaled at european and world championships on several occasions in the past.

New Club Hoodies for Quin TKD

The new club hoodies have arrived and are looking great. Each one is embroidered with the club logo on the front chest, Quin Taekwon-Do Team on the back over the Korean caligraphy for Taekwon-Do, the ITF logo in the hood lining and the name of the club member on the sleeve.

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Children's Cancer Research Fund

€5,000 was presented to the children's cancer research fund in our lady's childrens hospital, crumlin on Saturday November 20th 2010. The presentation was hosted by Ennis TKD club. Gerry Culley from the children's hospital was presented with the cheque by local TKD students. Well done to the students from Quin, Ennis, Ballyea, Barefield, and Scoil Mhuire who worked hard in fundraising for this worthy cause.

ITA Midwest TKD Championships

The ITA Midwest Open Taekwon-Do Championships took place in Shannon, Co. Clare on Sunday November 14th 2010. The Championships was for Children and Cadets from the age of 8 to 17 and ranging from yellow belt to black belt. The event ran according to schedule from 10.00am to 4.30pm on 5 rings with 344 competitors from 21 clubs competing in 60 categories of patterns and sparring events. This was made possible by excellent planning from the tournament committee and the hard work of 45 referees throughout the day. Each participant received an individualised schedule upon arrival at the arena. This schedule informed them of the time there category would commence and in what ring and also the divisions for which they were registered. The standard in all divisions was exceptionally high throughout the day. Each of the national coaches, Mr. Stephen Cooley VI Dan, Mr. Niall Jones V Dan and Mr. Adrian Byrne V Dan, were present as many of the national team junior squad were competing at the event. The coaches were very pleased with the talent which is being developed right through the colour belt divisions.

Quin TKD was represented by a team of 25 competitors and 7 umpires at the championships. All put in excellent performances in helping the club finish 4th overall in the standings.

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More photos

Results

Grading Pathway for White Belt to Green Tag

Please see our latest newsletter for an explanation of the new system in place for the white belt to green tag class. We believe that this new system based on setting and achieving goals will draw the best out of each and every student in the class.

Students can achieve their certification in any order, which allows them to work to their strengths and to improve where neccessary at their own pace. This programme will keep students motivated by focusing them on a series of mini-goals before they go for the official ITA grading for each belt.

New Quin TKD Hoodies Now Available

Quin TKD Hoodies now available for all club members and their families. Get your orders in by the end of next weeks training to get your Hoodies at the special rate of €25.

Hoodies will have the club logo embroidered on the left chest, Quin Taekwon-Do Team embroidered on the back and the ITF Logo printed into the hood lining. See this months Newsletter for more info.

New Logo for Quin TKD

Quin TKD are proud to unveil our new club logo. The logo incorporates the Korean Yin & Yang in the background, with 2 abstract figures, one male and one female, in action, in the centre of the image. We hope that you like it! The next step will be to design a new club hoodie that includes the logo and a club t-shirt. More info soon. Club members who would like to get involved in the design of the clothing, please let the instructors know.

Presentation of Black Belt Certificates

Official ITA Black Belt certificates were presented recently to those promoted at the ITA Black Belt grading which took place in Summer 2010. Ms. Laura Cullen was presented with her III Dan certificate while Ms. Aine Cregan, Ms. Nicola Monaghan and Ms. Nicole Moriarty were presented with their 1st Dan certificates. Each student also received a black belt pin and official black bet ID card.

Classes Resume

Taekwon-Do Classes resume at Quin TKD club on Tuesday 31st August 2010. Beginner children and current white to yellow belts will train Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6.30pm. Beginner adults and current white to yellow belt adults will train Thursdays at 7.30pm and may also train with the intermediate Adult class Tuesdays and Fridays at 8.30pm. Intermediate children, green belt and above will train Tuesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you all back training! Spread the word to friends and family that we are currently enroling beginners, but places are limited, especially in the childrens group, so please register early.

WANT TO BE THE NEXT KARATE KID?

If you have recently seen the new Karate Kid movie and are searching for a martial arts class in Clare, then you have come to the right place! We specialise in teaching the Korean martial art of Taekwon-Do. Our club is a fully registered member of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), Irish Taekwon-Do Association (ITA), Irish Martial Arts Commission (IMAC) and Taekwon-Do Advisory Board (TAB). That means our team of instructors are highly qualified to teach martial arts, all holding the following qualifications; ITF Black Belt Certificate, NCDP Coach Level 1, ITF Teaching Plaque, First Aid, Child Protection Certified and Garda Vetting Certificate. We have age specific programmes fo Children age 7 +, Teens and Adults, that will bring out your potential, physically and mentally. To be the best, train with the best. Call or text 086-304 9267 now to reserve your place(s). Classes in Quin Community Centre, Quin, Co. Clare. Enrol now to start the new season in September.

Summer Camp 2010 a Great Success

The TKD summer Camp 2010 took place in Mt. Melleray, Co. Waterford from Friday 16th - Monday 19th July. The camp was a great success with participants, ranging from 8th Kup to 7th Dan, coming from all accross the Country to train with some of Irelands best and most experienced Instructors. Participants enjoyed up to 6 hours of classes each day, with optional pattern consultation each evening. As well as this there was a fun activity planned each evening from olympic handball, to special technique competition, to tag rugby. Late evening activites also included some very competitive games on the nintendo Wii. Participants trained extremely hard each day which created a great atmosphere and team spirit in the camp. Thanks to all the instructors on the camp for their time and for sharing their knowledge;Master Kenneth Wheatley VII Dan (ITA President) who taught patterns and fundamentals, Mr. Mark Buckley VI Dan who taught self defence and sparring classes, Mr. Adrian O'Mahoney VI Dan who taught patterns and fundamentals, Mr. Stephen Ryan V Dan who taught patterns and fundaments and technical kicking syllabus, Mr. Adrian Byrne V Dan who taught special technique & plyometrics and sparring, Mr. Donal O'Donoghue IV Dan who taught sparring, Mr. Hong Keat Looi IV Dan who taught sparring and Mr. Carl Smullen III Dan & Krav Maga G2 who taught self defence. Well done to all participants especially those from Quin TKD and the Midwest.

Black Belt Grading Summer 2010 Historic for Quin TKD

The weekend of the 26th & 27th of June 2010 was a historic one for Quin TKD, with four members promoted at the national black belt testing. Quin TKD had the honour of hosting this event for the first time. On Saturday the 26th Ms. Laura Cullen, club instructor, was promoted to III Degree Black Belt under the examination panel of Master Kenneth Wheatley VII Degree, Mr. Pat Barry VI Degree and Mr. Mark Buckley VI Degree. Ms. Cullen put in a very solid performance in all aspects of the grading and was very deservedly promoted. Well done Ms. Cullen all club members are very proud of you!!

On Sunday the 27th three Quin TKD members were testing for 1st degree black belt. This was a very special moment for the club as these were the first students to go through the club from white belt to black belt. All three girls put in an excellent performance and were successfully promoted. Quin TKD is very proud of our three new black belts, Ms. Aine Cregan, Ms. Nicola Monaghan and Ms. Nicole Moriarty, who have matured to become great role models within the club. Mr. Ryan had the honour of being on the examination panel on Sunday the 27th along with Master Kenneth Wheatley VII Degree, Mr. Adrian Byrne V Degree, Mr. Donal O’Donoghue IV Degree and Mr. Hong Keat Looi IV Degree. Special mention also to Ms. Annie Kinsella IV Degree who did a great job as narrator for the grading on both days. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all candidates on their promotions over the two days, especially our friends from Ennis and Shannon. Also a big thank you to Ennis instructors Mr. Kevin Kinsella V Degree and Ms. Annie Kinsella IV degree for their time and dedication in helping us prepare the girls for their black belt grading.

The ITA is known for being a progressive association and this was shown again this weekend with the newly developed electronic marking system in place. This new system makes the examiners job easier and allows for much clearer and transparent feedback for students and their instructors. The ITA also makes the point of allowing our International Instructors’ to develop and grow and this was evident this weekend with the range of examiners on the panels for both days that all did an excellent job. The ITA black belt test is a very rigourous one and examiners and students alike did a great job in putting in a very focused performance over the two days. Areas tested included; fundamental movements, kicking, patterns, step sparring, free sparring, self-defense, special technique, power breaking and theory.

Photos day 1

Photos day 2

Congratulations to the following Clare students promoted:

Irish Cup 2010

Quin TKD sent a small squad to the Irish Cup of 9 competitors on the weekend of May 29th and 30th 2010. We were down in numbers due to other club members attending community games, communions and other family events, none the less those who travelled did their club proud taking home 9 trophies from 9 competitors, 1 Gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze. The squad which travelled were, Daniel Lennon, Silver in Sparring, Ronan Murray, Bronze in Sparring, Bronze in Patterns, Sarah McMahon (whose performance did not reflect the progress she has made on training recently), Joanne Potter, Silver in Patterns, Silver in Sparring, Nicole Moriarty, Bronze in Sparring, Emma Moriarty, Bronze in Patterns (and a very strong performance in sparring) Luke Moriarty, Gold in Pattern, Shane Quinn-Tuite (strong performance unlucky not to be placed in medals) and Joanne Potter Jnr., Silver in Sparring. Special mention of Luke Moriarty who is undefeated in Patterns since the start of the 2009 competitive campaign! Ms Laura Cullen, Quin TKD instructor also competed, taking Silver in Patterns, this time registered as part of her own  club Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon and she represented the Quin club as umpire, Scoil Mhuire student Pauline Kenneally did very well in her first event at this level to take bronze in Sparring. Pauline also assisted the umpire team for the weekend. Mr Ryan too had a busy weekend as Chief Umpire for the event.

Midwest Team Championships a Great Success

The Midwest Team Championships was held in Colaiste Mhuire Hall, Ennis on Sunday May 9th 2010. The event was a great success with 150 competitors and every club in the midwest region participating. The event was run over 3 squares and a seperate area for special technique. The categories were decided by age and grade, with competition being held in team pattern, team sparring and special technique.

The large Quin TKD squad participating performed excellently with almost all competitors achieving at least one medal. Prizes were awarded for 1st and 2nd in each division, but this year each participant was also awarded a participation certificate to acknowledge not just their participation but also their teamwork and sportsmanship.

Well done to all those who participated in this event and a special thanks to the coaches, umpires. Thanks also to Clare Spring for supplying water for all participants on the day.

Success at European Championships 2010

The European Championships have finished in Sweden with Mr. Ryan taking home a bronze medal from team sparring! Overall the Irish team had a great performance and are returning with 14 medals - 3 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze, finishing 4th out of 31 participating countries. Along with this Naomi Coonghe won the Best Overall Junior Female! Congratulations to all the Irish squad; competitors, coaches and umpires. Thanks also the ITF Sweden for an extremely well organised event.

Sabum Hong Keat Looi Visits Quin TKD April 2010

Quin TKD members were treated to a visit from Sabum Hong Keat Looi on Friday April 9th 2010. Hong Keat Looi is a good friend of Mr. Ryan's and fellow National Team Member. Mr. Looi is a very experienced Taekwon-Do competitor and has competed successfully at world level for several years. Mr. Looi's classes were very enjoyable with interesting and innovative exercises on how to develop agility and improve body movement. Each person came away from the high energy classes having worked very hard and with fresh ideas. We hope that Mr. Looi will pay a visit to Quin TKD again in the near future.

Master Kenneth Wheatley Visits Quin TKD April 2010

Master Kenneth Wheatley, ITA President and Technical Director paid a visit to Quin TKD on Tuesday April 6th 2010 to conduct classes. The classes were very enjoyable and covered many aspects of Taekwon-Do from etiquette, fundamental movement, kicking exercises, fun games to pattern applications. We look forward to Master Wheatleys next visit to Quin TKD!

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Midwest Kup Gradings March 2010

The Midwest region held their colour belt gradings on the weekend of March 20th & 21st 2010 with students from Quin, Ennis, Ennistymon, Ballyea, Barefield and Shannon taking part. On Saturday the 20th the grading took place in Quin Taekwon-do Club with Mr. Ryan, Mr. Byrne and Mr. Coughlan presiding over the proceedings. Congratulations to all Quin TKD students who performed excellently and were successfully promoted.

INTA International Open 2010

The 11th INTA International Open took place on the weekend of the 13th & 14th of March 2010. 600 competitors took part from Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. Quin TKD sent a small team of 8 competitors to participate in the event. It was a successful outing for the club taking home 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze. The level of competition was very good but the event took a long time to run off due to scheduling problems.

Quin TKD results:

Nicole Moriarty also competed in the mixed red belt pattern section but lost out after a strong performance to a male Norwegian competitor. Well done to all Quin TKD competitors who represented their club very well!

ITA Cork Open Report 2010

The ITA Cork Open Championships took place in Little Island on February 21st 2010. Quin TKD took an impressive squad of 22 competitors to the event and all performed extremely well doing their club proud in the process. Quin TKD took home 3 Gold, 2 silver and 3 Bronze medals from the event. All competitors came away from the event having gained valuable experience. Special thanks also to our ring assistants; Aine Cregan, Joanne Potter, Nicola Monaghan and our coaches, Ms. Laura Cullen, John Moriarty and Sarah McMahon. Special thanks also to Mr. Richard Park and Mr. Buckley for their tireless work on the tournament committee, Conor O'Donoghe for assisting Mr. Park with the administration and of course to Mr. Ryan who enjoyed his first competition in the role of Chief Umpire. The competitve culture is beginning to grow in the club and we hope to keep the strong attendance at events going.

Master George Vitale VIII Dan Visits Quin TKD

Quin TKD had a special guest instructor in February, Mr. Ryan's cousin from New York, Master George Vitale VIII Dan. Master Vitale was in Ireland to attend a seminar with Taekwon-Do Pioneer GM CK Choi which was being held in Cork. Master Vitale is a very experienced practioner of Taekwon-Do and has conducted classes all over the world, he is also an expert on Taekwon-Do history. His classes was enjoyed by all club members as they were full of innovative exercises and interesting stories about Taekwon-Do history and General Choi. Master Vitale will return to the club on his next visit to Ireland.

The Passing Of A Great President.

It is with great sadness that we inform you all of the tragic death of our I.T.F. President Grand Master Trân Triêu Quân, 9th Degree Black Belt, following the recent earthquake in Haiti.

We have just received information from the Trân family regarding the discovery of Grand Master Trân from the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. His body was found under several tons of debris. His death was confirmed by an official of the Embassy of Canada in Haiti. His identity was confirmed by the Disaster Victim Identification assessment team working in Haiti with the Consular Affairs Bureau of Foreign Affairs Canada. His body will be repatriated to Canada on Sunday, February 14.

Our thoughts go to the Trân family. We wish to extend our most sincere condolences to them.

Speaking from Argentina, Senior Vice-President Grand Master Pablo Trajtenberg stated: “We are so sorry to hear about Grand Master Trân’s death. We are still in shock. ITF and Taekwon-Do have lost a very strong and devoted leader, a great defender of our art in the tradition of our Founder, General Choi Hong Hi. He will remain forever a model that will inspire us all. We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Grand Master Trân’s dear wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi My; his children, Joliette, Cécilia and Nicolas; his son-in-law, François Beaudin; his grandchildren, Jasmine and Sandrine; his brothers, Trân Triêu Cung and Trân Triêu Lân; and all the Trân and Nguyen extended families. The fact that Grand Master Trân lost his life in a country such as Haiti is meaningful because he strongly believed in the contribution of Taekwon-Do to the building of strong citizenship qualities in developing countries. He had set time aside to meet with a group of Taekwon-Do students during his stay in Port-au-Prince. We already miss him.”

Parents Guide to ITA Tournaments

The ITA has released a new document called "Parents Guide to ITA Tournaments" which will be available to all ITA clubs for distribution. This document will further increase the professionalism and smooth running of ITA Tournaments by better educating parents on how ITA tournaments run, how to prepare, what to do on the day and a brief explanation of the rules.

Click here to read document

Grandmaster Tran Missing in Haiti

The ITF has announced that ITF President Grand Master Tran Trieu Quan is missing and presumed trapped in the rubble of the hotel he was staying in while on business in Haiti.

The ITF announcement is below. Our thoughts and prayers are with GM Tran and his family and we hope for some positive news on his status very soon.

Grand Master Trân was in Port-au-Prince on business when the earthquake struck Haiti last Tuesday. He was staying at the Montana Hotel (room 306). Grand Master Trân was seen going to his room 10 minutes before the earthquake. “My husband is trapped in the rubbles of the Montana Hotel and our family is still awaiting news from the rescue teams", Mrs My Nguyen Tran, his wife, said this morning.

Dr. Janel Gauthier, former Chair of the ITF Ethics and Discipline Committee and close friend of the Tran family, stated: "Taekwon-do practitioners all over the world are hoping that Grand Master Tran will be found alive and well very soon. Their thoughts and their hearts go to his family. Many Taekwon-do Masters, Instructors and practitioners from the Americas are deploying tremendous energy and using all possible channels and tools of communication to get vital information to the multi-national professional rescue teams to locate Grand Master Tran in the rubble of the Montana Hotel. Others are rounding health and sanitation stations in Haiti and neighbouring countries in case Grand Master Tran has been evacuated without identification".

"I thank all of those who are working the medias and the web, searching for information or spreading information on my father and his possible location", said Grand Master Tran's daughter Joliette.

Grand Master Tran is the father of Joliette (6th degree black belt), Cécilia and Nicolas (4th degree black belt).

ITA Annual General Meeting 2010

The Irish Taekwon-Do Association AGM took place on Saturday January 16th 2010 in the Horse & Jockey Hotel, Co. Tipperary. All executive and non-executive officers were democratically elected and the calendar for 2010 was ratified.

Click here to see list of ITA Committees for 2010

2010 Calendar of events can be seen in our upcoming events section.

Winter Kup Gradings 2009

The Midwest TKD Kup gradings took place over the weekend of the 12th & 13th of September 2009 with students from all clubs in the region being tested for promotion. Congratulations to all Students who graded especially those from Quin TKD who ranged in grade from white belt to black tag. The examiners were pleased with the high standard displayed over the 2 days. The next Kup gradings for the region will take place in March 2010.

Argentina 2009 - ITF Congress

The 16th ITF congress was held on Friday November 27th at the hotel Astor in Mar del Plata (Argentina) in conjunction with the 16th senior & 10th junior ITF world championships. The congress was attended by Irish representatives, Mr. Stephen Ryan (ITA) and Mr Ken Leahy (INTA).....Read more

Great Success at ITF World Championships

The Irish ITF team returned home from the ITF World Championships, Mar del Plata, Argentina on Wednesday December 2nd 2009 with a hugely impressive haul of 11 medals; 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 6 Bronze. The Team was led by The coaching and management team of; Stephen Cooley VI Dan (Coach), Paul Delea VI Dan (Coach), Niall Jones V Dan (Coach), Alan Troy V Dan (Coach), Adrian Byrne V Dan (Coach/Competitor) and Ken Leahy V Dan (Manager). The success of this campaign can be highlighted by the fact that the team medalled in all disciplines which is testement to the preparation which went in by the coach and management team and the competitors alike. The list of medals is as follows:

• Gold; Luke Woods, Senior -63kg Sparring
• Gold; Dylan Fitzgibbon, Junior -63kg Sparring 
• Silver; Junior Male Team Power (Marlon Forde, Dylan Fitzgibbon, David Kilcoyne, David Lynch, Matthew Troy) 
• Silver; Louise McCagh, Junior Female -55kg Sparring 
• Silver; Louise McCagh, Junior Female Special Technique
• Bronze; Senior Male Team Pattern (Stephen Ryan, Jamie Rigney, Adrian Byrne, Daniel Dillon, Hong Keat Looi)
• Bronze; Junior Female Team Pattern (Louise McCagh, Naomi Coonghe, Sarah Lehane, Megan O'Leary, Tara Murphy)
• Bronze; Senior Male Team Sparring (Stephen Ryan, Luke Woods, Hong Keat Looi, Jamie Rigney, Jonathan Dargan, Stephen Smullen)
• Bronze; Louise McCagh, Junior Female 2nd Dan Patterns
• Bronze; Louise McCagh, Junior Female Power Breaking
• Bronze; Junior male team sparring (Dylan Fitzgibbon, Karl Hynes, Shane Kearns, David Lynch, Michael O'Keefe, Matthew Troy)

(Midwest competitors in bold)

Mr Ryan also had the honour of being chosen as Captain of the national team for the event!

A detailed account of the championship can be read on the ITF Irish National Taekwon-Do Team facebook page, thanks to Mr Adrian Byrne.

PHOTOS

€5,000 Presented to Children's Cancer Research

On Saturday November 21st 2009 the Clare Taekwon-Do Schools presented a cheque for €5,000 to the Children's Cancer Research Centre in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. This is an annual fundraiser by the members of the Taekwon-Do students from Quin, Ennis, Ballyea, Barefield and Ennistymon TKD schools. Congratulations to everyone on your efforts once again this year. The money collected goes a long way to helping make the lives of seriously sick children much happier. Pictured from left to right are; Kevin Kinsella V (Ennis TKD), Stephen Ryan V (Quin TKD), Ruth Cullen I (Quin TKD), Laura Cullen II (Quin TKD), Annie Kinsella IV (Ennis TKD), Gerry Culley (Our Lady's Children's Hospital), Brian Coughlan V (Barefield TKD), absent from pic is Jamie Rigney (Ballyea TKD).

Irish Taekwon-Do Team set for World Championships, Mar del  Plata, Argentina

The national Taekwon-Do team will depart for the ITF World Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina, this Sunday November 22nd 2009. Among the squad of 31 competitors will be six competitors from Clare; Quin TKD instructor Mr Stephen Ryan, Ballyea TKD instructor Mr Jamie Rigney and from Shannon TKD; Mr Adrian Byrne, Mr Daniel Dillon, Ms Louise McCagh and Mr David Lynch. Quin TKD instructor Mr Ryan will be representing Ireland in Team Pattern and Team Sparring competition. Having won the European Championships earlier this year in the team pattern event the Irish team are hopeful of medal success at this World Championships. Mr Ryan knows what it is like to stand on top of the podium at a World Championships, having won 2 Gold medals at the 2003 World Championships with the national team and he is hungry to repeat that sucess.

Mr Ryan would like to give special thanks to those who have donated sponsorship money to help him get to Argentina including; ITA & INTA funds from national tournaments, Clare Spring Water & Paul Connellan, The Clare Taekwon-Do schools & special thanks to Ennis Taekwon-Do School & instructors Mr. Kevin Kinsella, Ms. Annie Kinsella and Mr. Mike Clune. Your help is very much appreciated!

Irish Cup 2009

The 2009 ITA Irish Cup took place on Sunday November 15th 2009 in the National Basketball Arena, with over 350 competitors participating. This years event was supported by competitors from several associations including ITA, INTA, RITA, TTI, IUTF and ITU. A team of 15 competitors from Quin TKD attended with Mr Ryan umpiring in the morning and taking the rare opportunity to coach in the afternoon for the colour belt championship. The results for Quin TKD were very good with 6 Gold, 5 Silver and 1 Bronze. Participating for Quin TKD were; Shane Quinn-Tuite (3rd Sparring), Nicole Moriarty (2nd sparring), Emma Moriarty (1st pattern), Luke Moriarty (1st pattern), Luke McCarthy (1st sparring), Harry McCarthy (2nd sparring), Cian O'Meara (1st sparring), Martin O'Meara, Leagh O'Meara, Sarah McMahon (1st sparring), Fiona Bowdren (2nd sparring, 1st pattern), Aine Kelleher (2nd sparring), Joanne Potter, Declan Staunton, Laura Cullen (2nd pattern). Congratulations to all on your performance you did your club proud.

Halloween Fun Competition and Party '09

The 2009 Halloween Funday was a great success with students from all the Midwest clubs taking part. Instructors and students alike took part in the fun by wearing halloween costumes to the event. There were great scenes with lots of party games including, wrap the mummy and gunge plunge, pumpkin bowling (see photos) as well as bouncy castle and gladiator event. The first hour was a fun competition where everyone got two matches in patterns and sparring. This was followed by a special technique, high flying kick event. Overall the event was a great success.

INTA National Championships 2009

Quin TKD sent a small team of 5 competitors to the 2009 INTA national Championships, held in Little Island on the 17th & 18th of Oct. '09. Those representing the club were Mr Ryan, Shane Quinn-Tuite, Nicole, Emma and Luke Moriarty. Congrats to Nicole who took Silver in Patterns, where she faced very tough opposition in the red/black male and female division. In Sparring Nicole took a bronze where she lost out to the very talented Chloe Aboud from IMAA. Sister Emma Moriarty performed well in the blue belt pattern division reaching the quater finals, the standard in this division was very high and Emma who usually places in the medals was unfortunate on this occasion. Luke Moriarty performed with composure in both pattern and sparring taking a well earned Gold medal in both events. Shane Quinn-Tuite gained valuable experience at the event but unfortunatley did not take a medal, never the less the experience will stand to him. Mr Ryan performed well in the pattern division taking gold and went on to take a Bronze in the sparring. He made it difficult for himself in his first bout against Mike O'Keeffe, where he should have been happy to control the centre of the ring and let Mike come to him he instead decided to chase Mike whose tactics were to run and pick off points. Evenso Mr Ryan won the bout before going onto face Luke Woods. Luke who likes to  fight with high tempo and very close is always an exciting proposition to face. Mr Ryans tactics worked well in round one as he decided to fight Luke very close and time Lukes shots by going to hands and cutting inside when Luke tried to get a shot off. This worked well for 3/4 of the fight and Mr Ryan was ahead on points. In the last quarter of the fight however Luke landed 2 sweet back-kicks which put Mr Ryan on the back foot. Luke's superior fitness and ability to keep high tempo for 2 rounds allowed him to press in the final stages and clinch the decision. All in all it was a good weekend, with all Quin TKD competitors gaining valuable experience. Special thanks to Mr John Moriarty for coaching on Saturday and also for assisting the ring council with the organisation of the event and helping us stick to our schedule.

ITA President Promoted to 7th Degree Master & Five New 5th Degrees for Midwest

At the ITF International Instructor Course in Spain. The president of the Irish Taekwon-Do Association (ITA) was promoted to 7th Dan Master. On behalf of Quin TKD and the Midwest Taekwon-Do Schools, I would like to congratulate Master Wheatley on this very significant promotion. Master Wheatley has been training in Taekwon-Do for 30 years having started in 1979. As well as leading the ITA, Master Wheatley is ITA Technical Director, Chairperson of the Ethics and Discipline Committee, IMAC Executive Committee and President Taekwon-Do Advisory Board

Saturday 26th September 2009 is a day that will live long in the memory for those fortunate enough to be present at the ITF International Instructor Course in Benidorm, Spain and witness the historic moment when three Irish Taekwon-Do Masters were promoted by the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) promotions committee.

A group of 27 people drawn from the ranks of Irish Taekwon-Do Association (ITA) and Irish National Taekwon-Do Association (INTA) travelled to the three day event held in the Grand Hotel Balli in Benidorm, Spain. On Saturday 26th September at 5.00pm nine candidates from Ireland participated in a truly historic grading examination conducted by the ITF Promotions committee of Grand Master Hector Marano 9th Dan, Grand Master Pablo Trajtenberg 9th Dan and Master Willem Jacob Bos 8th Dan. The first group of Irish candidates were testing for 5th Dan; Mr. Kevin Kinsella, Mr. Adrian Byrne, Mr. Brian Coughlan, Mr. Stephen Ryan and Mr. Jamie Rigney. Next up was Mr. Stephen Cooley testing for 6th Dan along side a candidate from Sweden. From there the candidates testing for 7th Dan Master took the floor. Our president Mr. Kenneth Wheatley lined up along side Mr. Gerry Martin from INTA and Mr. Mark Hutton from Scotland, who is at this stage an honorary Irishman! Finally Master O'Toole, President of INTA took the floor to test for 8th Dan along side Master Christa Wintzer from Germany. All candidates performed extremely well in what were very physical grading examinations.

See Photos

With pleasure we can announce that all candidates from Ireland were successfully promoted, congratulations to one and all.

Midwest Championships '09

The 2009 Midwest TKD Championship took place on the weekend of September 12th & 13th. Even though the competition was much earlier than usual this year we still were able to send a small team to participate. The competition as always was very well organised by Mr. Adrian Byrne and his computerised draw software. There was also electronic scoring in use which  helped make things run to schedule. Overall the standard was very good with competitors from both of Ireland's main organisations, ITA and INTA, taking part. Congrats to all Quin TKD team members which took part. The results were very good with 6 GOLD, 5 SILVER and 3 BRONZE

Results:

ITA Summer Camp '09

The 2009 ITA Summer Taekwon-Do Camp took place from Monday 6th - Friday 9th July '09 in Mt. Melleray Scout Centre, Co. Waterford. The Camp was attended by approx. 100 students from the ITA, and it was great to also see some Junior Black Belts from the INTA also in attendance. Instructors on the Camp included Mr. Stephen Cooley, Mr Mark Buckley, Mr Adrian O'Mahoney, Mr Adrian Byrne, Mr Stephen Ryan and Mr. Donal O'Donoghue, with Mr. Wheatley also dropping in for a visit towards the end of the week. The camp covered all aspects of Taekwon-Do with 2 classes scheduled for each group each day aswell as an optional pattern consultation on each evening which was very well attended. When students were not training they were kept busy with sports activities including tag rugby, soccer, GAA and climbing wall. In the evenings there was a camp fire for the kids with plenty of signing from students and instructors alike. Next years Summer camp will take place from Friday July 16th - Tuesday July 20th and we expect a strong attendance from Quin TKD students.

Photos

Instructors Complete 1st Aid Course

On Sunday July 12th '09 Quin TKD instructors, Mr Ryan, Ms laura Cullen and Ms Ruth Cullen complete a 1st Aid course with the Irish Red Cross. All Aspects of basic 1st aid were covered.

Summer Kup Gradings '09

The Midwest TKD Summer Kup Gradings took place over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of June in Shannon and Quin TKD clubs respectively. Students tested for promotion from all clubsd in the region and the standard was very high on both days. Among those promoted were several students from Quin TKD ranging from white to black tag and students from Ennistymon TKD where Mr Ryan is the Examiner. Congratulations to everyone on their promotions.

Photos

European Champions

Irish Male Team win Team Patterns

Mr. Ryan, along with Mr. Jamie Rigney (Ballyea TKD), Mr. Adrian Byrne (Shannon TKD), Mr. Daniel Dillion (Shannon TKD) and Mr. Hong Keat Looi (Rivervalley TKD) won the male team pattern event at this years ITF European Championships, after beating stiff competition from Hungary, Romania, Norway and Italy. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

See video of final here

Individual Male Patterns

Unfortunately, Mr Ryan was not as successful in the individual patterns and did not take a medal this time after narrowly losing out to Jani Turanen from Finland in the quarter finals. Mr Ryan admits that he did not feel at his best going into this event and is determined to increase his dynamic power and speed over the summer period and correct some technical issues, as well as pushing the leg strength even more. Better ofluck for World Championships in Argentina later this year, and for the Irish selections for this event of course.

Special Technique

Louise McCagh (Shannon TKD) has taken silver in the Special Technique event. Well done Louise. Louise could have come away with the gold in this event as she hit the flying side kick also but had some balance issues which resulted in no points for that technique. That said we are extremely proud of Louise for taking a silver in her first Euros.

This was a successful campaign for the Irish Squad as a whole with 11 medals coming back, which is one of the best medal hauls at this level ever for an Irish squad. All that said there were also some very close calls in the individual and team sparring events which could easily have gone our way and resulted in more medals. This though only makes us more determined to improve and build on this years success. We look forward to Argentina and of course next years Euros in the familiar town of Skovde, Sweden.

For more news and updates on the Irish team check out the Twitter page updated by Mr. Byrne or the Result Page for the competition.

Much more photos from this event will be added to the gallery soon and a full report on the Irish squads performance overall will also appear on the ITA and INTA websites.

Irish National Team Selections 2009

Mr Ryan has been selected along with 6 others from Midwest TKD for the Irish National Team for the 2009 European Championships, which take place in Benidorm Spain from Wednesday April 22nd - Monday April 27th.

Quin TKD classes will be running as normal under the tuition of Ms Laura and Ms Ruth Cullen, Quin TKD instruction team, while Mr. Ryan is away.

All at Quin TKD wish the Midwest and Irish Squad all the best for their trip to the Euros. Mr. Ryan will be taking part in senior 4th Dan patterns as well as all senior team events. Also in attendance from the Midwest will be Mr Jamie Rigney 4th Dan, Ballyea TKD instructor, who will be taking part inindividual power breaking as well as team pattern and power.

Selected for the national squad from Shannon TKD are instructor Mr Adrian Byrne who will be taking part in team pattern, team power and team special technique, Mr. Daniel Dillon 2nd Dan who will be taking part in individual 2nd Dan pattern as well as team special and team pattern, Mr. Shane O'Rourke 1st Dan who will be taking part in team sparring, Ms Louise McCagh 1st Dan, who will be taking part in individual sparring, power and special as well as several team events. Louise has also been honoured with the captaincy of the junior female team and Mr Dave Lynch 1st Dan, who will be taking part in individual power, pattern and sparring.

INTA Irish Open '09

Quin TKD was represented by Mr. Ryan at this years Irish Open Championships which saw 500 competitors compete over 2 days in junior and senior divisions. He competed in the 4th Dan patterns section  where he lost out to 2 time world champion Ms Julia Cross but beat of Mr. Hong Looi to take the bronze. Mr Ryan was in fine form in the -71kg sparring division where he beat off a scottish opponent in the first round, Stephen Browne from Cork in round 2 and Marcin Oworuszko in the third round before facing Hong Looi for a memorable battle in the final. Both Mr Ryan and Looi fought with passion in this high paced match and were even after 2 rounds. Finally after extra time Hong was declared the winner narrowly beating Mr Ryan into the silver medal position.

The tournament was well supported by ITA as it served as part of the selection process for this years European Championships and the ITA competitors did their clubs proud with many medals heading back to Midwest, Cork and East regions.

St. Patrick's Day Parade '09

We had a great turnout for the parade this year with students from Quin, Ennis, Ballyea, Barefield and Scoil Mhuire Marching together in Ennis while the Shannon crew had their parade in Shannon Town with an equally great turnout. The weather was fantastic with sunshine and blue skies all the way, which makes a great change as it is usually miserably cold and wet. Well done to all students who put on impressive displays of TKD in front of a crowd of thousands which lined the streets. Thanks to parents for their help and cooperation which helped the day run off very smoothly.

Photos

National Technical Seminar Tralee March '09

On Sunday March 8th an ITA National Technical Seminar was conducted in Tralee Co. Kerry by Mr. Kenneth Wheatley VI Dan and Mr. Ryan IV Dan. The event was hosted by Kingdom Taekwon-Do Schools instructor Mr. Adrian O'Mahoney V Dan. The seminar focused on the ITF Patterns and the kicking progression from the ITA Syllabus. Mr. Wheatley lead the class through the pattern section with the emphasis for the day being on transitional movement using correct sine-wave and performing the different motions correctly.

Mr. Ryan lead the class through several of the kicks from the syllabus, the progessions of each kick and conditioning exercises to prepare the body for performing the techniques correctly. The day ended with Mr. Wheatley giving on presentation on the Do.

Midwest Team Championships Great Success

The Midwest Team Championships on March 1st 2009 was a great success in terms of participation and development. This was an exciting new venture for us as we had not

run a team event on this scale before. 175 students from all of the Clare clubs participated in the event with 43 of those coming from Quin TKD and the majority of participants under 12 years old. The event consisted of team pattern, team sparring and a special technique event run over 2 rings. The head instructors from each club were freed up to coach which does not happen often.

This is a great step forward from a developmental perspective as students do not normally get the guidance of their coaches at these events as they are normally tied up umpiring. The event was a great sucess in developing team building and atmosphere within the clubs as well as students technical and tactical ability. All students came away from the event gaining valuable competitive experience and all agreed that it was a fun day.

From a parents perspective as this was our 1st team championships we can assure you that the next event will be greatly improved in terms of scheduling and we will look at a more spacious venue. I am sure we can count on your support for the next team championships which we will be running very soon.

Quin TKD Results

RITA Leinster Open '09

A small squad of Quin and Shannon TKD members attended the RITA Leinster Open in Feb. '09. Representing Quin TKD on the day were Mr. Ryan, Ronan Murray and Daniel Lennon. Congratulations to Daniel who took 3rd in his sparring section and to Ronan who took the silver in the same division after losing out to a hard hitting Polish competitor in the final. Oto from Shannon TKD also took joint 3rd in the same division. Mr. Ryan only competed in patterns at this event after spraining ligaments in his foot the day before, he still came away with gold though despite a shakey start on the injured foot. Congratulations also Oto who took gold in the colour belt pattern division, to Mog (Shane O'Rourke) who won in the heavyweight sparring division and took bronze in the patterns, and Rob Sullivan who took bronze in the patterns and bronze in the lightweight sparring.

ITA Cork Open Championships '09

Quin TKD was represented by a squad of 8 competitors at this years Cork Open Championships, with Mr. Ryan and Ms. Cullen attending as Umpires. The championships ran smoothly despite some headaches for the tournament committee early on to fix some incorrectly entered competitors. This championships also saw the official ITF Electronic Scoring system used on one ring with great success. The system will be run on 3 rings at the next event. Congratulations to Conlead O'Cearbhallain 3rd place pattern, Nicole Moriarty 3rd place pattern, Leah O'Mara 2nd place pattern and Luke Moriarty 3rd place sparring. Well done also to Martin and Cian O'Mara, Shane Quinn-Tuite and Emma Moriarty who despite not taking home any silverware represented their club very well.

ITA Umpire Training in Ballyea

Ballyea Taekwon-Do Club hosted the first of the ITA Umpire training courses for 2009. 25 Umpires and new trainees attended, mostly from Midwest but with visitors from Waterford, Kerry and Wicklow.

The course was led by Mr Adrian O’Mahoney (Umpire Chairperson, Intl. Umpire A Class), Mr Stephen Ryan (Intl. Umpire A Class) and Mr Adrian Byrne (Tournament Administrator, Intl. Umpire A Class)

Topics covered included the roles of Jury President, Jury member, Centre Referee, Corner Referee, Pattern Referee and the electronic scoring system and tournament management software.

Photos

Quin TKD members complete Coaching Course

5 members of Quin TKD completed the IMAC and Irish Sports Council certified Introduction to Teaching Taekwon-Do Coaching Course on Jan 31st and Feb 1st '09. The course was the first ITF Taekwon-Do specific coaching course to be certified by the IMAC and Irish Sports Council. The course was lead by Mr. Adrian Byrne IV Dan, Bsc. Sports Science, who works for coaching Ireland as a coach education and development officer. He was assisted by Mr. Stephen Ryan, IV Dan, Bsc. Physical Education.

In attendance from Quin TKD were Ms. Laura Cullen, Mr. Stephen Ryan, Sarah McMahon, Ronan Murray and Aine Kelleher.

Read report

Photos

Quin TKD Instructors Qualify as CPR/AED Trainers

Mr. Ryan and Ms. Laura Cullen have completed an intensive instructor training course with the HSE and Irish Heart Foundation to become qualified as CPR and defibrillator instructors. This means that they can now train people in the lifesaving skills of CPR and defibrillator use. In 2009 courses will be run for Midwest Taekwon-Do members to become certified. Keep an eye on the website for future details.

Midwest Kup Gradings December '08

Congratulations to all Quin TKD members who were successfully promoted over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of December 2008. The standard on display was very high and all Quin TKD students did them themselves and the club proud with excellent performances. All of our hard work has paid off and we can now enjoy the last week of training without any pressure before taking a well earned break for the Christmas Holidays. Our last classes of the year are on Friday December 19th and we will recommence training on Thursday January 8th 2009 at the usual training times.

Photos of Grading in Quin

Photos of Grading in Shannon

Success at Irish Cup 2008

Quin TKD had a very successful day at the 2008 Irish Cup, held in Gormanston College, Meath on Sunday November 23rd 2008. Quin TKD was represented by 8 competitors on the day all of which gained valuable competitive experience. Ms. Laura Cullen represented us in the 2nd Dan patterns section, but unfortunatley after a mistake did not come home with the silverware she might have deserved after looking very sharp and powerful early on. Also competiting in the senior divisions were Daniel Lennon and Ronan Murray. Daniel did very well to take 2nd place in the patterns section, however it was a different affair in the -80kg blue - black sparring where he had a tough time against some very experienced competitors. Ronan took silver in his Sparring section after losing out to Dave Lynch from Shannon TKD. It was clear that Ronan was lacking in competitive sharpness as he was not as mobile as usual, but he can look forward to a busy 2009 Season to set him back on the right track. In the junior sections Quin TKD did well especially in the patterns section. All Quin TKD students looked technically sharp and very strong. This showed in the results with a bronze for Luke McCarthy, Silver for Harry McCarthy, Silver for Nicole Moriarty and Silver for Emma Moriarty. Aishling Hassett also did well in her first competive outing but was unfortunate not to take home a medal. In the Junior Sparring the Quin competitors showed improvment, with Nicole Moriarty taking silver and both Harry and Luke going through a couple of rounds. With our plans to develop the Midwest squad in 2009 I am sure we will see much more sparring medals in the future. All in all Quin TKD had a very enjoyable day and look forward to the competitive Season in 2009 and increasing the number of competitors travelling to these events.

€10,000 Presented to Children's Cancer Research

On Saturday November 9th 2008 members of the Clare Taekwon-Do Schools from Ennis, Quin, Ballyea, Barefield and Ennistymon, presented a cheque for €10,000 to the Children's Cancer Research Fund in Our Lady's Childrens Hospital Crumlin. The cheque was presented to Mr. Gerry Culley, a representative from the Hospital who thanked all those involved for their continued support of this cause. The Clare Taekwon-Do Schools have conducted this fundraiser for over 15 years now and each year the amount donated has increased. Congratulations to all those involved for their great work and generosity.

Halloween Funday 08

The 2008 Halloween Funday was a great success with students from all the Midwest clubs taking part. Instructors and students alike took part in the fun by wearing halloween costumes to the event. There were great scenes from Mr. Incredible and the flash racing on the bungee run to the Incredible Hulk refereeing matches. The first two hours was a fun competition where everyone got two matches in patterns and sparring. This was followed by a special technique, high flying kick event. Next up were halloween party games, which proved to be great fun such as pumpkin bowling, disgusting slime games and fun on the pirate ship bouncy castle.

Success at Kingdom Open

Congratulations to Mr. Stephen Ryan who took two Gold medals and to Ms. Laura Cullen who took a Silver medal at this years Kingdom Open, hosted by Mr. O'Mahoney's Kingdom Taekwon-Do Schools in Castleisland, Co. Kerry on Sunday September 28th 2008. Mr. Ryan took Gold in the 3rd/4th Dan patterns section and in the -71kg Sparring section and Ms. Cullen took Silver in the 2nd Dan patterns section. Quin TKD was also repsesented on the day by Daniel Lennon and Ronan Murray both blue belts. Daniel gained valuable experience with his first competitive spars against black belt opponents and Ronan came away with a silver after losing out to Dave Lynch of Shannon TKD in the -80kg sparring section. Well done to all.

Childrens Cancer Fundraiser 2008

Congratulations to all Quin TKD members who were involved in this years effort to raise money for Children's Cancer Research in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. This year we raised €3,993. This fantastic figure will be added to the money collected by the other Clare clubs involved in the fundraiser and will be presented to a representative from the hospital in September.

Quin TKD Instructors Level 1 Coaching Qualification

On Sunday July 13th 2008 the Quin TKD Instruction Team (Mr. Stephen Ryan IV Dan, Ms. Laura Cullen II Dan and Ms. Ruth Cullen I Dan) Graduated from the level 1 coaching course. The Graduation ceremony was held in the Lucan Spa Hotel, Lucan.  This is an NCTC and Irish Sports Council certification and the Quin Instuctors along with approx. 20 other ITA instructors are among the first Taekwon-Do coaches to achieve this qualification.

Kup Grading July '08

Congratulations to all who were promoted at the grading held in Quin Community Centre on Sunday July 6th 2008. The examiners panel on the day were Mr. Ryan (Quin TKD), Mr. Byrne (Shannon TKD), Mr. Coughlan (Barefield TKD), Mr. Rigney (Ballyea TKD) and Ms. Kinsella (Ennis TKD), all IV Dan.Congratulations to all Quin TKD students were promoted on the day. The Quin TKD instruction team are very proud of the standard shown by our members on the day at all levels. Mr. Ryan would like to thank the following who helped prepare the students for the testing; Ms. Cullen II Dan, Ms. Cullen I Dan, Mr. Rigney IV Dan and Mr. Moriarty 1st Kup.

Ms Laura Cullen Promoted to II Degree Black Belt

Congratulations to Ms. Laura Cullen, Quin TKD Instruction Team, who was promoted to II Dan Black Belt,at the ITA black belt testing on June 29th 2008 in Integrity Martial Arts Academy. The promotions panel on the day were Mr. Wheatley VI Dan, Mr. O'Rourke VI Dan and Mr. Cooley V Dan. Also promoted on the day were members from Shannon, Ennis, Barefield and a number of Mr Cooley's students from Integrity Martial Arts and Rivervalley.

Kup Testing June '08

Congratulations to Quin TKD members promoted at the recent grading in Shannon. The panel of examiners on the day were Kevin Kinsella, Stephen Ryan, Adrian Byrne and Jamie Rigney all IV Dan. The standard overall throughout the day was very good and the Quin students performed exceptionally well. Well done everyone!! Belts and Certificates will be presented in class. The next Testing will take place in Quin Communty Centre on Sunday July 6th

ITA Summer Camp 2008

This ITA summer camp will take place in Mt. Melleray Scout Cetnre, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford this coming 11th - 14th July. The camp is open to all competitors and dedicated Taekwon-do students over the age of ten years. The camp will involve intensive training with national and international instructors. The activities will include sparring, patterns (team and individual), technical kicking and fundamental movements, self defence, special technique, and strength and flexibility based exercises. There will also be a number of fun games including basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, tag rugby and more!

The total cost of the camp is €160 per person which includes all classes, meals and accommodation. Students must arrange their own transport to the camp.

This summer camp has been a huge success in the past. If any students are interested in this excellent opportunity, Please ask Mr. Ryan for details in class

Preliminary Black Belt Grading Success

Congratulations Miss Laura Cullen (Quin TKD Instruction Team and Scoil Mhuire Instructor) who successfully completed the ITA preliminary black belt grading In Ballyea on Sunday June 8th 2008, along with 13 others. A preliminary grading is to ensure candidates are prepared and at the required standard to test for black belt. Miss Cullen, along with Miss Kangataran and Mr Park all successfully passed the prelim and will test for second dan on 29th of June. 4 other Clare students, Michael Clune, Vincent McInerny, Jamie Williams and Michael Dolan also passed the prelim and will test for first dan black belt on the same day.

Well done to all involved and Good Luck on the 29th!!!

Thank You!

The Quin TKD Instructors wish to acknowledge one of our students, 12 year old blue belt, Mariesa Corbett who recently donated 200 Euro of her own money to the Children's Cancer Fund in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. We felt this act of kindness could not go without a mention on the club website and we are very proud to have a student like Mariesa in our club. The charity walk will take place on Sunday June 15th 2008 so keep collecting sponsorship fees. Thank you to those who have already returned cards and money

Mr. Wheatley Visits Quin TKD

On Friday May 17th 2008, Mr. Kenneth Wheatley VI Dan Black Belt (President of the ITA) visited Quin TKD. Mr Wheatley was in the area to pay his first visit to Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon TKD club (Ms Cullen's club). Luckily he stayed on to teach class in Quin. The classes were very enjoyable and included games, technical, patterns and kicking.

International Instructors Course, May 2008

An ITF International Instructors Course conducted by the ITF Technical Committee (Master Marano, Master Trajtenberg, Master Bos) was held on the May bank holiday weekend 2008. Mr. Ryan and Ms. Cullen represented Quin TKD at the event along with instructors from all of the other ITA clubs in the region. The event was attended by 160 participants from all over the world. Including Mr. Ryan's cousin George Vitale from New York, who stayed on for a week after the course and visited most of the clubs in the midwest region where he taught classes. The course covered all aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do. During the event 3 ITA members were promoted after a successful grading in front of the technical committee. Mr. Looi and Mr. Smith were promoted to IV Dan and Ms. Gallagher Payet was promoted to V Dan, all are students of Mr. Cooley V Dan ITA Coach. Ms. Gallaghers promotion makes her the highest ranked female in ITF Taekwon-Do in Ireland.

Midwest Championships April 2008

Congratulations to Luke Moriarty (Gold in Patterns), Nicole Moriarty (Silver in Patterns, Silver in Sparring) and Aisling Hassett (Bronze in Patterns) who all took medals at the 2008 Midwest Championships which took place in LIT, Limerick. Quin TKD was represented by 24 members who all put in solid performances to do their club and instructors proud.

Grading for St. Joseph's Tulla 14th April 2008

On Monday April 14th a Kup grading was conducted for the students of Mr. Ryan's second club in St. Joseph's Secondary School, Tulla, Co. Clare. The club is run specifically for the students of the school as an after school programme. Mr. Ryan invited Mr. Rigney (Ballyea TKD Instructor) as guest examiner to assist in the grading and in order for Mr. Rigney to gain more experience in promoting students. A small number of students were tested on the day and all were successful. Another Kup test will take place in the school very soon for those who were not deemed ready for this testing.

Photos

Krav Maga Seminar 5th April 2008

Six members of the Midwest Taekwon-Do Schools (Adrian Byrne, Mary O'Grady and Omar from Shannon TKD and Stephen Ryan, Declan Staunton and John Torpay from Quin TKD) attended the recent Krav Maga seminar, hosted by Mr. Stephen Cooley in Integrity Martial Arts Academy. The seminar was high paced from start to finish and covered aspects of self defence from very basic, non-agressive situations to defence against knives, defending from the ground etc. The day was enjoyed by everyone and all of us came away with improved knowledge and a new perspective on self defence.

Photos

International Umpire Course, Cologne, 29th & 30th March 2008

Two ITA instructors form the Midwest, Stephen Ryan IV Dan and Brian Coughlan IV Dan, attended the ITF International Umpire Course in Cologne, Germany on March 29th and 30th 2008. They arrived on Friday night and were met at the airport by Master Paul Weiler VIII Dan, ITF Vice President, and host of the event. From there it was a short drive to the hotel situated in the heart of the beautiful city of Cologne, adjacent to the Hauptbahnhof and famous Gothic Cathedral. After registration we had an opportunity to chat with some of the familiar faces participating in the course from the 72 participants (including 12 Masters) coming from 21 countries as well as make some new contacts. The course was also attended by 2 members from the INTA, David Condon IV Dan and Ken Leahy V Dan and all participants representing Ireland acquitted themselves very well over the 2 day course. On the Saturday it was down to business early with the ITF Tournament and Umpire committee of Master Alberto Katz VII Dan from Argentina (chairman), Master Coos van de Heuvel VII Dan from the Netherlands and Mr. Kurt Ottesen VI Dan from Canada presenting the rules for World Championships and World Cup. The course was run in a very professional and engaging manner; the content was clearly presented, through a combination lecture and discussion based modules as well as practical modules covering all aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do competition. The first day of the course was very intensive, running from 9.00am until approximately 8.00pm, but was very worthwhile as all participants gained valuable experience and information. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the weekend was practical sessions where the new electronic scoring system was introduced. This computerised system will undoubtedly bring ITF competition to a much higher level. The system itself was explained in detail and all umpires had plenty of practice in scoring both patterns and sparring competition. This system (produced by Master Harry Vones from ITF Deutschland) will be used at all major ITF events in the future, and the ITA will also be making an investment this year to purchase the system for use at our national events. We would like to thank Master Weiler for being an excellent host and the ITF T&U committee for a very educational and enjoyable course.

Busy Weekend for Quin TKD

The weekend of the 29th and 30th of March was a busy one for Quin TKD. While Mr Ryan was in Cologne at the IUC, the club was also being represented on 2 other fronts. John Torpay, yellow belt, travelled to Cork to compete with the Midwest Squad taking a bronze medal in sparring (for full report click here). Ronan Murray, blue tag, attended the Tomaz Barada training seminars in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, where he was rigorously put through his paces and gained valuable experience as he was partnered mostly with black belts from Mr. Cooley's (ITA Coach) clubs. (for more on Tomaz Barada seminars go to ( www.taekwondo.ie)

Easter Funday 2008

On Easter Saturday 22nd March, 77 youngsters from the Clare Taekwon-Do clubs took part in a day of fun and friendly competition in St Flannan's School. As with the Christmas event we gave every participant two chances to perform their pattern and two sparring matches.

As before the modified rules sparring worked very well with everyone having an opportunity to test their skill, movement and timing with no worries about getting hurt. The competition part ran from 12pm to 1.45. Next the bouncy castles and sumo suits came out, and with the addition of some backing music the party kicked off. There were some very spirited Sumo matches and some fine gymnastics on display on the bouncy castles. At the end all the participants got an Easter Egg to take home. A big thank you to all those who helped in making the day run smoothly! A big thank you too to the parents and competitors for their efforts on the day.

Photos

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2008

The St. Patrick's Day Parade went off very well, with a large contingent from Quin marching alongside students and instructors from Ennis, Scoil Mhuire, Ballyea and Barefield (the Shannon club marched in their local parade also). The weather this year held up very well and allowed for spectacular demonstrations in Sparring, Patterns, Sport TKD drills, Leg strength demonstrations from students of all ages from each club. Thanks to all the parents who turned out on the day to lend a hand.

Kup Grading March 2008

Congratulations to all Quin TKD students who tested at the regional midwest grading on Sunday March 9th 2008 in Ballyea. Students from Quin successfully tested alongside students from Ennis, Shannon, Scoil Mhuire, Ballyea and Barefield. The Quin results were very good on the day despite the recent focus in our training not being on grading preparation. The grading was once again a good chance to see how the students in the region are coping with the syllabus and the mix of results on the day left the examining panel with much feedback. The grading panel consisted of Mr. Kinsella IV Dan, Mr. Byrne IV Dan, Mr. Coughlan IV Dan, Mr. Ryan IV Dan and Mr. Rigney IV Dan.

Investing to Ensure Quality

The Quin TKD instructors are continuing to invest money in order to improve the quality of training at the club. The most recent purchase was a large shipment of Hogus (body protectors). This will enable junior members to train in sparring drills, techniques and tactics before they have purchased their own safety equipment.

Cork Open Championships February 2008

Congratulations to the Quin TKD members who competed at the recent Cork Open Championships in Little Island, Co. Cork. The Championships was attended by 316 juniors and cadets. Quin TKD was represented by Nicole, Emma and Luke Moriarty, Daniel Lennon and Ronan Murray. Congratulations to Ronan who took silver in patterns and gold in sparring, Daniel who took bronze in sparring and Nicole who took bronze in sparring. A special mention also to our sister club, Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon, who competed in their first competition and represented their club very well. visit scoilmhuiretkd.googlepages.com for more details.

Photos

Master Jedut Seminar a Great Success, February 2008

Master Jerzy Jedut VII Dan visited Ireland to conduct training seminars covering various aspects of Taekwon-Do with an emphasis on sport exercises. Master Jedut is Technical Director of the Polish TKD Association, former Polish National Team Coach and Chief Instructor of MKS Lewart Lubartow.

The seminars took place in the Roadstone Club and were attended by exactly sixty senior participants ranging from VI Dan to yellow belt. Master Jedut introduced some advanced training drills and his unique and innovative training methods left all participants very satisfied

The event was attended by 10 members from Quin TKD who all gained vasluable experience and despite the bomb scare in the hotel had great weekend.

New Role for Mr. Adrian Byrne

Mr Adrian Byrne IV Dan, chief instructor of the Shannon Taekwon-Do club has commenced work in the National Coaching and Training Centre (soon to be Coaching Ireland). The mission of the NCTC is "To Educate & Support Coaches and provide services to players and athletes in the context of the Irish Sports Council Policies", their main task being to work with coaches and athletes with a view to improving the standards of coaching and performance in Ireland.

The National Coaching and Training Centre provides support for National Governing Bodies (such as IMAC to which ITA is affiliated) in the implementation of the National Coaching Development Programme (NCDP). Mr Byrne will be working specifically within this area as Coach Education Development Officer for 9 NGB’s including all Irish Sports Council recognised martial arts.

This appointment is significant for ITA as Mr Byrne will play an integral role in the development and revision of all future coaching qualifications and will soon be a certified tutor for Coaching Level 1 and Level 2.

New Equipment Purchased for Quin TKD

To start off 2008 the Quin TKD instructors have purchased some new equipment to help improve the quality of training at the club. A large shipment of breaker boards have now arrived. We will soon be purchasing new Kick Shields and hope to be in a position to purchase an electronic scoring system for the midwest clubs and a special technique set very soon.

Midwest TKD Christmas Tournament and Party

Christmas has come and the Clare Taekwon-Do clubs finished up in style with a tournament and party for all our under 12 members. Over 100 enthusiastic youngsters turned up to try their hand at competing, many for their first time. Everyone who participated got a Cadbury's selection box and was guaranteed two bouts in patterns and sparring.

The sparring was conducted to a compromised set of point sparring rules with no contact permitted to the head. This was very successful, with many children who avoid sparring in regular tournaments taking part and gaining confidence from the experience.

The tournament started at 12pm sharp and the last bouts were completed by 2pm. Most of the parents then left the kids to their own devices as the party got into full swing. We had a bouncy castle, bouncy slide and two sumo wrestling sets for everyone to enjoy, all supported by Xmas tunes on Mr Park's sound system. (Mr Park also set up the PA's for the three rings, saving our voices!) The photos probably best convey the atmosphere of the day.

Photos

Merry Christmas to everyone from the instructors in Ennis, Shannon, Quin, Ballyea and Barefield!

Christmas Kup Gradings 2007

The Midwest Christmas gradings have come and gone with students from Ennis, Quin, Shannon, Ballyea, Ennistymon and Barefield were promoted. There were three separate tests conducted by the four examiners. Students had an opportunity to show how well they have mastered the challenging syllabus since their last test. I am especially proud to say that after three and a half years training Quin TKD now has its first students to reach the level of blue belt of those who have been members of the club since white belt. A special mention and congratulations to the students who achieved a distinction.

Pictures Day 1

Pictures Day 2

Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon Grading Christmas 2007

Friday December 7th saw the first grading for Scoil Mhuire TKD. Students were tested for 9th Kup - yellow tag - in front of examiners Mr. Stephen Ryan and Mr. Adrian Byrne. The girls were put through their paces being tested on technical movements, patterns, sparring, general stretching ability, breaking and theory. The examainers were impressed with the overall ability and performance of the Scoil Mhuire students. The grading followed a tough week for most students as they were also involved in the school musical Calamity Jane. All students were successful in the grading and Eimear Howley achieved a distinction, well done to everyone.

Pictures

Irish Cup 2007

Quin TKD attended the 2007 ITA Irish Cup on the weekend of the 24th and 25th of November . This two day event was held in the National Basketball Arena, which proved to be a wonderful venue. The event ran very effeciently, the standard was high across all divisions and there was a great competitive atmosphere on both days. The Midwest Team (Current World and European Cup winners) were in action and didn't dissappoint with a convincing win in team patterns. Each member of the Quin squad that competed came away with a medal and all gained valuable competitive experience. A special mention must go to the tourmament committee whose work behind the scenes often goes unnoticed. Mr. Byrne (Shannon Instructor) ensured that this was the best run ITA tournament to date. We look forward to the 2008 season and the introduction of more initiatives from the tournament committee.

Pictures

Quin Results:

Mr. Ryan Opens Taekwon-Do School in Irish Education System

Mr. Ryan recently opened St. Joseph's Tulla Taekwon-Do Club in Tulla Co. Clare. The club was established to teach ITF Taekwon-Do to students of St. Joseph's Secondary School. The first few classes have proved a great success with membership growing at a steady pace. Mr. Ryan is being assisted by Ms. Louise McCagh I Dan (pictured) who is currently a transition year student in the school and member of the Shannon TKD club.

ITA Dominate at TKD Alliance Tournament

ITA  members participated at Taekwon-Do Alliance Open in Cork on 04/11/2007. The tournament included different TKD Groups; IUTF, TKDI, East Coast TKD and AIMAA. It was a warm up for upcoming Irish Cup and a fun team building day.

It was almost a clean sweep with ITA taking Gold, Silver and Bronze in Senior I-II Dan patterns; Gold, Silver and Bronze in Senior III-IV Dan Patterns; Gold in U17 and U15 Patterns and Silver in U13. ITA won Gold, Silver and Bronze in -64kg Sparring; Gold, Silver and Bronze in -70kg Sparring; Gold and Silver in -76kg; Silver and Bronze in -85kg Sparring.

Congratulations to Quin and Shannon Competitors who represented the Midwest extremely well.

Pictures

New 4th Degree for Midwest

On the weekend of the 19th - 21st of Oct. 2007 a delegation from Ireland travelled to the IIC in Belgium conducted by the ITF Technical Committee of Master Marano VIII, Master Trajtenberg VIII and Master Bos VIII. Over the weekend a Dan Grading was held for those testing for 4th Degree and higher. Congratulations to Ms. Kinsella who was successfully promoted to the level of Sabum, bringing the number of 4th Degree International Instructors in Co. Clare to six.

Congratulations also to Mr. Declan McMullen of Greystones Taekwon-Do school who was promoted to 4th Dan and to Mr. Henry O'Neill of Arklow Taekwon-Do School who was promoted to 6th Dan, bringing the number of 6th Dans in the ITA to three.

Mr. Ryan Conducts Class for Scoil Mhuire

On Sunday October 14th 2007 Mr. Ryan conducted a class in Ennistymon, Co. Clare for the Students of Scoil Mhuire Taekwon-Do Club. He was assisted by Ms. Laura Cullen (Instructor at Scoil Mhuire) Ms. Ruth Cullen and Mr. Jamie Rigney. This new club was established by Ms. Laura Cullen for the students of Scoil Mhuire Secondary School in Ennistymon in September 2007 and has so far proven a great success with a membership of almost 50 students. Mr. Ryan will act as Examiner to the club and so took the opportunity to travel to Ennistymon to teach a class and assess the progress of the students. The level of effort and technique shown by all students was impressive and the atmosphere in the class made it very enjoyable. We hope to make this weekend class a regular fixture and look forward to the next opportunity to travel out to Ennistymon.

Pictures

€6,000 presented to Children's Cancer Research

On Friday October 12th 2007 the Clare Taekwon-Do Schools presented a cheque for €6,000 to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. This was the total amount collected by the members of Quin, Ennis, Ballyea and Barefield TKD members over the summer. Congratulations to everyone who collected money for this great cause.

Pictured are some of the students from Quin TKD and the Instructors from Quin (Stephen Ryan, Laura Cullen, Ruth Cullen) Ennis (Kevin Kinsella, Jamie Rigney) Ballyea/Barefield (Brian Coughlan) presenting the cheque to Gerry Culley from Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children.

Success for Midwest at Euro Cup, Finland

The ITA finished 2nd overall at the recent Euro Cup in Finland (Oct. 6th and 7th 2007). There was fantastic results accross all divisions and the Midwest squad performed execptionally well. The senior male team of Adrian Byrne, Stephen Ryan, Jamie Rigney, Daniel Dillon and Philip McCauliffe, followed up their Gold at the World Cup with another Gold in Team Pattern in Finland. The ITA was also represented by Richard Park and Siobhan Kangataran, both from the Midwest, who gained valuable umpiring experience over the weekend and represented their country in a very professional manner.

All the ITA results can be viewed below

Picture Gallery 1

Picture Gallery 2

Visit to New York

During the summer Break Mr. Ryan and Ms. Cullen took the opportunity to visit New York City and Mr. Ryan's Cousin, 7th Dan Master, George Vitale. As well as having a fantastic Holiday due in no small part to George's hospitality they also has the opportunity to train in George's full time Taekwon-Do Gym "Original Taekwon-Do" in Brooklyn. While there they observed the childrens class and also had the opportunity to train with some of the senior students and definitely impressed with the standard. Mr. Ryan also trained along side and gave individual consultation to Mr. Anderson Chan II Dan, who took a Bronze medal in 2nd Dan Patterns at the World Championships in Quebec. We would like to thank George for showing us a wonderful time in NYC!!

PICTURES

Television Crew at Quin TKD

A Television crew attended Quin TKD on Friday July 27th. Dave McCarthy a member of Quin TKD is currently taking part in the TV Show "How Long Will You Live?" which is produced by Waddell Media for RTE. Dave became involved in TKD since starting the show and so this presented an opportunity for the producers of the show to send a crew to film Dave in his new found sport. This is of course a significant development for Taekwon-Do in Ireland as we are rarely given the opportunity to showcase TKD on national television. Hopefully when the show is aired we will get much deserved coverage for the Irish Taekwon-Do Association and Taekwon-Do in the Midwest Region. We also wish Dave all the best with the rest of the show and thank him for bringing this opportunity our way.

ITA Summer Camp 2007

The 2007 ITA Summer Camp took place from Friday July 20th to Wednesday July 25th in St. Augustine's School, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. The camp was attended by approx. 150 ITA members. Two training sessions took place each day, with the option of individual consultation in the evenings and organised sports activities. Instruction was given by Mr. Cooley V Dan, (ITA Coach), Mr. Buckley V Dan, Mr. O'Mahoney V Dan, Mr. Byrne IV Dan, Mr. Ryan IV Dan, Mr. Rigney IV Dan and Mr. Coughlan II Dan. All aspects of TKD were taught including, Special Technique, Sparring, Patterns, Technical Kicking, Dallyon, Traditional Sparring, Team Patterns and Self Defence. As well as Mr. Ryan and Mr. Rigney the camp was attended by Ronan Murray and Daniel Lennon from the Quin TKD club.

Pictures

Children's Cancer Research Fund

Sincere congratulations to all members of Quin TKD and their families who have worked so hard over the last number of weeks to raise money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund in Our Lady's Hospital for sick children in Crumlin. The amount raised this year by Quin TKD club was almost €3,000. This will be put together with the funds raised by the other schools in the region and the cheque will be given to a representative from the charity in early September. The instructors wish to express sincere thanks to everyone who collected for this great cause

Kup Gradings June 2007

Congratulations to all from Quin TKD who were successfully promoted at the regional Kup Testing on June 23rd and 24th. The standard from Quin was reflected in the impressive results which can be seen below. The gradings once again operated under the regional testing panel of Mr. Ryan IV Dan (Quin) Mr. Byrne IV Dan (Shannon) Mr. Kinsella IV Dan (Ennis) Mr. Coughlan IV Dan (Ballyea and Barefield).

Click here for pictures

Success at 9th Italian Open 9th and 10th June 2007

Stephen Ryan, Adrian Byrne, Shane O'Rourke and Anthony Courtney were in attendance at the 9th Italian Open in Terracina, Italy which took place on the 9th and 10th of June. The highlights of the event for us were Mr Ryan's Gold in the individual 3rd to 6th Dan patterns and the victory of the Black Belt team in the patterns event.

Congratulations also to Adrian Byrne who took Silver in 3rd - 6th Dan Patterns, Shane O'Rourke who took silver in the -80kg division, Karl Kelly from Rathoath who took bronze in the -80kg division, Lyndsey Conway from Rathoath who took silver in Ladies Sparring and Bronze in 1st Dan Pattern and Chloe Aboud from Rivervalley who took Gold in Sparring in the childrens competition.

For a detailed report on the event please visit our regional website at www.midwesttaekwon-do.com , for pictures click here

Training at Quin Abbey

Check out promotional shots taken in Quin Abbey while also training in Preparation for the Italian Open. With the recent Sunshine we were presented with a great opportunity to train outdoors and also take some scenic photographs

Visit: Training in Quin Abbey

ITA Dublin Open Championships 27th May '07

Quin TKD enjoyed more success at the last ITA Tournament of the season. A disappointingly small numbers of competitors travelled to the event, something that we will have to rectifiy in the future, but despite this those six who did travel along with 21 from Shannon represented their club very well. On this occasion it was the turn of the Quin TKD Instructors to shine, with Mr. Ryan taking Gold in 3rd to 6th Dan Patterns and Silver in Sparring. Ruth Cullen came away with a Silver in 1st Dan patterns, with Sister Laura taking Bronze. Shane Farr who has performed consistently well all season unfortunately found the Green/Blue under 12 division too tough on this occasion. Colin Radford performed well in The Cadet White/Yellow Sparring division to come away with a Bronze and Nicole Moriarty of the Ballyea club travelled who with the Quin Squad performed well to take home Silver in patterns, I'm sure her Instructor Mr. Coughlan will be proud.

For a detailed report on all the Midwest Competitors including some Photos of the event please visit our regional Website for the Midwest Taekwon-Do Schools at: www.midwesttaekwon-do.com

Midwest success for Quin TKD 29th April '07

Quin TKD continued the steady progress the club has been making on a competitive level with a successful outing at the Midwest Championships held in Shannon on the 29th of April 2007. The event hosted by Mr. Byrne was as usual run in a very professional manner. The standard of competition on the day was of a very high level and all Quin competitors had very tough matches in both pattern and sparring events gaining valuable experience. The instructors are very proud of the Quin TKD Team and wish to express congratulations to all who competed.

Results:

Ronan Murray - Pattern - 1st Place

Aine Cregan - Pattern - 3rd Place

Nicola Monaghan - Sparring - 3rd Place

Daniel Lennon - Sparring - 1st Place

Colin Radford - Sparring - 1st palce

Neil McGowan - Sparring - 2nd Place

Shane Farr - Sparring - 3rd Place

Mr. Ryan coached the Quin TKD Team on the day and both Ms. Laura and Ruth Cullen acted as umpires.

ITA National Umpire Course

42 participants completed the National Umpire Course in Shannon on 28th April 2007. The course covered ITF, AETF and ITA tournament rules and was prepared and presented by Mr. Paul McNicholas, Umpire Chairperson. At the end of the course there was a written examination for candidates to qualify for ITA National Umpire Class A (III Dan upwards) Class B (II Dan) or Class C (4th Kup-I Dan).

Representing Quin TKD at the course were Mr. Ryan, Ms. Laura Cullen and Ms. Ruth Cullen.

Quin Taekwon-Do Team Tops Now Available

Quin TKD are proud to unveil the new Quin TKD club top which is to be worn by all competitors representing the club. Those wishing to order a club top please talk to Mr. Ryan. The Top is a high quality hoodie with the ITF crest embroidered on the front and Quin Taekwon-Do Team with the Korean characters for Taekwon-Do embroidered on the back.

Level 1 Coaching Course Completed

Irish Taekwon-Do Association (ITA) is proud to announce that 25 ITF Taekwon-Do Instructors from all over Ireland have completed the Sport Ireland Coaching Level 1 Course, in University College Dublin on 21-22nd April 2007.

This is the only qualification which is recognised by the Irish Sports Council, Irish Martial Arts Commission and Local Sports Partnerships and is required to instruct/coach any government recognised sport in Ireland. The syllabus is used by Irelands elite sporting organisations; GAA, FAI, IRFU and now ITA.

The Quin TKD instructors, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Laura Cullen and Ms. Ruth Culen all completed the course and were fully funded by Quin TKD.

Viking Cup 2007

Over 400 competitors from 18 countries competed in Skovde, Sweden, for the coveted titles of the Viking Cup. Accepted as the best pre-Euros competition, the Polish national team sent 22 members to confirm their places for Slovakia and Canada. The I.T.A. sent 15 competitors, Junior and Senior, all black belts, as part of the focus on developing Sport Taekwon-Do after their positive results at the World Cup in Benidorm last year. The Midwest Squad comprising of competitors from the Shannon and Quin clubs performed very well and all gained valuable competitive experience

Acknowledgements:

Stephen Ryan (Quin) Bronze III-IV Degree Patterns
Adrian Byrne (Shannon) Bronze III-IV Degree Patterns
Karl Kelly (Rathoath) Bronze II Degree Patterns
Paul King (Rivervalley) Bronze -63kg Sparring
Hayden Devoy (Rivervalley) Bronze -58kg Sparring

You can also see many photos from the event at:

http://www.lewart.pl/galeria.php?rok=2007&nazwa=VC_sobota

http://www.lewart.pl/galeria.php?rok=2007&nazwa=VC_niedziela

Midwest Region Kup Grading March '07

Congratulations to the Quin TKD students who participated in the ITA MIdwest Region Kup Gradng on March 25th 2007. All students were successfully promoted by the regional panel of Examiners: Mr. Ryan, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Kinsella and Mr. Coughlan. The high level of results on the day clearly showed that new ITA syllabus is being successfully implemented in the Midwest region. Special mention to Joanna O'Sullivan and Tony Cleary from Quin and Patrick Phillips from Ennis who recieved A level grades on the day.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Thanks to everyone, parents and students, who braved the rain and wind to participate in the St Patricks Day Parade in Ennis. Many students from the Midwest Clubs turned out to show their Taekwon-Do skills to the public. Special thanks to the Quin TKD students who made a big impression showing off their high level of Sport Taekwon-Do. The parade was a big success as it gave us a the opportunity to show official ITF and Government recognised Taekwon-Do to the huge crowd who could make a comparison between us and the other martial arts groups in the parade.

Level 1 Coaching Qualification

The Instructors of Quin TKD completed the first four modules of the Irish Sports Council recognised Coaching Level 1 qualification in University College Dublin from 10th-11th March 2007.

This qualification means that all official government recognised sports are coached to current best practice standards in accordance with government sports policy. The course will be completed from 21-22nd April 2007. The Instructors are being fully funded by Quin TKD Club in completing this course.

ITA Training Manual

The Irish taekwon-Do Association Training Manual is now in print and available for purchase. In case you are not aware this manual has been in production since June 2006 and has been compiled by Mr. Byrne and Mr. Ryan in conjunction with the ITA Technical Committee. The manual is an extensive 140 page document covering the ITA physical and theory syllabus from 10th Kup to 1st Degree, technical information on all techniques from Chon-Ji to Choong-Moo, background information on all of the ITF paerns from Chon-Ji to Choong-Moo, Terminology Dictionary and much more.

ITA National Policy for Young People

The Irish Taekwon-Do Association Child protection policy has been successfully implemented and copies are available from your instructor. This document give clear guidelines on the conduct of instructors, children and parents involved in Taekwon-Do. It has been put in place to protect Instructors and Students alike and brings the ITA to a new level of professionalism. for more info please contact Mr. Ryan or visit the ITA website

Success at ITA Southern Championships

Well done to the Quin TKD competitors who took part in the ITA Southern Championships in Cork on February 18th 2007. A small squad of 7 people represented the club. Congratulations to Siobhan Frain who took Gold in Patterns, Aine Kelleher who took Silver in Sparring and Sarah McMahon who took Bronze in Sparring. Thanks also to Laura and Ruth Cullen who acted as umpires on the day.

Regional Squad Development

The first six-week squad development programme is progressing very well. Approximatelty 50 students from Quin and Shannon TKD clubs have attended each week and the Instructors Mr. Ryan and Mr. Byrne are very happy with the progress the squad is making. The Classes have taken place between the Shannon and Quin training halls each week. Each class consists of fitness and conditioning, leg strength and flexibility development as well as sparring and technical work, with Mr. Ryan and Mr. Byrne both teaching in each class.

Colour Belt Grading Dec. '06

Congratulations to all students of Quin TKD who were successful in the recent club grading held in Ennis National School.

The regional Kup gradings were held over two days. Students from Shannon and Tipperary clubs tested on the Saturday in Shannon under Examiners, Mr Adrian Byrne (Shannon Instructor) Mr Brian Coughlan (Ballyea/Barefield Instructor) and Mr Stephen Ryan (Quin Instructor).

On the Sunday students from Quin and Ennis clubs tested under Examiners Mr Kevin Kinsella (Ennis Instructor) and again Mr Byrne and Mr Ryan. The Examiners were very pleased with the technical level on both days. 

Quin TKD Instructors Complete Child Protection Course

Quin TKD recently funded Assistant Instructors Laura and Ruth Cullen  to complete a certified child protection course with the Clare Sports Partnership. As the Clare Sports partnership develop their programme all Instructors at Quin TKD intend to continue training in this area to become certified Children's officers and Designated officers. This will futher add to the professional approach taken at Quin TKD

Success at Irish Cup for Quin TKD

Well done to all students of Quin TKD who represented their club so well at the recent Irish Cup in the University of Limerick Arena. Quin TKD took home a total of 3 Gold, 6 Silver and 14 bronze medals over two days of high standard competition.

This high quality event was well organised and ran in a professional manner, with every event timed precisely and running to schedule under the leadership of Mr. Adrian Byrne, Tournament Director

click here to see all the results

Quin TKD Receives Sports Partnership Grant

As part of the recent sponsorship drive in the club, Quin TKD has been successful in its application for funding to the Clare Sports Partnership. We would like to sincerely thank all at the Clare Sports Partnership for their generous support amounting to 950 Euro which will greatly benefit us in developing ITF Taekwon-Do in the Quin area. The funds will be allocated to further improve the facilites at Quin TKD. The Clare Sports Partnership was established in 2001, their slogan "be happy, be healthy, take part and enjoy" is reflected in the ethos of Quin TKD

Fantastic Success at ITF World Cup Benidorm

The Midwest region, represented by Quin, Shannon and Ennis clubs enjoyed fantastic success at the recent ITF World Cup in Spain. The event, which was one of the biggest in ITF history, was attended by 800 competitors coming from 48 countries. In all ITA Ireland took home 32 medals, 8 Gold, 6 silver and 18 bronze. The ITA was represented by clubs coming from the East, Midwest and Southern regions.

Midwest results:

Stephen Ryan;

1st Place Team Pattern, 2nd Pace IV Dan pattern,3rd Place Traditional Sparring

Laura Cullen; 3rd Place Team Pattern

Adrian Byrne; 1st Place Team Pattern, 3rd Place Traditional Sparring

Jamie Rigney; 1st Place Team Pattern

Danny Dillon; 1st Place Team Pattern

Shane O'Rourke; 1st Place Team Pattern

Ruth Cullen; 3rd Place Team Pattern

Annie Kinsella ; 3rd place Team Pattern

Siobhan Kangataran; 3rd Place Team Pattern

Grace Slattery; 3rd Place Team Pattern

Fiona Kangataran; 3rd Place I Dan Pattern, 3rd Place Team Sparring

Louise McCagh; 2nd Place Team Sparring, 3rd Place I Dan Pattern

Bryan King; 3rd Place Sparring

 To see all the results click here

Quin TKD Top Club at Midwest Regionals

Quin came top out of the 6 clubs that competed in the recent Clare Inter-Schools Tournament, held on the 8th October in St. Flannan’s College, Ennis, Co. Clare. Taking 58 points, Quin beat Shannon into second place with 51 points, followed by Tipperary with 28 points. The other clubs who participated were Ennis, Ballyea and Barefield. Over 130 children took part in the event, which is part of a new initiative to develop competition for Juniors in the various clubs in the Midwest.

The tournament was run over 3 rings, for patterns and sparring. The competition ran as scheduled, beginning at 10am and finishing at 1pm, much to the surprise and delight of the parents and participants.

100 Mats Purchased for Quin TKD

Quin TKD recently raised money to purchase 100 Top Pro Competition mats, which have greatly improved the training conditions at the club. Sponsorship was raised by the instructors, students and their families over the summer period. Additional sponsorship money is to be spent on purchasing new equipment to further improve the faclities.

Ms. Laura Cullen Promoted to I Dan

On July 30th Laura Cullen was one of four Clare students to pass the ITA Black Belt testing. She is pictured above with her  instructor Mr. Stephen Ryan and her examiner Mr. Kenneth Wheatley.

This grading, which was held in Arklow, followed months of hard training and preparation by Ms. Cullen. The examiners on the day included Mr. Ken Wheatley VI Dan, Mr. Patrick O’Rourke VI Dan and Mr. Henry O’Neill V Dan. Instructors Mr. Ryan, Mr. Kinsella and Mr. Coughlan were also present on the day to lend their support to all the Clare students.

The grading consisted of an examination in all the areas of Taekwon-Do; technical movements, patterns, sparring (step and free), self defense, destruction and theory. All students were successful on the day. Congratulations also to Mr. Don Cusack, Mr. David Severin and Ms. Maeve Buckley, the other Clare students who were promoted to 1 Degree. 

TKD Workshop in Shannon

Midwest Taekwon-Do hosted a successful Taekwon-Do Workshop on 5th August 2006.  The workshop consisted of 2 hours training for juniors plus 2 sessions of 2 hours for adults.  The workshop covered physical conditioning and preparation, patterns and sparring drills. The workshop was attended by students from Quin Taekwon-Do School and Midwest Taekwon-Do in Shannon.

The workshop was held in Mr. Byrne's Taekwon-Do Centre which is a very high standard and well equipped facility.  Mr. Byrne and Mr. Ryan's students enjoyed sessions taken by; Mr. Donal O'Donoghue, 2005 European Silver Medallist III Dan Pattern, Mr. Marcin Oworuszko, 2005 European Cup Champion -71kg Sparring, Mr. Tomasz Olek, 2005 European Cup Bronze Medallist -80kg Sparring and Mr. Marcin Wronowski, 2006 European Champion I Dan Pattern.

The event was attended by 46 people, 17 juniors and 29 seniors.  Very experienced and talented participants at the Workshop included; Danny Dillon, Shane O'Rourke, Siobhan Kangataran, Sabina Mason, Luke Laffan and many others.

Quin and Shannon Instructors Train in Poland

Mr. Stephen Ryan IV Dan and Mr. Adrian Byrne IV Dan recently travelled to Lubartow in Poland for one week of intensive training with Mr. Jerzy Jedut VI Dan.

Mr. Jedut is the Chief of Technical Matters for the Polish Taekwon-Do Association and is the instructor of a number of pattern and sparring World Champions; such as Jaroslaw Suska, Daniel Dziala, Milosz Moskaluk and Mariusz Walach.

Mr. Byrne and Mr. Ryan trained in the famous MKS Lewart club, which won the Best Club at the 2005 European Cup and were also given extensive individual consultation by Mr. Jedut on ITF technical matters.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Jedut for his hospitality and for sharing his extensive knowledge

Quin TKD Raise Money for Children's Cancer Research

As part of the annual fundraiser held by the Clare Taekwon-Do Schools the Students of Quin Taekwon-Do School and their families collected a very impressive total of 1,593.14 Euro, to be added to money also collected by Ennis and Ballyea/Barefield Taekwon-Do Schools. This will be donated to the Children's Cancer Research Fund in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin