Scottish Open, Glasgow 24th March
Urgh, 5 o clock starts! Regardless, it was a successful outing for the club this year, getting four medals in total this time, including gold for sparring. Last year we got one, so we're improving. Just (or maybe more) importantly, I think everybody had a good time, getting plenty of experience and enjoyed themselves. It was a long day, with a lot of waiting about, but there was plenty going on, and how often can you say you watched the Slovenia national team compete? I enjoyed watching the team patterns, and seeing the standard they operate at (and, of course, our own national team) gives everyone something to aim for.
For the eighth year in a row the Elgin club (our parent club) won the overall school title. This year the difference between first and second place wasnt nearly so large. Last year we had almost double the points of our nearest competitors. This year there was thirteen points in it (perhaps because those Slovenians went about grabbing nearly all the first places, and the three points that went with itJ). Our total points as a club were seven (one gold, one silver, two bronzes), so if you think about it, if we didnt get those points, and if they went to the second placed school, they would have won by one point. Congratulations everyone- we won the title for the Elgin club.
Promotions
And of course, with the championships over and done with for another year, the results of the gradings held just before the competition can now be "officially" announced so, its congratulations to:
Promoted to 6th kup (green belt)
Eddy Coodee
Shaun McMillan
Katrina McMillan
Promoted to 7th kup (green tags)
Scott McMillan
Again, congratulations to all. Now get working for that next grading! J
RAFMAA Training (RAF only)
The RAF Martial Arts Association holds regular training sessions for service members at RAF Cranwell (sorry to all our civvy members, but the clue is in the name).
The RAFMAA web site is not available on the internet, but is accessible from RAFWeb through Royal Air Force | Sports & Pastimes | Team Sports | RAF Martial Arts Association, or through the "Useful Links" page of the RAF Kinloss Station Martial Arts site (Clubs & Societies | Martial Arts).
The next training will be held on 11th April, and here are some more dates for your diary:
16 Jun07 RAF Championships and RAFMAA AGM at RAF Cranwell
21 Jul 07 Inter services and Combined Services AGM at Aldershot
Seminars and gradings
Of course, no newsletter would be complete without the list of Kup seminar/ area grading dates.
19th /20th May.
18th /19th Aug.
17th /18th Nov.
These are the remaining seminar dates for this year. Remember that you need to attend two seminars/year to be eligible to grade. This is to ensure all students are taught to a consistent standard and you dont go to a grading and be told "Thats not how you do a punch. You have failed." Or "Thats not the right way to do the release in Do-San" sorry… bad example! The purpose of these seminars is to ensure you are in the United Kingdom TaeKwon-Do Association, not the Scottish part of it. Thats why you may get a Master from England or Wales coming up to teach - or even Grand Master Rhee himself: its all the same art through the UK, and you could, in theory go into any UKTA school (or even ITF, so that would be world-wide) and slot effortlessly in because its the same style.
Thats all folks
Thats it for this newsletter. Once again, well done to all competitors, graded students and ourselves as a club. If theres anything youd like included in future newsletters, please let me know.