A 10-hour poomsae course for coaches was held on 22 March 2009 at the National Training Centre. The course covered both theory and practical.

For this course, the participants enjoyed a lot of personal attention because the ratio of ‘instructor’ to student ratio was about 1:4. There were 9 course conductors and assistants.

The two main course conductors were Tan Kok Heng and Tan Cheng Hui. They were assisted by Lai Han Seng, Leon Koh, Samuel Tan, Ng Lee Noi, Muhd Fadhil, Wong Liang Ming and Lim Teong Chin. Under their watchful eyes, the participants’ faulty movements were almost promptly corrected.

It was no wonder that 35 out of 37 passed both theory and practical tests. For theory, they did a 45-minute paper testing their understanding and knowledge of poomsae. The practical tests included poomsae performance to assess the candidates’ ability to demonstrate the poomsae and fault detection to evaluate their ability to spot mistakes.

The results are attached. Congratulations to those who have made it.    

Learn how to show off your skills in the first ever demonstration workshop organized by the Singapore Taekwondo Federation for red belts (junior and senior), poom belts and black belts.

Experience the thrills of breaking planks with stunts you learn at the workshop.

And pick up a few tips on how to impress the spectators with your showmanship.

The details of the workshop are as follows.

Date                :           Sunday 26 April 2009

Time               :           2.00pm to 5.00pm (for junior red belts and poom belts)

Place              :          National Training Centre

Fee                 :           $30

Registration   :           By Friday 17 April 2009

The objectives of the workshop are to

• provide participants with knowledge of demonstration,
• equip them with adequate skills to perform and
• enhance their confidence.

During the workshop, participants will be provided with demonstration planks to break.

Certificate of participation will be awarded to all participants.

The workshop will be conducted by Lim Hyun, Principal of Hyun Taekwondo Academy and a former member of the KyungHeeUniversity demonstration team, and Tan Cheng Hui, Chairman of the National Demonstration Team.

Coaches can benefit from their students’ participation in the workshop as they can use the services of the trained students to perform for their clubs when required.

The 33^rd Kyorugi Referee Course will be held on 18 and 19 April 2009.

The 12-hour course will cover interpretations of the competition rules and regulations.

The main objective of course is to provide black belts the opportunity to qualify themselves as national referees so that they can officiate in the various championships for the year and beyond and to help them acquire an in depth understanding of the rules.

Black belts who are still in school (secondary or junior college) and wish to officiate in the Inter-School events and other competitions organized and sanctioned by the Singapore Taekwondo Federation may attend the course for free.

The details of the course and the application form are attached.

The closing date for registration is Friday 10 April 2009.

Fifty-two participants attended the sparring workshop held on 15 March 2009 at the National Training Centre. It was a fun workshop as the participants enjoyed the antics of the course conductors.

More importantly, at the end of the workshop, the participants were better equipped to further improve their sparring skills. They knew what it took to be number one in the game.

The workshop started with the viewing of a competition video which highlighted a lot of exciting techniques. Then, Ms Wong Liang Ming, Head Coach of the National Team, spoke to them about the winner’s mindset, the concept of time and space and the way to improve kicking and punching speed.

After that, Ms Wong assisted by national players – Keith Ong, Wesley Ong and Jordan Tay – evaluated the participants’ kicking and punching skills. While some of the participants required to correction in the execution of the techniques, the rest moved on to do skill training. The first group later joined the main group.

Said Nichelle, one of the participants: “I enjoyed the workshop. It was fun. I also learned more about sparring.”