On 11 January 2008, the senior examiners went through a three-hour poomsae refresher course at the National Training Centre. They were followed by 11 examiners and 70 coaches who updated their knowledge and polished their skills on 19 and 20 January 2008.
Like the senior examiners, the others who attended the courses learned about the latest development in taekwondo poomsae.
It was not all lectures. They had to perform 11 patterns while trying to adapt to the new movements, execution and body and arm positioning.
Said Jimmy Tay: “It is quite a challenge to remember the steps and at the same time make an effort to change to the way of executing the strokes.”
Tan Cheng Hui, an international poomsae referee, who was one of the course conductors commented that the participants were very impressive.
He said: “I noticed that the standard of the participants’ performances were quite good. They have certainly improved a lot since the last poomsae course. What’s more, they are able to adapt to the changes very quickly.”
Their students should be proud to know that their coaches are improving themselves for them. Displaying interest in their students, the coaches downloaded the powerpoint presentation to help them impart their newly acquired knowledge more effectively to their students.
With coaches who believe in self-development, the Singapore Taekwondo Federation can rest assured that the standard of the sport can only improve.
