The 2008 World Mudo Festival and Cup will be held form 24 October to 4 November 2008 in Jeolnamdo, South Korea.
The event promises participants an opportunity to experience the culture and martial arts of Korea. It will include tours to various places of cultural interest and participation in the Mudo Festival as spectators. Participants can take advantage of the trip to visit Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Centre) and the martial arts shops within walking distance of the Centre.
The Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) is planning a trip for blackbelts who are interested in the event. The airticket per head is about $1,250. This does not include local transport, meals and accommodation.
Please register your interest by calling Jolene, Theresa or Rosalind at 63451491.
75 black belts including 9 examiners packed the National Training Centre on 21 September 2008. They were there for different reasons – a few to share their knowledge, a number to learn the poomsae for their grading and the rest to upgrade their qualification from Level 1 to Level 2.
The course was conducted by two international poomsae referees. They were assisted by qualified Level 3 poomsae coaches.
The participants went through 5 poomsae from Koryo (1st dan pattern) to Sipjin (5th dan pattern). They learned the finer points of each poomsae by going through basic drills before performing the poomsae.
While it was a challenge for most participants to pick up five poomsae in one session, a few of them were able to focus on correcting their movements as they had prior knowledge of the poomsae.
Those who were going for Level 2 were required to take a test. Although they were given one week to practice for the test, 12 of them preferred to be tested at the end of the course. Of the 12 who took the test, 2 failed.
The two participants who did not make it were allowed to come back on Sunday 28 September 2008 at 2pm at the NTC for a retest. They would join the rest who required the extra week of practice.
The list of participants for the upgrading course is attached. The result of the upgrading test would be announced next week.
Responding to feedback from coaches and team managers, the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) Management Committee in its monthly meeting in September decided to restrict the participation of red belt holders in all competitions organized or sanctioned by the STF to a maximum of two years from the date they obtained their grades.
Safety and fairness are the primary reasons for the decision. The Committee agreed that it would be dangerous for a red belt player with many years of fighting experience to compete with a fresh red belt holder. It was also unfair to allow players whose standards were vastly different to participate in the same event.
The period of eligibility to compete in the red belt category means that, if a player obtains his red belt (Grade 2) on 4 October 2008, he can compete in any tournament up to 3 October 2010 as a red belt. It does not matter when he achieves his red belt (Grade 1).
The Committee is also looking into allowing head kicks for junior players (14 to 17 years old). There are two strong opposing views. In the nutshell, one group objects to the introduction because of safety reason. The other group supports it because it will better prepare the players for international competitions.
Team managers, coaches and players are invited to email the STF at tkdf@pacific.net.sg their views on the matter.
13 members from 8 clubs participated in the Grading Preparation Workshop organized on 14 September 2008 at the National Training Centre.
The course was conducted by the Chairman of the Board of Examiners. He was assisted by three senior examiners, Chin Khee Shin, RA Jeyaraman and Wong Liang Ming.
The primary objective of the course was to make sure that participants are aware of their weaknesses which could cause their undoing during the grading.
Wong Liang Ming told the participants: “After this course, you should be able to tell why some candidates fail. If you fail to make the grade, you should also be able know why.
“If you feel that you are not ready for the grading, you should postpone it. The examiners are not ‘blind’. They can see clearly when you make a mistake. The same mistake can be considered as a major or a minor error depending on the circumstances.”
She went on to explain in detail what she meant.
The participants showed that they understood her message when they had their practices.
Under the watchful eyes of the experienced examiners, every mistake made by the participants were pointed out and corrected.
Knowing the expectations of the examiners very well, the participants would be taking their grading ready to give the examiners what they wanted.
On 11 September 2008, Mr Milan Kwee, President of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF), met 20 examiners who had been appointed for the term 2008 to 2011 at the STF Secretariat.
Mr Kwee briefed them on their extended roles as examiners and went on to speak to them about their responsibilities not only as examiners but also leaders of the organizations. In conclusion, he said that, if they worked as a team to support the STF, the organisation would go on to achieve greater heights of success.
After the opening remarks, Mr Lim Teong Chin, Chairman of the Board of Examiners, talked to them on the code of ethics and grading technical guidelines.
He reminded the examiners of the rights of candidates to have qualified examiners who would assess their performance fairly and consistently based on the latest criteria.
The examiners who attended the meeting were
Chief Examiner : Lim Teong Chin
Deputy Chief Examiner : Steven Soh
Senior Examiners : Chin Khee Shin
RA Jeyaraman
Wong Liang Ming
Tan Cheng Hui
Examiners : G Rajendran
Choo Beng Hoe Philip
Chow Pak Hoong
Tan Kok Heng
Lee Thiam Poh
Lee Thiam Huat
Tan Cheah Her Sam
Jee Kim Leng Billy
Tan Kim Hoon
Ng Hwa Ann
Provisional Examiners : Tan Kheng Juan
Michael Ho
Go Ngee Boon Rocky
Tan Kok Seng
In the nutshell, Mr Kwee spoke to them about their responsibilities not only as examiners but also leaders of the organizations. He went on to say that, if they worked as a team to support the STF, the organisation could only grow.
The second and final session of the 35th National Pesta Sukan Taekwondo Championships was successfully staged on 30 and 31 August 2008. The first session held on 16 and 17 August 2008 saw Yio Chu Kang CC taking the lead over defending champion Acme TKD.
While everyone was expecting Acme to catch up and retain the crown, Yio Chu Kang was quietly confident that it could break its rival’s domination as the team had been working very hard to do just that. And it did by a very narrow margin.
Yio Chu Kang collected 9 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals to edge Acme into second place. Acme garnered 9 gold, 4 silver and 15 bronze medals. Aljunied CC finished third with 5 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals.
Here are the winners of the various categories.
Young Junior (Female) : Acme TKD
Young Junior (Male) : Yio Chu Kang CC
Junior (Female) : Yio Chu Kang CC
Junior (Male) : Acme TKD
Senior (Female) : NUS TKD
Senior (Male) : SAFSA
Besides medals and trophies, awards and certificates of appreciation were also presented at the end of the competition. The recipients were as follows.
Best Cheer Team : Team Spectrum
Best Referee : Girlene Tan
Best Fighting Spirit : Nur Fadzlyn (Aljunied CC)
Best Player : Jason Tan Junwei (Acme TKD)
Most Improved Clubs : Henderson CC, St Teresa TKD, Bukit Timah CC and Singapore Institute of Management
Certificate of Appreciation : Ronald Lim, Jenny Han, Katherine Lok and Lorance Pua
The following referees were promoted after having satisfied the criteria for promotion.
National Ref Class 3 to 2 : Joyce Lim and Peter Lim
National Ref Class 3P to 3 : Maung Soe Nyunt Zaw, Charlotte Tang,
Bong Peng Luck, Jacqueline Quek and
Tan Jun Wen
After the presentation of prizes and other formality were completed, it was time to celebrate. It seemed liked everyone was celebrating. And that spoke volumes of the success of the event.
With effect from next grading in October 2008, the examiners will no longer ask candidates to perform their poomsae again. The decision to repeat a performance will be left to the candidates.
If the candidates want to do their poomsae again for any reasons, they can do so at their own discretion. All candidates are allowed three attempts. If they cannot perform their poomsae satisfactorily after the third attempt, they will not be granted a pass.
Confirmation of Grades
For confirmation test, candidates are required to perform the grading requirement for a grade lower – for example, a candidate taking confirmation test for Blue 4 has to perform the requirement for promotion from Green 5 to Blue 4. The candidate may wear his blue belt during the confirmation test.
Examiners will not grade confirmation test candidates if they come prepared with the wrong poomsae – for example, a Blue 4 candidate has to perform Sa-jang for his confirmation. But he knows only O-jang. The candidate will not be allowed to take the test.
Plain White T-Shirt
Females candidate are reminded to wear their dobok over a plain white T-shirt. They will automatically fail if they wear other than plain white T-shirt.
Sparring Partners
Clubs are allowed to arrange sparring partners for their candidates. All clubs are encouraged to do so in the interest of their members.
Principle of Assessments
Assessments of performance will be based on progression of techniques (poomsae) and skills and tactics (kyorugi) – for example, a grade 1 candidate cannot expect to pass if he cannot perform white belt skills properly. More skills and tactics are expected from 1st dan candidate than, say, grade 1 candidate.
Master Kim Yong Ho, President of the World Mudo Academy, visited Singapore from 24 to 28 August 2008. He was welcomed by Mr Milan Kwee, President of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) at the Changi International Airport. Mr Kwee was delighted to meet his instructor after 32 years.
However, Mr Kwee was not the only Singaporean student of Master Kim. Master Kim had taught many senior taekwondo members when he was the STF Technical Advisor from 1975 to 1977. He was succeeded by Prof Lee Kyu Seok who he recommended. Prof Lee is still the Technical Advisor of the STF.
During his visit, he met not only his old students but also updated key members of the STF on the development of taekwondo in the World and the direction the sport would be taking. He also visited the National Training Centre and spoke to members of the training squad on the importance of observing the martial arts code and giving their parents love and respect.
As President of the World Mudo Academy, he extended his personal invitation to the STF to attend the World Mudo Festival in Korea from 24 October 2008 to 4 November 2008.
He said: “The festival offers participants a unique experience of martial arts. It is not only about taekwondo but more.”
Master Kim showed his softer side when he insisted on visiting one of his students who was fighting a life threatening illness. During his visit, he not only comforted and counseled him but also shed some tears. It was indeed a poignant moment for those who accompanied Master Kim. On the day of his departure, he visited him again.
Before Master Kim left for France en route Korea, he urged friends of his seriously ill student to visit the student frequently and give him all the morale support he required.
