The poomsae coach courses held on 4 and 5 November received overwhelming response.  As a result of this, the STF decided to organize an additional course on 11 November 2006 to accommodate the extra participants. 

Said the Coaching Coach Chairman Wong Liang Ming: “It shows that our coaches are not contented in remaining status quo.  They want to keep abreast of the latest development and continue to be effective coaches.  Their attitude is good for their students and the sport.”

The two courses held over the weekends saw 74 coaches qualify for the various poomsae coach levels.  

The best trainees for the two courses were:

– Valerie Teo Wan Mei
– Huang Qiao Zhen
– Christina Liew
– Chan Kok Wah

Certificates of successful participants would be presented at a ceremony which had been scheduled to be held on 26 November 2006 at 9am at the NTC.

106 blackbelt holders participated in the first four of a series of six Poomsae Coach Courses organized by the Federation.  The courses were specially conducted not only to familiarize them with the latest development in poomsae but also to qualify them as poomsae coaches.

Of the 106 participants, only 13 failed to meet the minimum requirements.  The rest did well to obtain the poomsae coaching qualification ranging Levels 1 (Provisional) to 3.

The best trainees for the courses were

• Leong Yun Yuet
• Lim Miao Chen Pauline
• Peh Brian
• Zarena Binte Abdul Rahim
• Ushananthini d/o Vadivelu

Those who were not successful in the courses were required to go for remedial training and retest if they still aspired to obtain the qualification.

9 examiners qualified as poomsae coaches after they successfully completed the rigorous poomsae coach course held on 30 September 2006. 

They were Chow Pak Hoong, G Rajendran, Lee Thiam Huat, Nordon Lim, Philip Choo, Sam Tan, Tan Kok Heng, Wong Liang Ming and Yeo Boon Thiang. They went through the same programme as the senior examiners and acquired new knowledge which would be useful in their functions as examiners and coaches.

Said Chow: “Although I had attended a similar course, I found this course more educational and interesting.  The explanations were clear and the principles made it easy for me to understand the finer points of poomsae.  

“I look forward to the next upgrading course by the STF.”

The course was conducted by Lim Teong Chin and assisted by Chin Khee Shin, Steven Soh, RA Jeyaraman and Tan Cheng Hui.The importance of the course was underlined by the presence of the STF President Milan Kwee.  His personal interest in the course was appreciated by the participants who put in additional effort in their training. 

Their exemplary training attitude and enthusiasm made it difficult for the senior examiners to pick the top three performers.  After some deliberation with input from Mr Kwee, they named Sam Tan, Thiam Huat and Kok Heng the best performers.

In fact, all the participants deserved to be applauded for believing in their own continuing education.

Senior examiners – Chin Khee Shin, Steven Soh and RA Jeyaraman – participated in a rigorous training programme for the poomsae coach certification on 28 September 2006 at the National Training Centre.  It was conducted by Chief Examiner Lim Teong Chin and supervised by STF President Milan Kwee. 

The training was part of their continuing education programme to ensure that they were updated with the latest development in the sport and remained competent and relevant.

The participants went through the training like they were still in their prime.

It was blood, sweat and no tears for them.  During the training, Chin bled when he bruised his arm.  As they gave their all in the humid environment, they perspired profusely.  There were no tears as they enjoyed the training very much.

Laughed Jeya: “ It was like old times except we are so much older.”

At the end of the programme, they took the theory and practical tests with confidence.