Recent News
Here you'll find brief notes on recent events at IOMTKD. If you would like more details on any of these events please get in touch using the contact page. Older news can be found in the news archive.
IOMTKD Black Belt Grading 2010
Isle of Man Winter Poomsae Championship March 2009
December 2008 World Poomse Championships, Ankara, Turkey December 16th-18th 2008
Isle of Man Elite Team Training Selections - August 2008
Isle of Man Taekwondo representatives meet WTF President - July 2008
Isle of Man Taekwondo instructors Graduate - July 2008
Black Belt Grading - May 2008
Isle of Man International WTF referees - March 2008
Grand Master Vohra training weekend - March 2008
Kukkiwon certificates presented - February 2008
Grand Master Vohra training weekend - January 2008
IOMTKD Black Belt Grading 2010
IOM Taekwondo Association has just held its most successful Black belt examination. 15 adults and children successfully tested before 6th dan examiners Masters DongJin Bae and Keith Evans (IR). The examiners were very complimentary and extremely impressed. Master Evans said "The Manx candidates were the best group I have seen for a long time. The hard work the IOM Taekwondo Association has put in over recent years has clearly paid off. The fact they regularly have elite Koreans training with them was evident. The association is world class. They are going from strength to strength. They even have olympic gold medalist Daesung Moon training with them."
Everyone performed well in sparring, and destruction of wooden boards.The poomsae/forms were truly exceptional. Promotions are as follows:
New black belts (1st dan 15 or over , 1st poom under 15):
Allan King, Paul Craine, Jake Burns, Leah Morley, Kelley Irving, Rhys Barlow and Dan Gibson.
2nd Dan/Poom:
Jane Leonard, Siobhan Leonard, Stephen Jenkins, Lisa Meads, Katie Meads.
3rd Dan/Poom:
Mark Leslie, Brian Quayle, Sean Leonard.
Their certifications will be processed by Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters In Seoul Korea. Kukkiwon certificates are the only internationally recognised certifications for Olympic Taekwondo. Black belt examinations must be carried out by recognised 6th Dan examiners and colour belts gradings must be conducted by 4th Dan or above. The Association has the only 4th dan examiner on the island but always brings over 6th Dan examiners for black belt gradings. IOMTKD trains at the NSC, Carrefour Gym and St. John's School.
Isle of Man Winter Poomsae Championship March 2009
Students and Instructors from the Isle of Man Taekwondo Association took part in a Poomsae Competition on the 29th March 2009. The Black Belt Competition was judged by Master Tony Vohra 8th Dan (IR) and the participants are shown in the photo below.
The winners were as follows:
- Black Belt Competition - Mark Leslie (winner), Sean Leonard (runner up)
- Senior KUP Grades - Kelley Irving (winner), Leah Morley (runner up)
- Intermediate KUP Grades - Adam O'Dell (winner), Thomas Doyle (runner up)
- Beginners KUP Grades - Adrian Guiking (winner), Michael Ferrer (runner up)
December 2008 World Poomse Championships, Ankara, Turkey December 16th-18th 2008
Officially accepted as an associate member of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) in 2006, the Isle of Man Taekwondo Association (IOMTKD) has followed up their recent graduation from the International Instructors course at the World Taekwondo headquarters in Seoul, Korea, with its first attendance at the World Poomsae Championships in Ankara, Turkey, between the 16-18th December 2008.
The 3rd WTF World Poomsae Championships, the first to be held outside of Korea, is the highest ranking event in technical taekwondo, drawing 521 athletes and officials from over 50 WTF countries.
Poomsae consists of a number pre-set patterns which are designed to perfectly demonstrate the true technical art of taekwondo. In competion athletes are required perform up to 8 different poomsae and are scored against each other according to accuracy and presentation.
The Isle of Man team, consisting of Mark Leslie, 2nd Dan and Jayne Leslie, 2nd Dan, competed in 3 events. Mark Leslie competed in the 1st Senior male category, Jayne Leslie in the 2nd Senior female category and together in the 1st Pairs event.
The team, who had trained extensively during the months running up to the Championships, were very proud of being the first Taekwondo athletes to represent the Island on the World stage. Both Athletes found the Championships an extremely exhilarating and humbling experience and are not only proud of their performance but feel that the experience will allow them to work towards building a more competitive International Manx team for the future.
Building on the experiences and knowledge gained at the World Championships the IOM Taekwondo Association is actively planning its Poomsae competition schedule to include a number of A class open events, throughout the year, starting with Denmark in May and leading up to the European Championships in Portugal in October and ultimately 2009’s WTF World Poomsae Championships toward the end of year.
WTF Taekwondo is best known for its Olympic sport fighting, a side of the martial art in which IOM Taekwondo actively teaches, encourages and competes. The Isle of Man Taekwondo Association supports WTF President Dr Choue in his opinion that "Poomsae reaches out to all taekwondo enthusiasts around the world. It features a true global sport-for-all not limited by gender, age, or disability."
The primary goal of the Isle of Man Taekwondo Association is to promote the teaching and development of the Olympic sport and Korean Martial Art of Taekwondo in the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man is a member nation of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), the IOC recognised body for the Olympic Sport. We are a non-profit making association and train in the NSC in Douglas on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday’s and in St Johns primary school on Mondays and Thursdays. We also have elite training classes at Onchan Community Centre. If you would like more details check out our website www.iomtkd.org or contact us by email to iomtkd@hotmail.co.uk
Isle of Man Elite Team Training Selections August 2008
The first Isle of Man Elite Team selections took place on Saturday 16th August 2008. Students were put through a demanding performance assessment following which the following students were selected. Each will be required to sign a commitment contract and places in the squads will be regularly reassessed on a performance basis.
Elite Kyorugi Training Team
- Ian Bangalay
- Dan Gibson
- Jake Burns
- Rhys Barlow
- Sam Baker
- Leon (subject to medical)
- Sean Leonard
- Dominic Rawlinson
- Steven Jenkins
- Hannah Parys
- Kelley Irving
- Leah Morley
- Julie Burridge
Elite Poomsae Training Team
- Mark Leslie
- Jayne Leslie
- Sean Leonard
- Ste Jenkins
- Dan Gibson
- Kelley Irving
- Julie Burridge
Isle of Man Taekwondo representatives meet WTF President
Whilst in Korea in July 2008 four IOM TKD Council members Richard Halsall, Brian Quayle , Jayne Leslie and Rod Nielsen visited the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Headquarters. The WTF is the IOC recognised world governing body for the Olympic sport. IOMTKD is the national governing body for the Isle of Man and the island is an associate member nation of the WTF.
Together with Technical Consultant Master Tony Vohra, the four Manx representatives were honoured to meet with the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Dr Chungwon Choue. They presented the President with a replica Manx sword of state and were filmed for local Korean TV. The meeting was also featured on the news section in the WTF website. See www.wtf.org . Dr Choue presented all four with specially signed black belts and copies of his recent book. Dr Choue explained that the Isle of Man was very important as it was the first associate member of the WTF and Richard Halsall had the honour of being awarded a certificate of citation from the President of the World Taekwondo Federation for his work in promoting taekwondo on the island. The WTF consists of 188 member countries and the Isle of Man was accepted into membership in 2006.
Isle of Man Taekwondo instructors Graduate from Korean International Instructors Course
Four Isle of Man Taekwondo Association (IOMTKD) instructors have just returned from Seoul Korea having successfully graduated from the foreign instructors course held at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters. This was the first time anyone from the Isle of Man had attended the course. Master Richard Halsall, Brian Quayle, Dr Jayne Leslie and Rod Nielsen were all proud to represent the Association and the Isle of Man at the prestigious academy.
Members of the Kukkiwon Elite Demo Team show how they are the best in the world
The Kukkiwon instructors course commenced on Monday 21st July and ran through to Saturday 26th July. Each day commenced around 8am with a warm up and stretching session in the main training hall at Kukkiwon. This was followed by a series of lectures on a diverse range of subjects from the history of Korean martial arts, development of modern Taekwondo to managing Taekwondo dojangs (schools), injury prevention, coaching skills, and meditation and relaxation techniques. The course is the foreign instructors’ equivalent of the course required to run a Taekwondo school in Korea. (Taekwondo is the Korean national sport and there are approximately 10000 taekwondo schools in South Korea). There were over 110 instructors attending the course from over 30 countries around the world and the Manx team made some great friendships and contacts. People were interested to learn about the Isle of Man and everyone was given an Isle of Man information pack and materials kindly provided by the IOM Government.
Each day varied and all were particularly challenging consisting of a combination of lectures and detailed poomsae (forms) and kyorugi ( sport fighting) seminars. Each training day lasted up to 11 hours and the training was a particular challenge in view of the extreme humidity.
The final day included a written exam and practical poomsae test. This was nerve racking for all as they had to demonstrate their skills in groups of six in front of a Kukkiwon grading panel of 9th Dan examiners and the other students.
The week was both fascinating and exhausting. All the Koreans were very hospitable and keen to ensure that the Manx instructors had the best time possible. Sadly, the Isle of Man contingent was not particularly strong at Korean karaoke.
Isle of Man Instructors on the Kukkiwon Foreign Instructors Course July 2008
Completion of the course means that the four instructors have gained a wide range of new skills which they hope to pass on to the other Manx instructors and students. The Association is planning extra competition classes for those students of all grades who would like to try out for the Manx team. Lisa Meads Jayne Leslie and her husband Mark have been selected to represent the island in the World Forms Championship in Turkey in December.
On the final weekend the group had the privilege to attend Master Young Nas Taekwondo school in Seoul for a colour belt grading for some local child students. Richard sat in as guest examiner. All the students were given an IOMTKD badge and IOM pin badge and Master Na now has a large Manx flag in his dojang. The team attended a demonstration by the Kukkiwon Demonstration Team and sat in on the 4th, 5th and 6th Dan grading exam for the Seoul Taekwondo Association.
The trip was highly motivating and all returned with many fresh ideas which they hope to implement in IOMTKDs NSC and St Johns classes as soon as possible.
The instructors would particularly like to thank their employers BridsonHalsall Advocates, SEQ Limited ,and Scottish Life for their support and Masters Vohra and Evans for their technical advice.
The team concluded that having seen the standard of Taekwondo practised by people around the world, the standard here in the Isle of Man is good, and whilst there is room for improvement for both instructors and students, it is clearly viable to build teams to represent the Isle of Man internationally.
Black Belt Grading - May 2008
The Isle of Man Taekwondo Association (IOM TKD) is celebrating one of its most successful black belt examinations ever. In total 12 people underwent a weekend of intensive training and examination with world-renowned martial artist, Grand Master Tony Vohra (8th Dan) of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Mother and daughter, Lisa and Katie Meads, and Sandra Shefford excelled in passing their first Dan black belts, having trained for periods of between 2½ to 6 years. Sandra now joins her husband David and children Nancy and Danny as black belts. Brian Quayle, Jerry Carter, Rod Nielsen, Jayne Leslie, Sean Leonard, Danny Shefford, Dominic Rowlinson and David Powell were promoted to 2nd Dan. Finally, a special mention goes to Richard Halsall, who was promoted to 4th Dan, earning him the prestigious title of 'Master'.
In preparation for the gruelling exam, which incorporates all aspects of the martial art and Olympic sport including self defence, kyorugi (sparring), Poomse (forms) and destruction (breaking), all 12 candidates had undertaken a dedicated training programme under the instruction of IOM TKDs Master Gun Lee.
Grand Master Vohra, the highest-ranking Kukkiwon examiner in Europe, pushed all candidates hard and commented, 'It is very impressive to see the high standard and ongoing development of Taekwondo on the island. It is particularly pleasing that the island now has its first Manx Master'.
Master Halsall will now proudly lead a team of instructors to the international instructor’s course at Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Korea in July. The Isle of Man Taekwondo Association is non-profit making and a member governing body of the World Taekwondo Federation. Beginners and practitioners of all styles are welcome.
Together with Technical Consultant Master Tony Vohra, the four Manx representatives were honoured to meet with the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Dr Chungwon Choue. They presented the President with a replica Manx sword of state and were filmed for local Korean TV. The meeting was also featured on the news section in the WTF website. See www.wtf.org . Dr Choue presented all four with specially signed black belts and copies of his recent book. Dr Choue explained that the Isle of Man was very important as it was the first associate member of the WTF and Richard Halsall had the honour of being awarded a certificate of citation from the President of the World Taekwondo Federation for his work in promoting taekwondo on the island. The WTF consists of 188 member countries and the Isle of Man was accepted into membership in 2006.
Isle of Man International WTF referees - March 2008
The Isle of Man now has two official WTF Referees. Master Tony Vohra (pictured being presented with his certifications from the WTF as an IR for both Poomse (Technical Forms) and Kyorugi (Sport)) [picture to follow], and Master Dong Jin Bae. Masters Vohra and Bae attended the WTF Kyorugi training course in Egypt in 2007 and Master Vohra attended the Poomse training course in Lima Peru in 2007 and the follow up course in Bangkok in February 2008. Both qualifications are to represent the Isle of Man and both Masters will be representing the Isle of Man as Referees internationally.
Grand Master Vohra training weekend - March 2008
Master Tony Vohra 8th Dan (Kukkiwon) ran an excellent Taekwondo training weekend on the 8th and 9th March 2008 at the National Sports Centre and St Johns School. Classes ran throughout both days and included all aspects of the martial art. Students were challenged to improve their flexibility and high kicks. Classes included poomse, one step sparring and advanced kicking techniques including flying kicks.
Richard Halsall (and clones) demonstrate a flying kick at St. John's
Other images from this event can be found in the image gallery, and Master Vohra's site can be found at www.mastervohra.com.
Kukkiwon certificates presented - February 2008
Isle of Man Taekwondo Association students proudly display their Kukkiwon Black Belt certificates which have arrived from Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, Korea. The students successful tested before Master Keith Evans 6th Dan in December last year at the National Sports Centre. All IOMTKD Black belts are Kukkiwon certified. A Kukkiwon certificate is required to represent your country in all WTF international competitions.
Pictured left to right are Stephen Jenkins, Siobhan Leonard and Nancy Shefford with Master Lee. Mark Leslie and Jane Leonard were unable to be present for the photo.
Grand Master Vohra training weekend - 26th & 27th January 2008
GrandMaster Tony Vohra 8th Dan (Kukkiwon) was the guest instructor at a Taekwondo training weekend held by the Isle of Man Taekwondo Association on the 26th and 27th January 2008.
Grand Master Vohra is one of the highest qualified Taekwondo Instructors in the world. He is a First Class International Instructor graduate of Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, Korea, and a World Taekwondo Federation International Referee in both Poomse and Kyrougi.
Grand Master Vohra taught 15 hours of classes in Douglas and St Johns. Students of all grades were put through their paces training in basics, stances, kicks and poomse. Grand Master Vohra ran two practical self defence courses, one for men and one for women. The weekend finished with a poomse competition in which all students demonstrated what they had learnt. The weekend was excellent practice for those taking their grading on 3rd February.
The weekend was a great success and the Association are pleased to confirm that Master Vohra will return as soon as possible.
Other images from this event can be found in the image gallery, and Master Vohra's site can be found at www.mastervohra.com.