A number of our students attended the ETA (England Taekwon-Do Association) competition on Sunday 27^th June.  The competition was hosted by Mr Nick Symonds V Degree at Watford Leisure Centre.  There was a good turnout from the clubs within the association.

The majority of our competitors were from the Urban Tigers group and they did very well.

The list of competitors is listed below.

Many thanks also to the friends and family of the club who came along to lend their support to our competitors.  It was very much appreciated and had a positive effect on the competitors.

It's amazing what a black belt around your waist can do for you behaviour and attitude.  At a recent Saturday training session, all the members of our 'Urban Tigers' class were all promoted to honary black belts for that training session.  These students range from white belts (recent beginners) to green tags (members of the club for over a year).

Mr. Gold had the following to say about the training session.

"They were pretty well behaved anyway but when we held the black belts in front of all of them and told them they would be a black belt for the day, there were lots of wide eyes and open mouths! When we put the belts on, I told them that something happens when people put on a black belt- they can kick harder, punch faster and generally do Taekwon-do really well!

A lot of the Tigers suddently stood taller and straighter, acted more grown up, counted their Korean numbers louder and clearer and really pushed themselves in their exercises. They seemed to believe that their black belt gave them a 'special strength' and I think they really showed their potential that day. I mean, they are normally energetic and throw themselves into their training but the black belt for a day session didn't just push their physical ability- it really showed their understanding of the tenets of Taekwon-Do too.

Senior insructor Mr. McKnight III was quoted as saying 'they were amazing, the focus of the class was transformed simply by them putting on a black belt'.  It was an amazing sight seeing 11 new / junior black belts in the class."

The picture above shows the members of the Urban Tigers with Mr. Gold and Mr. McKnight.  There are more pictures taken during the training session in our gallery in the section 'Black Belt Tigers'.  Please take some time to have a look.

We would like to thank Debbie Butt for tking the pictures of the training session.

McKnight Schools of Taekwon-Do rigidly follow the original syllabus laid down by General Choi Hong Hi IX degree. This includes the testing of oneself by breaking boards with the official parts of the hands and feet. This practice is strictly monitored and takes many months or years of conditioning the body to withstand impact and force generated by hitting solid objects.
 
(Courtesy of the Times & Citizen newspaper) The video on this page is a brief outline of how we use focus and employ the five tenets of Taekwon-Do to overcome this challenge and includes a montage of different techniques that we use in our syllabus to break various boards effectively and safely. Although all of our students may take their studying of Taekwon-Do at their own pace, anyone who wishes to excel in technique is strongly encouraged and a helpful instructor and proper tuition is always available. The video is a testimony to what can be acheived through hard and proper training.
 

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