The Anguilla Tae Kwondo Club held its second bi-annual grading exams this year at the Road School on Monday 5th and Saturday 10th May 2007. The exams were presided over by Grand Master Shin. One Student Judani Hughes, the son of Dr and Mrs Franklyn Hughes, was promoted to the rank of 1st Dan Black Belt.

Grand Master Shin, with the Black Belts of the Anguilla Tae Kwondo Club

A total of 99 students took the exams. Students were promoted to yellow, green, purple, red, red stripe, brown, brown with one stripe, brown with two stripes and three students were promoted to the rank of Candidate Black. One student did one of the stage tests to be promoted from Black Belt 1st Dan to 2nd Dan Black Belt.

The examinations were attended by parents, family and well wishers of the students of the Club and they were also entertained with various breaking techniques by the students as part of their exams and also a brief form display by four of the students.

1st Dan Black Belt Birnie Stephenson-Brooks presented a trophy, the “Robert Birnie Stephenson Brooks Memorial Trophy” in memory of her late son, to the most outstanding student of the club . The winner of the annual award was Black Belt Megan Coburn who was the most senior student doing exams. She did the stage test as part of her promotion to 2nd Dan Black Belt. Two medals for outstanding performances were awarded to Red Belt Paul Trim and Roland Webster Junior.

The parents and students later enjoyed themselves with their usual picnic at the Sandy Point Beach. Mr. Emmanuel Laud the Instructor of the class wishes to express his thanks to all the parents and students who assisted in preparing the students for their exams and in the successful running of the Club. Special thanks to the Head Teacher of Road Primary School Mrs Edwards Gumbs for the use of the School and to Mrs Londrina Hughes for preparing the auditorium for the exams. The Anguilla Tae Kwon Do Club is affiliated with the United Tae Kwon Do Chung Do Kwan Association and Hyun Ok Shin is the Chairman Grand Master of that Association.

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art which roughly translates into the “art of kicking and punching”. Although Tae Kwon Do formally took that name in the 1950’s, the techniques used in TKD have evolved and have been tested over thousands of years.

The Grandmaster Shin’s Tae Kwon Do school teaches the Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do. Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do is a traditional martial art which is quite similar to Japanese Shotokan, combining its intensity, power and clean technique with more of an emphasis on kicking. Techniques are kept simple and versatile, focusing mostly on speed and power generation. The main moves of Chung Do Kwan TKD are:
• Side kick - striking with the heel
• Punching - lead hand and reverse punches
• Roundhouse kick - hitting with the ball of the foot
• Front kick - striking with the ball or the heel of the foot

With serious study of Tae Kwon Do, you will develop increased self-confidence, self discipline, better self-control and ultimately a more balanced and productive lifestyle.

- Contributed

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