New Board of Directors and Masters - (left to right); Mr Ken Chesterman, Treasurer; Mr Nick Symonds, Umpire Chairman; Master Tom Denis; Master Orello Ellis, Former ITF England President; Master Donato Nardizzi, ITF England President; Master Kim Anderson; Mr Philip Lear, Technical Director.

AETF reporter
Katarzyna Rozwadowska

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On the 27th of November 2010 in Hertfordshire, England an Annual General Meeting of ITF England was held. The main purpose was to elect the new Board of Directors for the next two years.

As the result of the Meeting the following Members of the Board were elected:

• President - Master Donato Nardizzi
• Secretary - Patricia Gray
• Technical Director - Mr Philip Lear
• Umpire Chairman - Mr Nick Symonds
• Treasurer - Mr Ken Chesterman

Apart from the election, ITF-England members discussed current and future affairs.

At the end of the Meeting Master Tom Denis expressed the appreciation and rendered many thanks to the former President Master Ellis Orello for all his hard and good work in representing ETA during the last years, showing his passion and love of Taekwon-Do. He also thanked Ms Julie Fagg and Mr Graham Patterson (ITF England Secretary) for all of their hard work in the previous term.

 

Left: Master Orello Ellis; Mr Graham Patterson. Right: Count votes; Mr Philip Lear and Mr Errol Bernard

Below is a short interview with Master Donato Nardizzi

Master Donato Nardizzi

• Could you say a little bit about yourself, Sir?
  I am an 8th Degree Master and have been practicing Taekwon-Do since 1977. I started teaching Taekwon-Do on a part time basis in 1984 and I was also working in a school, teaching Physics. I have been a full time Taekwon-Do instructor for last 15 years. My previous posts of responsibility in Taekwon-Do include: President of UKTF, Board member of the AETF, Technical Director of ITF-England. In 1996 I founded Taekwon-Do Impact which is one of the four affiliated associations in ITF-England.
• Could you define the most important goals you want to achieve as the ITF-England President?
  Taekwon-Do's ultimate goal is to build a more peaceful world. As stated in the Taekwon-Do encyclopedia "the success or failure of Taekwon-Do training depends largely on how one observes and implements the tenets of Taekwon-Do which should serve as a guide to all serious students of the art". Before we concentrate on anything else, we need to lay a new foundation for ITF-England that will guide students and instructors to follow this ethos.
  England has a very long history of disharmony amongst its members. There have been numerous splits within associations and many splinter groups have been formed. Many of these groups are no longer members of the ITF. One of our goals is to reverse this trend. To restore loyalty we need good leadership that works under proper guiding principles which includes freedom, empathy and fairness. Our leadership must have a special type of empathy towards all our members. With this empathy we can base all our decisions with fairness. Fairness leads to trust, then respect and ultimately loyalty.
  If we structure ITF-England properly we can attract new members including many ex-ITF practitioners into the ITF. I would like to see a lot of growth by welcoming the new members in, but I also want to ensure that returning members are true to the ways of authentic Taekwon-Do and the ITF.
  Another goal is to promote cooperation between the associations under the umbrella of ITF-England. We have many high ranking and experienced individuals in England. If we pool our resources and work synergistically, we can move ITF-England forward to be one of the most successful National Associations in the ITF.
• What direction should ITF-England follow under your leadership?
  The direction ITF-England should take is that of the guiding principles from our Father and Founder of Taekwon-Do, Grand Master General Choi Hong Hi. Some of the problems we encountered in England, in the past, stem from our neglect of these principles. In particular in relation to the authentic Taekwon-Do way ('Do') of thought which includes Moral Culture. We need to reconsider these original concepts and act on them. My role is to guide others to follow in this direction.
• Do you have any country/organisation that you would like to emulate?
  In order to decide which country I would like to emulate I would need to study each county's set up in detail. Obviously, one would choose to emulate a country that is successful. This poses the question "What is success?". Success is often confused with financial gain, large membership, power, tournament wins, etc. If you use this as your main criteria are you in danger of neglecting more important criteria.
  The authentic Taekwon-Do way is based on balance, harmony, logic and science. I prefer to focus my energy in applying these principles rather than studying each country's set up. We will review the ITF-England constitution and develop new bye laws based on the principles mentioned, in an effort to establish a solid foundation for our National Association. We will present these proposals to all our members for approval in an open meeting.

We would like to congratulate and wish much success in performing Master Nardizzi’s new position as the ITF England President and lead the national English association to a well organized and flourishing organisation, with help and co-operation from all the new Board Directors and Members. We wish them all the best in their professional and personal life.