AETF reporter
Katarzyna Rozwadowska

Email to KR

At the All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation Congress held in Bratislava during the last European TKD Championships Mr. Lukas Grygiel officially presented the Black Belt Project.

This innovative and unique program has been received with great interest of the AETF Board of Directors and the representatives of 33 countries from Europe.

I would like to present an interview with Mr. Lukas Grygiel, the author of this remarkable Project.

Mr. Lukas Grygiel presenting the Black Belt project during the AETF Congress

Lukas Grygiel about himself

I have been practicing Taekwon-Do for 11 years. I am currently an instructor at the Czestochowska Akademia Taekwon-Do which is my home club. During this period I had a chance to practice TKD also in Lodz for some time. I hold a black belt 1st Degree and I am planning to take an exam for the II Dan in December this year. I always try to participate in seminars, courses and major Taekwon-Do events.

I have my own company – ProImage (www.proimage.net.pl) that is operating in IT field since three years. Of course my interest in IT technology goes way back to my studies at the University of Lodz.

• What is the program Black Belt? Could you tell us few words about this project?
  Black Belt is more than a program – it is a project that aims to help people learn Martial Arts (Taekwon-Do in this case) and in the future to promote Taekwon-Do philosophy and tenets around the world. It will consist of several multimedia DVDs with learning and teaching materials (videos, photos, texts, animations and so on).
  The first part of Black Belt program will contain patterns for colour belts and black belts I Dan. Every pattern can be watched from four angles (front, sides and back) with ability to play it continuously or step by step. There is also 'repeat move' option. The name of every move is simultaneously displayed during the playback. So, as you can see it will teach both -practice and theory at the same time.
  Second part will contain advanced patterns from Eui-Am to Tong-Il. We also have almost ready third DVD – with Stances, Theory, Dictionary and – most important - all the techniques (punches, blocks, kicks) for colour belts. The techniques will be presented from the front and from the side. They will be presented in a slow motion and at a normal speed. Each technique will have the description how to perform it properly.
  In the future we will also prepare parts on sparring, special techniques, training exercises (warm-ups, stretching, etc..).
  Every part of Black Belt will be distributed first on DVD and then it will be possible to use it online, after paying weekly or monthly fee. In the future we are planning to expand the distribution to the new areas.

• What is the aim of Black Belt Project? Whom is it addressed to?
  Well, I must say that every person practicing Taekwon-Do should be interested in this program because of its content and people involved in it. Of course the first part is directed mainly to the new students (with color belts) and people holding black belts first degree. But also for instructors, examiners, referees. It will be a great help at the beginning of Taekwon-Do practice, when the names and stances are often confused. Programme will help to stay in touch with Taekwon-Do during holiday breaks or in case of injuries when actual physical training cannot be performed.
  Second part will be addressed to more experienced adepts, Masters and coaches with high Degrees. The part with Stances, Theory and Techniques should interest everybody as it will contain most of the Taekwon-Do aspects on one DVD.

• How did you come up with the idea of creating the program?
  Some years ago I have been working on a website that included interactive videos, I had to figure out the way to trigger some actions where video reaches certain timeframe. Once I did that I thought about other ways to use this solution. The fact that Taekwon-Do was a big part of my life then (and still is), I connected these two areas of my interests. That is how Black Belt project appeared in my head. First I wanted it to be a program just for students from my groups and from Czestochowska Akademia Taekwon-Do, and maybe some others in the neighbourhood. Things have changed when I presented the demo at the IIC in Warsaw to Master Loboda. He directed me to the ITF Technical Committee (Grand Master Trajtenberg, Grand Master Marano and Grand Master Boss) and they really liked my idea. So I have decided to make something big out of it.

• How does the program work?
  Once you choose the pattern from the list, the basic information about it is displayed (name, meaning of the name, number of the movements, diagram etc.). The default view is from the front but you can change it whenever you want for a different one. When the playback begins, with every movement its number and its name (both in Korean and English) are displayed. User can always rewind the pattern to the certain point and choose between continuous playing and 'step by step' option (video freezes after each move). When in 'step by step' option – you can go forward using 'Next move' button or 'Replay move' to watch the movement again. Video has also basic controls as Play, Pause, Stop, Mute. All of the functions I am mentioning can be tested at the Demo version section at our website. I strongly advise to visit the website and test it personally.
  I would also like to mention about one more technical detail – every copy of the program will be protected by the USB key, so it can only be installed at one computer at a time.

Screenshot of the program

• How is this program unique?
  I think there are couple things that makes it unique and special. First of all - for all I know this is the only program of this kind in the world. Even if there was a similar project – I have Mr. Jaroslaw Suska performing patterns. The participation of Mr. Suska is invaluable to the program. He is five times World Champion and eighteen-time European Champion in patterns and there is nobody else so titled as far as Taekwon-do patterns are concerned. He is without a doubt the best Polish and European technical practitioner.
  The next thing worth to mention is the very high quality of the videos – just now we are recording patterns in the professional television studio in Lublin. Apart from that – there are also some technical aspects that are worth to mention – program will be available both on DVDs and on-line, it will work regardless to the browser user has (IE, Mozilla, Opera...). The fact that Polish Taekwon-Do Association takes part and supports this project also proves that it is something exceptional.

Mr. Jaroslaw Suska during recording session at the television studio

• In which languages it will be available?
  First copies will be in Polish and English, then we will prepare other versions: Spanish, German and so on. We will put a survey on our website with question which versions are most awaited.

• How is the program received during presentations?
  People really love it and are asking about date of release. Many of them are astonished that no one has done it before. The first time I presented it in Bratislava to the European audience I heard a lot of good words, tips and suggestions that were very valuable. I think that people realize that this is a very good product and there is a great demand for this kind of program.

• Who supervises and verifies the accuracy of the information contained in the program?
  There are Master Tadeusz Loboda (VII Dan) and Master Jerzy Jedut (VII Dan) watching over proper performance of the patterns. They attended many seminars with Gen. Choi Hong Hi, they both have World Champions among their students – their theoretical and practical knowledge is a great help to the program. They really are putting a lot of effort during video recording sessions to make this project very professional.

• Which organizations, people are involved in creating, producing and promoting Black Belt project?
  Black Belt is created in cooperation with Polish Taekwon-do Association. Patterns are performed by five time World Champion and eighteen-time European Champion Mr. Jaroslaw Suska. The technical aspects are discussed with Master Loboda and Master Jedut. Currently we are looking for partners and sponsors. There are few companies that are interested in cooperating with us, but it is too soon to say which ones. Black Belt is going to be a very large and international project so I think it is a great opportunity for sponsors to reach new clients around the world.

• Where can we find more information about the project?
  There are few ways to get more information about this project.
  First of all you can visit official Black Belt website: www.tkd-blackbelt.com – there is a demo that shows how the program works. We also have our page on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TKD.BlackBelt.Project - where anyone can place comments regarding our project.
  The direct contact to me is:
  Lukas Grygiel
  phone: +48 796 810 803
  mail: info@tkd-blackbelt.com.

• When will the program be available to the public?
  This is the hardest question. We would like to present final product by the end of the year, but the quality is our priority. So either December 2011 or January 2012.

Master Tadeusz Loboda about the Black Belt Project

‘Black Belt’ is the multimedia program for learning Taekwon-Do. It combines learning techniques and theory of Taekwon-Do. Masterly performance of Mr. Jaroslaw Suska, five times World Champion and eighteen-time European Champion in patterns, makes it an indispensable element while preparing for subsequent exams and tournaments. The software is developed in cooperation with the Polish Taekwon-Do Association.
I strongly recommend buying this software.