The 78th International instructors course (IIC) delivered by the ITF technical committee was hosted by Irish Taekwon-Do Association from the 25th – 27th of January in the Brandon Hotel, Tralee, Co. Kerry. The course was delivered by the ITF technical committee made up of Grandmaster Hector Marano, 9th Degree, Grandmaster Wim Bos, 9th Degree & Grandmaster Lan Ung, 9th Degree.

The course began on Friday morning at 9am, with the three grandmasters being led into the Dojang by a piper playing traditional Irish music. Master Kenneth Wheatley, President of the ITA then welcomed the Grandmasters and the 130 participants on the course, who were attending from all over Ireland as well as from around the world, including participants from Switzerland, Netherlands, England, Norway, Scotland, Finland, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Luxembourg, France, Russia, and Belgium.

Training got underway with the group being divided by grade with the 1st to 3rd degrees training patterns under GM Marano, while GM Bos & GM Lan took the 4th to 8th degree group for a session on the colour belt patterns. After lunch GM Lan began with a very interesting sparring session working on attacking combinations and counterattacks. GM Lan is very experienced in this area having spent many years as the coach of the German national team. Training on the first day finished at 4pm after covering subjects including patterns, sparring, self-defence and traditional sparring.

The Friday evening was time for the banquet, with the participants taking the opportunity to enjoy a meal together, offering a chance to catch up with old friends from around the world, as well as making some new ones. The evening was capped with a live band playing a mixture of Irish & popular music. On Saturday training started with Grandmaster Bos conducting a very energetic session on sparring techniques, self-defence and step sparring, this was followed by training of the 2nd Dan patterns after which the group was divided again. The 5th dan and above group, worked through the patterns So-San, Se Jong & Tong Il with GM Marano & GM Bos, while GM Lan led the remainder of the group through a self-defence session.

The second half of the day included a very informative session on the 2nd and 3rd patterns, led by all three of the grandmasters. The day finished with Grandmaster Bos closing the IIC for the 1st to 3rd Dans, as Sunday was for 4th – 8th Dan only. Master Wheatley thanked those who were leaving on Saturday evening for attending the IIC and made a presentation to each of the Grandmasters. A beautiful hand-made pen, made from 5000 year old Irish bog-oak finished in 24-carat gold.

On Sunday morning, the participants where led through the Yon Gae, Ul Gi & Moon Moo by GM Bos. This was a very enjoyable session as the grandmaster had the participants work in groups performing the pattern while also being attacked, highlighting the application of each movement. The session included an international performance of Moon Moo with a practitioner from each of the countries in attendance coming together to perform a very impressive pattern.

Sunday morning also included the grading examination; Grandmasters Marano & Lan conducted the testing for 6th, 7th & 8th degrees. When the grading and training session had finished, the group was gathered together and the grandmasters announced the results of the grading. Mr Niall Jones of Ireland and Maxim Kim from Russia both where promoted 6th Dan while Odd Arne Larsen, Hallgeir Betele, Snorre Edvarsen all from NTN Norway and Lazaros Tsilfidis from Russia were promoted to 7th Dan, Master Level, while Master Per Christian Garnaes of Norway and Master Carmine Ciaizzo from Italy were successfully promoted to 8th Dan.

The IIC was closed with the Masters and Grandmasters presenting the certificates to the participants in attendance and the ITF technical committee thanking the Irish Taekwon-Do Association and the organising committee for their work in making the 78th IIC the success it turned out to be. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who travelled to the IIC, especially those who travelled from overseas, for your company over the weekend. We hope you enjoyed your time in Tralee and we look forward to welcoming you back to Ireland for events in the future. Thank you must go to the organisers for their time and effort in preparation for the course as well as during the weekend. Finally we must thank the Grand Masters, GM Marano, GM Bos and GM Lan for making the IIC very enjoyable, informative and inspiring.

Photos of the IIC:

Gallery 1;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/IICFRIDAYTRALEE002

Gallery 2;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/IICTRALEFRIDAY001

Gallery 3;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/SaturdaytIICTRALEE001

Gallery 4;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/SaturdayIICtralee002

Gallery 5;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/SaturdayIICTralee003

Gallery 6;
https://picasaweb.google.com/100446428140625417665/27January2013

Report by Mr. Carl Smullen IV Dan ITA PR Officer