TTA Seminar with Grandmaster Park Hae Man, 2009
Members of the London club with Grandmaster Park
Four members of the club recently visited Glasgow to attend a seminar with Grandmaster Park Hae Man, Grandmaster Loh’s own instructor, and an instrumental figure in the development of modern Taekwondo.
The focus of the day was on working through the the set of Tae Geuk patterns as Grandmaster Park is one of four Grandmasters who originally devised the Tae Geuk poomsae.
This was a rare opportunity to train in the UK under an eminent Korea based Grandmaster who, along with Grandmaster Loh, gave us a privileged insight into the forms that we and the majority of Kukkiwon style Taekwondo clubs practise.
The poomsae are designed as a form of physical and mental conditioning, introducing stances, blocks and strikes as the series progresses. The seminar was tiring as we all concentrated on the detailed instruction given, and having thoroughly enjoyed the experience we returned to London inspired to keep working to improve our patterns.
By Chris Gilmartin