Nottingham Summer School 2018

The 21st TTA Summer School took place on 16th – 22nd September 2018, organised by TTA Nottingham University. TTA London and TTA Sussex sent its largest delegation to date with 22 students and instructors attending, ranging from green tag (7th Kup) to 4th Dan Black Belt.

Many thanks to TTA Nottingham University for their seamless organisation, and Grandmaster Loh for his guidance and invaluable experience in every step of the training.

Commenting on their experiences from the course are Mandy Kaur, Anda Madar, Jessica Tjeng, Diana Llewellyn, Robert Simmons and Elias Zapantis.

Mandy Kaur (5th Kup)
“Attending this year’s Summer School was one of the best and most rewarding taekwondo experiences so far, especially being trained directly under Grandmaster Loh.

Before attending the first day, I was feeling rather apprehensive about how intense and challenging the training might be, however within the first moments this feeling disappeared. Everyone was so supportive and friendly, even though I met most of them for the first time! I managed to do things that I never thought I was able to. This week really encouraged me to commit to my Taekwondo journey.

I look forward to attending as many future courses as possible and train with likeminded people; I was inspired to be better at taekwondo!

One of the key lessons I take from this week is that everything is possible when you have a positive can-do mindset and attitude in life.”

Anda Madar (1st Kup)
“This year’s TTA Summer School was an extraordinarily experience which helped me bring my skills to the next level. Six days of intense training helped to further fine-tune my techniques and better understand the different technical requirements of the curriculum. Continuous drills and a range of exercises allowed me to improve my sparring style when in the ring.

It was both a physically and mentally demanding experience and it required a lot of focus and self-awareness. I became aware of different mental blockages which I need to overcome, and learned a lot about my practice and where I need to take my training.

Last but not least, I loved being part of such a great community which made all the above great fun, while being coached by Grandmaster Loh himself.”

Jessica Tjeng (2nd Kup)
“This was the first Summer School I attended. I always wanted to try and train continuously in taekwondo for a period of time without any life distractions. I must admit it was a rewarding experience and I learned so much. I was able to refine my kicking techniques and enrich my poomsae and sparring knowledge. Being able to focus in your training for a solid week shows how important is to discipline your mind and body. This makes such a difference in your training. I really enjoyed training with students and instructors from other TTA clubs and making new friends.”

Diana Llewellyn (3rd Kup)
“The TTA Summer School was such a challenging but rewarding experience. Over the course of the training week I felt I was improving from both a technical and fitness perspective, something that has been noticed and commented on by the senior grades as well. This is such a rewarding feeling. I have learnt a lot and I know that there are plenty more things I need to improve on – the goals are already set!”

Robert Simmons (6th Kup)
“Summer School was the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done and I was very grateful for the experience. The friendly atmosphere of my peers and instructors and the direct training by Grandmaster Loh has helped to improve my taekwondo skillset. The knowledge I gained during this week will allow me to approach training with a different mind-set and enjoying each training session more.”

Elias Zapantis (1st Kup)
“This was my second Summer School and I enjoyed it even more than last year. After the end of last year’s, I was determined to work hard and overcome the challenges I faced during that week. My mind was already fixed on this year’s Summer School, so I put myself forward for any opportunity that would give me more experience and improve my techniques. I felt that this determination and commitment really paid off, as I approached this year’s Summer School with a completely different mentality. Not only did I do things which I couldn’t last year, but I was also challenging myself further.

It was also nice to be practicing again with the friends I made last year and be part of the wider TTA community. Practicing taekwondo is never-ending and the more you train the more you realise there are so many things you need to learn and perfect, and like Grandmaster Loh said “if someone else can do it, so can you!””