October 4 – 6th 2008
Mr. Andaya, Dana and Manuel Andaya attended the Fifth Annual President’s Seminar hosted by the Pacific Rim Institute of Taekwon-Do. The seminar was conducted by the President of the ITF, VIIIth Degree Black Belt Master Tran Trieu Quan and his son Mr. Nicholas Tran IVth Degree Black Belt . Master Tran and Mr. Tran brought new teachings to a variety of different students from white belts to 6th degree black belts. Master Tran talked about how all the different aspects of Taekwon-Do are not separate; they all are equally important. Master Tran kept to this saying by going over all the different aspects of Taekwon-Do from self defence to free sparring to patterns. Master Tran offered a great learning experience for everyone who attended the seminar.
The seminar started on Friday night with a three hour class for the senior instructors. The focus of this class was ” how to analyze ITF patterns and tips for competition. Master Tran then worked with the 5th and 6th dans on their patterns.
Once the sparring began everyone saw Mr. Tran start to take over and show everyone a few good moves and strategies in sparring. We all learned key parts to winning in sparring. We were reminded about distance, and how that at different distances, certain attacks are better to execute than others. Master Tran also explained to everyone about the nine targets on someone’s body in free sparring. We were also reminded about the three different types of timing; before, during and after the attack. Master Tran and Mr. Tran also explained about how different timings should be used on different fighters at different times during a match.
On Saturday afternoon, Master Tran also taught everyone different techniques for self defence and how to tell if a moment was very dangerous, where you needed to fight to save your life, or if you could just get away fast and safely. We also learned a variety of new techniques, from ones that would get you away from someone fast to other ones that would make sure the person never came after you again.
Sunday featured a special class for red and black belt instructors, Master Tran spoke about the importance of practicing and teaching the Do in Taekwon-Do. On this day Master Tran explained how the Do is not protocol, it is not something you memorize, but is something that is in your head, all the time. It also takes part in the different tenets of Taekwon-Do, which symbolize how someone who is practicing the Do should act not only in the dojang but also in their personal life. Master Tran explained that someone who may practice the Do in the dojang but not in their personal life is not actually practicing the Do. Master Tran also showed that through practicing the Do we all can be a step closer to a happier life.
A select few people also had the great honour of going out for dinner with Master Tran, to a Korean barbeque, which showed a lot of people the culture from which Taekwon-Do originated from.
