Taekwan-Do club goes from strength to strength
THEY’RE only 12 months in existence, but Sligo’s ITF Taekwon-Do club is already making history.
Twelve members from the club recently travelled to Limerick for the National Championships, and managed to bring back 15 medals - an impressive feat for a newly formed club.
Initially formed by Dubliner Stephen Kohlmann, the club has almost 100 members.
Stephen works with Nicola McCutcheon over clubs in both Sligo and Easkey. Nicola has represented Ireland in Taekwon-Do.
When Stephen moved to Sligo, he realised that there was something missing.
There was no Taekwon-Do club here. And that began the journey for Sligo’s ITF Taekwon-Do journey.
“When I moved here I realised that there was no ITF Taekwon-Do club in Sligo. I always had it in my mind that I would like to set up a club somewhere.
“It’s doing really well at the min- ute. In Sligo we have 50 members between juniors and seniors. In Easkey we have 40 members. We have people raging in ages from four to around 60.
“We have classes designed for the different age groups.”
The club enjoyed unprecedented success at the recent championships in UL.
Over 830 competitors from all around the country took part in the competition, and with Ireland currently the world champions in Taekwon-Do out of 62 countries, Sligo’s medal haul is a huge achievement.
“We came back with 15 medals from the national championships. Two of those were juniors. Ireland are currently number one in the world rankings at the minute. They hosted the World Championships and finished top. That means that the sparring is at a very high level. And that filters right down through to the clubs. We decided to bring a couple of the juniors with us and a good few of the seniors.
“We had two pretty good successes at the event. Eva Schoen, a yellow belt who’s only been doing it for a few months, beat two green belts. Nicola McCutcheon got top place as well.”
The club train twice a week, in Ballast Quay in Sligo town and in Easkey. Competitions like the national championships are of huge benefit to the club.
“It really was great for the club. Ailbhe Murphy went on the mats and she was the first person to represent the club, and she won. That feeling of being part of the coaches process is special. I’ve competed and won things myself but it’s different being part of the coaching staff.
Stephen added: “We go away as a club and you are competing as an individual in a team environment. If you are on the mat sparring, people are around it cheering you on.”
It’s a sport that is growing in popularity, and Stephen explained why it is so popular.
“It’s a very dynamic martial art. I practiced karate and judo when I was younger and I just got a bit bored.
“There are more options to compete with Taekwon-Do. You can compete in sparring, patterns, power-breaking, special technique high kicks, pre-arranged sparring and you can compete in team events as well. It’s a very broad sport.”
The club’s medal winners in Limerick were as follows:
Eva Schoen - Silver patterns, gold sparring
Ailbhe Murphy - Bronze patterns, bronze sparring
Mrs McCutcheon - Gold patterns, bronze sparring
Piotr Moszkowski - Bronze patterns, bronze sparring
Mr. Kohlmann - Bronze patterns Kriss Starczan - Gold sparring Kyle Kelly - Bronze sparring Ronan Taheny - Bronze sparring Mark Dee - Bronze sparring Wayne Kelly - Bronze patterns Sean Kelly - Bronze patterns More details about the club can be found on the Facebook page at facebook.com/sligoitf or the website at stephenkohlmann. wixsite.com/sligotkd.