25 February 2009

Instruction

Dear Soo Shim Kwan - Potchefstroom students,

The instructors for this year will be Bsbnim Philip de Vos (1st Dan), assisted by Kyosa Werner de Bruyn; with myself as supervising instructor. Promotional testing will be conducted under Sb Karel Wethmar (4th Dan) in Pretoria and Master Kim (7th Dan).

Bsbnim Philip is also planning to regularly attend technical seminars throughout the year, and anyone interested is welcome to get a lift with him to the venues. Please make use of these opportunities to improve your skill.

Remember also to attend the twice weekly training sessions (Tuesday & Thursday evenings, starting at 18:00), and feel free to use the dojang on Wednesday afternoons (14:00-17:00) for personal training.

Regards,
Bsbnim Sanko

24 February 2009

Cross Training

Over the break, just before the semester started, while our dojang was still in use by the freshmen in preparation of RAG, Franco (far right) and I (far left) went for some cross training with the Mixed Martial Arts group in Potch. We had a great work out, coached by Johan (centre).

Our club has always been open minded about cross training. While I’m open to cross training I don’t think it is always beneficial to train in two or more martial arts at once, specifically not while you are still learning the basics of one martial art. When, however, you have mastered the basics of your style, taking up another martial art can be a great way to review your paradigm, to broaden your knowledge and grow as a martial artist.

Although I’m suggestion you not to practice two martial arts at the same time while you are a beginner, I am not saying that you should avoid occasional cross training. On the contrary, cross training in other martial arts (and even other recreational disciplines such as parkour, squash, etc.) can be a wonderful method to supplement your training.

Regards,
Bsbnim Sanko

ITF Clock

You may have noticed the new fancy ITF-crested clock we have in the dojang. The clock is a gift from Sabeomnim Kim Hoon, the Secretary General of ITF in South Korea, to our dojang. He gave me the clock just before my departure to South Africa, specifically for our dojang. May the clock keep record of many, many, many hours of hard training, sweat and occasional blood ;-) at our dojang.

The photo shows me handing over the clock to Bsbnim Philip.

Regards,
Bsbnim Sanko

15 February 2009

Korean Dinner & Website

Hello friends,
Remember about our “Korean Dinner” on Wednesday (18:00). More details will be given at the Tuesday evening training session. Budget for around R20+.

I also want to bring your attention to a new website where some of our articles have been published. This martial arts focussed website will become a great resource for future martial art study.

Regards,