More than 250 black belts including Management members, examiners and senior taekwondo exponents attended the coach seminar held on 20 February 2011 at ITE East College. The event was kicked off by Mr Milan Kwee, President of Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF), who took the opportunity in his opening address to explain the direction of the organization.
Mr Kwee went on to showcase medalists and other national representatives who had brought honors to Singapore in the recently concluded Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships and Asian Cities Taekwondo Championships. It was for the participants who were mostly coaches to see for themselves how far their students could go if they were to nurture their students well. It was also for them to appreciate that the success of the national athletes started with them.
The applause from the seminar participants would certainly go a long way in motivating the national representatives to excel further for Singapore.
The seminar continued with talks on coach ethics, what’s new in ‘kyorugi’ and what’s new in ‘poomsae’. For coach ethics, the participants learned about their roles in character building and sport safety. If they failed in their responsibilities, they would succeed in ruining their students’ lives. What’s more, the STF could not achieve its vision of making better persons and citizens through the sport and promoting the art and sport widely.
A lot of new information was offered for ‘kyorugi’ and ‘poomsae’. But not all of it could be explained thoroughly because of time constraint. The practice time was also inadequate for the participants to understand the variations in the various basic and poomsae movements and appreciate the sets and speeds of poomsae. As a result, the participants were advised to read the notes, practice and seek clarifications from the STF if required. Follow-up courses would also be organized for the coaches to have more in-depth understanding of what’s new in ‘kyorugi’ and ‘poomsae’.
The hours chalked up at the seminar can be used for the NROC updating.
All eligible coaches, who have not done so, are requested to submit two passport-sized photographs and the undertaking form for their passes to be processed.
The STF records its appreciation to all participants for their co-operation and desire to be better coaches.