International Taekwon‑Do Federation

The December National Seminar with Grand Master Hwang Ho Yong (9th Degree) has been a tradition for the members of the Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation for decades. This year's seminar was organized by the Technical Committee in the small town of Velké Meziříčí. Although the weather was unusually cold last week, 104 participants from 25 schools found their way.

The seminar itself was divided into three blocks. The 90-minute introduction of the first block was provided by Grand Master Hwang Ho Yong, who explained in great detail the principles of sinusoidal movement in taekwondo and also demonstrated its usefulness and necessity. The Grand Master also mentioned common mistakes in the execution, which unfortunately affect even the most successful national teams at the World or European Championships! During the subsequent practice sessions, great emphasis was placed on the fluidity of movement in the various techniques. Grand Master Hwang also reminded how stopping a technique in progress affects the resulting strength. An example of proper rhythm is the Chon-Ji routine performed by hundreds of seminar participants.

The second part of the morning session focused on training movement and basic sparring combinations. This was provided by the coaches of the Czech national team Jan Mraček (6th dan) and Aleš Vyzrál (5th dan). The way of training was very intense and fun. All the more everyone was looking forward to a hearty lunch.

The afternoon block was directed by the holders of the master titles - Rostislav Kaňka (8th dan), Martin Zámečník (7th dan), Petr Poklop (7th dan), Ondřej Vrábel (7th dan) and Petr Smejkal (7th dan). The participants went through the training blocks, which included practicing patterns for their grades, advanced kicks including their applications, self-defence and self-defence against knives. During each block, questions raised were explained and most importantly, the techniques were explained in detail.

The final part belonged once again to Grand Master Hwang, who practiced with the holders of 4th dan and higher the patterns for 5th dan, i.e., Yon-Gae, Ul-Ji and Moon-Moo.

The National Seminar was once again a great success and the 5 or 6 hours of intense practice was a beautiful end to 2023. Members of the Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation can look forward to meeting again on December 14, 2024. In the meantime, they will have regular training sessions in their clubs and seminars with Grand Master Hwang in their respective regions!

Watch the report with closing remarks by Grand Master Hwang Ho Yong:

Master Ondrej Vrabel
Czech Taekwon‑Do Federation