This is my first opportunity as the Spirit President to thank you all for choosing to be part of the Spirit schools and for supporting the establishment of the new committee.
I am privileged to be part of this Committee and look forward to working with the other members Anne Greenwood (secretary), Sarah Fisher (treasurer), Diane Burns (committee member) and of course our dedicated instructors.
Over the upcoming months it is my intention to focus on the future direction for Spirit Taekwon -do. Since Mr Kraiger started the first Spirit Taekwon-do school at Brooklyn in 1995 we have gone from strength to strength. We now have four schools, world class instructors and a growing number of outstanding students. It is now time for Spirit to look at what we want to achieve over the next couple of years. We will be pulling this information together over the next few months with significant input from our instructors so we will keep you all up-to-date on how this is progressing.
Recently I visited Hobart, Tasmania, and took the opportunity to attend one of the local Taekwon-do schools. since I started my instructors have suggested that whenever we travel we should take our dobok and train with other ITF schools. I can say first hand that it is a great idea and what I experienced in Hobart was excellent.
Before going to Hobart I searched ITF Australia and found "Southern ITF Taekwon-do". The school is run by Mr Steve Weston who is a VIth Dan black belt and the current Secretary General for ITF Taekwon-do Australia. After making initial contact with Mr Weston I was invited to attend training. In Australia the ITF model is slightly different in that each school is run as a commercial business by the instructor which differs from here in New Zealand where we tend to have Incorporated Societies that over see the operational component.
Not only did I get to participate in a technical training session focused of kicking and striking techniques, but I also got to spend time looking at the ITF business model that Mr Weston has in place. Both were very impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Steve and his students who really made me feel welcome. If you are ever travelling to Hobart I recommend you check out their website (http://www.southernitf.com) and contact Mr Weston to see if you can attend a training session, it is well worth it.In fact Mr Weston and one of his students will be in Wellington in July for the 2010 Nationals/Oceania's so I look forward to hosting them with the same enthusiasm and spirit that they showed me.
If you have trained with another ITF school elsewhere in New Zealand or worldwide let us know as it is useful for those who do travel from time-to-time to have contacts if they wish to train and having existing networks is easier than having to start from nothing.
Do not forget if you have any suggestions or feedback that you think could improve Spirit Taekwon-do please submit them through this website or directly through your instructor.
Thanks for choosing to train with Spirit Taekwon-do.
Cheers
Luke
