Name: Christine Young.
Club: Hwa Rang Tauranga
Rank: IV Dan
At what age did you start learning Taekwon Do ?
15
What ITF club did you first join and who was your Instructor ?
I started in Levin in 1985. The instructor there then was Mr Craig Beisel.
My dear friends Mr Andrew Salton and Ms Rose Cherrington were my club mates,
(though Mr Salton was already a black belt when I started and very awesome.)
When did you become a 1st Dan ?
1990 under ITFNZ and Master McPhail.
You are now Instructor of Hwa Rang Tauranga – did you set this club up ? How long has it been running ?
fresh of the press, just set up as from Feb 14th 2006.
Have you been an Instructor at some other Club before ? My friend Mr Brett Kraiger and I set up the Brooklyn Club in 1995. I see it is going from strength to strength. Well done to him.
What are some of your greatest achievements in Taekwon Do ?
Still training after all these years and learning stuff each day.
Although I do not see competition medals as an important measure of success or accomplishment in TKD, I do seem to have stumbled onto the
1997 Xth World Champs in
2003 World Champs in
2005 World Champs in
What has been the highlights of your Taekwon Do Career to date ?
1 Third Dan grading with Master Rhee Ki Ha (now Grandmaster), making us break bricks at our grading. This was quite a surprise but I broke one with my right foot first time. Unfortunately there was a big supply of bricks and I did not break with left foot, could not walk for three days.
2 Training with my then instructor Mr Richard Hall for my first dan grading. Looking back I was pretty c**p then (though no fault on Richard as he got me as a red belt). He made me get up at 6am for about two months and go running while he drove the car.
3 Attending seminar with Master Choi and General Choi in
4 Attending the 1997 World Champs and meeting loads of people including Master Nardizzi, whom I have most recently been training with in
5 Attending camps, seminars and being part of the International TKD community.
Have there been any major disappointments in your Taekwon Do career ? If so, what ?
Nothing terrible springs to mind. I dislocated my knee whilst training for my 4th dan grading, tore the minicus ligament, had to have operation on it and wait another 12 months for the grading. Also dislocated my shoulder when I was a coloured belt, but I have NOT broken any bones, so can't complain too much.
Do you have any personal Taekwon Do goals for the future ? If so, what are they ?
I would like to coach the
How do you think Taekwon Do in
Well, I have a lot to say about this but in short, we're doing great, but we are now poised to do even better. However I believe we need some reforms to our leadership structure to really take off from the strong foundations that we have laid.
Which practising Taekwon Do Instructor(s) do you admire the most and why ?
1 I admire all the instructors I have had because each one of them has taught me a lot of things. And they all teach and pass on their knowledge from the goodness of their hearts.
2 I admire the long serving members of the ITFNZ executive, such as Mr Vince Pygott, Ms Sue Breen, Masters Davidson and Mcphail and others for all their years of dedication to the development of our national body and progress of TKD in
3 Mr Norman Ng for being a pioneer instructor in NZ. I have had the pleasure of training with him on many occasions back in the old days in CD.
Do you have a favourite technique ?
No.
What is the highest level any of your students have achieved ?
I'll come back to this one.
Do you have any comments on what you think are the most likely attributes a student needs to progress through the ranks to 1st Dan and higher ?
Perseverance and practise.