Australian Taekwondo in conjunction with Australian Taekwondo Queensland presented another successful development training session with National Performance Coach Dongmin Cha 3 x Olympian and Olympic Gold Medal winner.
The sessions which are designed to assist and strengthen both State Training Programs and sections of the Pathways programs were well attended with 120+ athletes attending across three session.
The first session took place on Saturday the 19th and was for 12 years plus Red and Black Belts.
Sunday 20th saw two sessions as part of the AT State Development initiative and ranged from Blue belts through to black belts from 8 years plus. The sessions were run in conjunction with Australian Taekwondo Queensland state training.
Australian Taekwondo Queensland Admin Officer Maddy Houston stated that 90 Kyorugi athletes at the Sunday sessions was a great turnout and that the feedback had all been positive. ATQ state coach Ben Hartman reiterated the positive feedback and stated that Dongmin exhibited a wealth of knowledge. Ben also stated he looked forward to more sessions with Dongmin in the future
National Performance Director Mr Ross Hartnett said he was again pleased with the attendance and the feedback around the seminars. He stated that AT hoped to facilitate more seminars next year and include specific sessions for coaches and instructors in addition to the Athlete seminars.
It was also planned to have seminars with other leading former athletes who make up part of the pathways coaching team.
It is the philosophy of Australian Taekwondo Performance Pathways to work closely with state organisations in creating links and assistance through the various levels of state and national programs.
National Performance Director Mr Ross Hartnett stated that clubs and state programs are an integral part of any performance structure, integral in building the foundation for athletes future success and sustainability in the sporting aspects of Taekwondo.
Coach Cha is in Australia as part of the Kukkiwon Dispatch Masters program and has been integrated into Australian Taekwondo national performance development as part of our long term development strategies toward the 3032 Brisbane Olympic Games. Australian Taekwondo was assisted in procuring Coach Cha by the Korean Embassy in Canberra and Ambassador Mr Jeongsik Kang.
Australian Taekwondo have also loaned out Master Dongmin to World Taekwondo Oceania on a number of occasions so as to assist with regional development in the Oceania region.
