Cornwall Tae Kwon-Do, Established 1974

The past, present and future of Cornish Martial Arts
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Mr Liam Broderick, 4th Dan - Camborne and Truro
I began my training in 1991 at Camborne Tae Kwon-Do under my brother, Danny Broderick.  At that time, we were all members of the Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB), which was the strongest ITF (International Tae Kwon-Do Federation) group in both the UK and Cornwall.  For the first few months of training I plodded along but after taking my first grading in January 1992, I was completely hooked.  Tae Kwon-Do became a healthy addiction for me and I trained in the Cornwall schools five evenings a week through my yellow, green and blue belt levels.  Each Sunday morning, throughout the summer, we would train on Porth Beach, Newquay, meaning that for much of the year I was training six days a week, which certainly helped in my Tae Kwon-Do progression.  One of my fondest memories from my early coloured belt times was the TAGB Summer Camp, held in the summer of 1992 near Veryan on the Roseland peninsular.  Each day, we would get up at 6am, warm-up, run three miles to the beach at Portholland for a training session, then walk back across the cliff-top in the morning sunshine.  After relaxing for the afternoon, there would be two hours of training in the evening.  I took my 7th Kup grading in a field, which was quite a unique experience!
 
From blue belt, around 1993, I began to instruct my own class, teaching the juniors at Camborne and a new dimension was added to my Tae Kwon-Do training.  It was at this time that the TAGB went through its first great split and the Instructors in Cornwall helped form Global Tae Kwon-Do International (GTI), as an organisation dedicated to democratic openness in Tae Kwon-Do training.  Within a year though, the Instructor who ran Cornwall Tae Kwon-Do, Mr Robin Davies from Newquay decided that we should form our own organisation called Atlantic Tae Kwon-Do, with Grandmaster Yung Ho Jun from Florida as Chief Grading Examiner.  It was an exciting time in my Tae Kwon-Do training as we began to learn the WTF (World Tae Kwon-Do Federation) style.  I also took my Instructors Qualification at red belt level.  By 1996, however, a number of the schools returned to the GTI, where we have been ever since. 
 
I took my 1st Degree Black Belt in October 1996 at Gravesend, Kent, under the GTI panel, which was headed by Frank Murphy, 6th Degree.  The following summer, almost one hundred GTI students and Instructors descended on the Isles of Scilly for our first GTI Summer Camp.  We all had a fantastic time in this idyllic setting, training on the beaches and giving a great show to the islanders.  I made a lot of friends in Tae Kwon-Do on the Scillies, many of whom I still train with today.
 
After my 1st Dan I went on to become Assistant Instructor at Camborne, and trained all over the country to improve my Tae Kwon-Do ability.  I had returned to college in 1998 and Tae Kwon-Do training helped to relieve the stress and strain of studying.  I would steadfastly say that if it wasn’t for my Tae Kwon-Do training, I would have had a hard time gaining my degree in Environmental Management in 2001.  I took my 2nd Degree Black Belt under the GTI panel, headed by Mr Clive Harrison, 6th Dan in October 2001 and my 3rd Degree under Master Hopwood, 7th Dan in October 2003.  I finally opened my own school, Truro Tae Kwon-Do Academy in October 2005 (although there had been a GTI school in Truro from 1993 to July 2005), handing my Camborne Tae Kwon-Do Assistant Instructor role to Mr James Murphy.  I gained my 4th degree black belt in May 2009 and launched Camborne Tae Kwon-Do Academy in the summer of 2009.  In Autumn 2009 I qualified as a GTI Grading Examiner.
 
To my students I would like to say; be true to the tenets of Tae Kwon-Do and treat yourself and those around you with the utmost respect and courtesy at all times; work hard, and reap the benefits that Tae Kwon-Do can give you in your personal life, your social life and your career; be patient, in understanding that the Tae Kwon-Do path cannot be rushed; and always enjoy your Tae Kwon-Do training, savouring each grade, for that time will never come again!  I look to a great future for Cornwall Tae Kwon-Do and sincerely hope that you will be beside me and help me to create a truly great school of Tae Kwon-Do…
 
 
 
 
Visit my Kernow TAE (Kernow Tae Kwon-Do Academy of Excellence) Schools at:
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr John Newman, 1st Dan - GTI Exeter

It was at the age of 6 that I had my first introduction to martial arts. My parents were keen for me to learn how to defend myself from an early age, particularly as I was quite small as a child. My dad took me along to a local (Swindon) Wado-Ryu style karate club under Sensei Nick Randall. It was also around the same time that I began gymnastics after being spotted by a scout at a school competition.

 

These two activities complimented each other for a number of years, and by the age of 9 I had reached 1st Kyu (Kup) in karate (1 grade below black belt), and had experienced a good deal of competition success in gymnastics – my best result being 6th place in national competition.

 

However, training at least 5 times per week was becoming too much for my young body, both physically and emotionally, and within a few weeks of each other I gave both activities up.

 

Although I remained very active, it wasn’t until I started secondary school that I became involved in competitive sports again. It wasn’t too long before a P.E. teacher noticed my ability, and before I knew it I was competing for the school in cross-country running, and very soon after for the county of Wiltshire.

 

The following summer I made the natural transition to athletics, with the coaches quickly realising that as well as running, I could also jump, throw, and do just about anything else where they required an event to be filled to earn the team more points. One day it was suggested that, with my gymnastic background, I give the pole-vault a try. I ended up competing for the county in several events, and was pushing for national team selection in pole-vault.

 

Although I was thoroughly enjoying athletics and cross-country running, I felt something was missing from these sports compared with the karate that I’d done previously. My dad happened to be working with someone who said that he ran a karate club and that I’d be welcome to give it a try – that someone was Sensei Alan Brown, one of the most humble and talented martial artists I have met, and for whom I have a great deal of respect.

 

I was now 12 years old, and although I had previously done some karate, this was a different style, and it was felt best that I started back at the beginning. Shotokan is a very strong style of karate, and my club (Wroughton Shotokan Karate Club) was a member of the KUGB, the largest single style organisation in the country. This gave me access to training with some of the very best karate practitioners, many of whom had emigrated from Japan. It was at the age of 16 that I achieved my Shodan (black belt 1st Dan) in December 1994, under a panel of examiners headed up by Sensei K. Enoeda. Sensei Enoeda was considered by many to be one of Japan’s finest competitors and instructors, and I feel extremely honoured to have graded and trained under such an inspirational man. Enoeda Sensei sadly passed away in 2003.

 

I had a great deal of competition success, my most memorable moment being crowned South of England Junior Male Kumite (sparring) Champion. Junior male brown and black belt division was always a very hotly contested category, being for 16-21 year olds - and I had only just turned 16.

 

Unfortunately during training one evening I tore my hamstring. This proved to be quite devastating for me because every time I attempted to resume training (usually a bit too early!) I would re-tear it. Over a period of around 18 months I put on 6 stone in weight, prompting the onset of diabetes, and I ceased training completely.

 

Fast forward to 2006, now living in Cornwall, 28 years old and weighing between 19 and 20 stone, and although I was playing rugby for Truro, I missed the continual self-improvement that you strive for in martial arts (I could never really be bothered with rugby training, as the only aim was to win the game). I desperately wanted to get back into some form of martial arts training. At first I attempted to go back to karate, but I couldn’t find a suitable club. Therefore I needed to broaden my horizons and I tried Jui-Jitsu and Thai Boxing, but decided they just weren’t for me. I then found Tae-Kwon-Do.

 

I must point out that I wasn’t expecting very much of Tae-Kwon-Do. Where I came from in Swindon, the local club had a bad reputation. It was considered to be a weak martial art, and the club in general was considered to be very ill-disciplined. I am very please to say that what I discovered in Cornwall GTI was completely to the contrary.

 

Tae-Kwon-Do (as taught by Cornwall GTI) truly teaches us to find balance and harmony in our lives. To me, this is the essence of martial arts, and the tenets guide us in this quest. I commenced my training at both Camborne and Truro in January 2006, enrolling with Camborne simply because I was living closer to that school at the time. I trained as much as I could (usually about 4 times per week), and took my first grading a month after starting. At the following grading, I was permitted to attempt grading to green belt because of my black belt in karate, which I did, and have continued to progressively move up the ranks.

 

Due to work relocation to Exeter in July 2008, I was only able to attend training in Truro once or twice per week, and I therefore switched my membership to Truro Tae-Kwon-Do Academy. Even though it has been tough, especially doing 200 mile round trips to attend training, there was never any question regarding discontinuing Tae-Kwon-Do, and my loyalty to Truro, Camborne and the GTI mean that I have never considered switching to a different association.

 

I’m very pleased to say that my hard work paid off in May 2009, when I successfully graded to 1st Dan in Derby under the GTI grading panel.

 

I thoroughly enjoy competing, and my best results include the Midlands Open 2008, where I won 3 gold medals in the red belt division for patterns, continuous sparring and point-stop sparring, and my most recent achievement of 2009 British Champion of Destruction (board breaking).

 

I am now taking my Tae Kwon-Do journey to the next level by opening Exeter Tae Kwon-Do Academy. It has always been my ambition to teach, and this is a realisation of that dream. I hope to pass on my knowledge and promote this wonderful martial art to the best of my abilities, and inspire all those around me on their Tae Kwon-Do journeys.

 

Even though I am now starting my own club, I still train in Cornwall every week to continually develop my own skills. I’m hopeful of successfully grading to 2nd Dan in October 2010, and I also plan to carry on competing for a number of years.

 

Visit John's school at www.exetertaekwondo.com

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 Mr Marc Dummett, 5th Dan - Newquay
Instructor of Newquay Tae Kwon-Do - details coming soon...