November 21, 2009

Ontario has hosted many great Taekwondo events in the past and this tradition continues on February 7, 2009 in Ottawa. 
 
On behalf of the Board of Directors and members of the Taekwondo Academy of Ontario, I would like to invite everyone to the 2009 Ontario Taekwondo Championships.
 
Ms. Kathy Trigger, herself a former world class athlete, will do an outstanding job of representing Taekwon-Do, our Province and our Association in hosting this event. As Taekwon-Do membership in Ontario continues to grow, events like this will ensure that the quality of Taekwon-Do grows along with it.
 
We ask for your support in making this event the best it can possibly be. I wish all the Masters, Instructors and students the best of luck.
 
Taekwon
 
Roland Klassen
President, TAO

November 9, 2008

It was 90 years ago today that the Founder of Taekwon-Do was born.  General Choi was born on November 9, 1918 in Hwa Dae, MyÅ�ngchon county, in what is now the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  General Choi’s father sent him to study calligraphy under Han Il Dong, who was also “a master of Taek Kyon, the ancient Korean art of foot fighting”  In 1937, General Choi travelled to Japan for further study.  In Kyoto, he met a fellow Korean with the surname Kim, who was a karate instructor and taught Choi this martial art.

General Choi combined elements of taekkyeon and karate to develop “Taekwon-Do”, and it was so named on April 11, 1955.  General Choi founded the Oh Do Kwan, and held an honorary 4th dan ranking in the Chung Do Kwan.  He is also the author of the first English Taekwondo syllabus book, entitled “Taekwon-Do” published in 1965.

General Choi passed away on June 15, 2002 in Pyongyang, North Korea. General Choi is also listed in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame with various titles: “Father and Founder of Taekwon-Do,” “Founder and First President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation,” and “Founder of Oh Do Kwan.

November 6, 2008

On Tuesday November 4th, Mrs. Cathy Hadubiak led the 31st Girl Guides through a typical Taekwon-Do class.  This is the second invitation for Mrs. Hadubiak from the Girl Guides.  After a fun war-up in which the Guides learned to kick and punch, there were Pattern and Self-defence demonstrations.  A special thanks goes out to Oakridge TKD students Emily, Gabriella, Matthew and Cole for helping out with the demonstrations.  A great time was had by all.  Thank you to the 31st Girl Guides for their interest in Taekwon-Do and their many questions.

November 3, 2008

The TAO “Annual Technical Conference” is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday January 24-25, 2009.  This training is open to all Black Belts and will cover from Chon-Ji to Tong-Il.  There is no cost for this training.

The Saturday portion of the training will take place in the Trafalgar Ball Room of the Holiday Inn Oakville Center and will begin at 9:00am and run through until 5:00pm.  Sundays training will be at the Main Dojang of Morningstar Taekwon-Do in Oakville, just minutes from the Holiday Inn.  Sundays training will be from 9:00am to Noon and will be for 3rd Dan and higher.   Our Special guest instructor for Sundays training will be 7th Dan Master Fabian Nunez, President of the ATFI.

This training is limited to the first 100 participants.  Deadline for registration is January 10, 2009.  Rooms have been reserved at the Holiday Inn for those who need to stay a few nights.  Please mention the Taekwon-Do Technical Conference to benefit from the special event room rate of $119.00 based on 4 people per room.  The room release date is December 24, 2008.

October 28, 2008

The Taekwon-Do Academy of Ontario would like to welcome 7th Dan Master Seymore Creighton and the students of Creighton’s Taekwon-Do as our latest member.  Master Creighton brings with him over 30 years of Taekwon-Do experience and has been operating his Dojang in Scarborough for the past 18 years.  We look forward to working with Master Creighton to continue to build a strong ITF in the Province of Ontario.

October 25, 2008

On Saturday October 25th, 48 students from Morningstar Taekwon-Do Oakville were promoted to higher ranks.  Students of all ages and from yellow stripe to red belt were put to the test.  The test was conducted by head instructor Mr. Mike Morningstar assisted by 2nd dan Mr. Scott Seguin.

October 23, 2008

On Thursday October 23rd, fifteen Oakridge Taekwon-Do students were successful in their attempt for new ranks. The promotion test was conducted by TAO Technical Director Mike Morningstar and assisted by 2nd Dan’s Mrs. Cathy Hadubiak and Mr. Dave Hadubiak. Congratulations on your promotions and good work in promoting Taekwon-Do in the City of London.

October 18, 2008

Students from Blackburn Taekwon-Do, Johnsons Taekwon-Do and Morningstar attended the Battle for the Bell Tournament this past weekend in Philadelphia.  This competition was hosted by Mr. Fran Ott and Mr. Sean Sutton and brought compettitors from accross the USA and Canada.  Congatulations to those who attended.

Clement Goh – Silver, Mens 2nd Dan Patterns
Elliot Marshal – Bronze, Boys Sparring
Angie Routier – Bronze, Junior Girls Patterns, Silver in Sparring
Mitri Hanna – Silver, Mens Heavyweight Sparring, Bronze, Mens 2nd Dan Patterns
Steve Legrow – Gold, Mens 4th Dan Patterns Gold Mens Heavyweight Sparring
Nadine Hanna - Bronze, Womens Sparring, Silver in Patterns
Thao Nguyen – Gold Womens Yellow Belt Patterns Bronze Sparring

September 27, 2008

TAO Technical Director Mr. Mike Morningstar recently conducted a 6-hour technical seminar for the Ottawa area Instructors and students. The event was hosted by Mr. Steve Legrow, head instructor of Blackburn Taekwon-Do. Participants from Blackburn Taekwon-Do, Johnsons Taekwon-Do, Triggers Taekwon-Do and Freedom Taekwon-Do attended.

The seminar covered stretching, conditioning, basic and advanced kicking drills, patterns and finished with self-defence.  For the last 1 1/2 hours all black belts in attendence were taken through Kwang-Gae up to Moon-Moo.

August 12, 2008

On Saturday August 9th, Instructors and students from accross Ontario gather at Morningstar Taekwon-Do in Oakville for our annual summer Black Belt class. The 3-hour training session satrted with a vigourous warm-up followed by basic fundamental movements, Black Belt pattern training and self-defence. After the training the TAO Board held a directors meeting. Also, the date for the 2009 AGM and Annual Technical Conference was announced.