Kid Kicks Issue # 5
(November 21th, 2009)
Welcome to Kid Kicks #6 special edition
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Get ready for the World Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina!!!!!
Kid Kicks is pleased to introduce some of the fantastic competitors, coaches, umpires and a member of the umpire committee.
We have asked the Champions these questions:
- When did you start Taekwon-Do?
- Why did you start Taekwon-Do?
- Why is Taekwon-Do important to you?
- What do think the World Championships will be like?
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Please click on the pictures below for all the details
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Imagine yourself at an ITF Taekwon-Do World championship someday!
It's a great challenge to aim for participation and win ITF world championships!
You gain perseverance when you train hard to improve your performance!
You gain experience, and learn how to deal with stressful situations!
You make wonderful friends and visit cool countries
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You feel GREAT!!!
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Canada
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Australia
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Scotland
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Argentina
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Netherlands
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New Zealand
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Did You Know???
http://www.tkd-itfargentina2009.com is the official website for the World Champs in Argentina. This will be the 10th Junior and 16th Senior World Taekwon-do Championships for the ITF. The first World Champs were held in Canada in 1974. Senior and Junior Champs were held together for the first time at the last World Champs in 2007, also in Canada!
You have to be at least 14yrs old to compete.
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My name is Ms. Stephanie Suarez from the United States.
I am competing in the junior female tul and matsogi divisions.
I started Taekwon-Do when I was 6. My mother made me a deal –If I started Taekwon-Do she would buy me books that I wanted. At first I didn’t really like Taekwon-Do but now I love it. I've been around it since I was two. My father, my mother, and my sisters have all practiced TKD. And the values that we have gotten to learn through it have become a part of my family. I think the championship is going to be great; however it will be very difficult. There will be many competitors making the competition excellent.
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My name is Ezequiel Rodriguez from Argentina
umpire
1 - comencé Taekwon-do en 1985, a mis 13 años, bajo la supervisión del hoy Gran Maestro Héctor Marano.
2 - empecé para aprender a defenderme ya que en el colegio había compañeros que eran muy violentos.
3 - el taekwon-do es importante para mi, porque me dio y me da muchas cosas: me enseñó a defenderme, a tener un orden y una estructura, a respetar jerarquías, a entrenar y a competir, me dió y me dá amigos, me hizo conocer a mi "segundo padre" Héctor Marano, a mi esposa Ivanna Masso (III dan), se convirtió en mi primer trabajo, y fue la puerta de entrada a mi profesión (profesor de educación física), me ayudó a recorrer el mundo primero como competidor y ahora como umpire, y porque es un instrumento para ayudar a mucha gente a mejorar su vida siendo su instructor.
4 - creo que el mundial 2009 va a ser un espectáculo increíble, muy bien organizado, donde la brecha en el medallero entre las grandes potencias y el resto de los países se irá haciendo cada vez mas estrecha ya que el nivel internacionalmente está emparejándose gracias al trabajo incansable del Comité Técnico, con sus IIC, a las competencias internacionales, y al acceso a información que tenemos todos los instructores del mundo a través, por ejemplo de internet.
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My name is Taizo Sugaya from Japan.
I will be competing in the senior male tul amd matsogi divisions as well as coaching. I start Taekwon-Do the age 19 and 10 months in April 1993 at Palmerston North branch in New Zealand.I had some experiment of Ju-Do and Ken-Do in Japan. When I met Taekwon-Do, most of all students having fun or enjoying the activities. That makes me start Taekwon-Do. Taekwon-Do helps my self confidence- I enjoy teaching Taekwon-Do because it helps me to learn. I am happy to be going to the World Championship. I think it will be very exciting.
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My name is Mark Trotter from New Zealand.
I will be competing in the senior male tul and matsogi divisions as well as pre-arranged sparing. I started Taekwon-Do at the age of 5 in 1989 with 48 other beginners in Auckland New Zealand. I had attended a school event and there was a TKD school doing a demo and as soon as I saw the demo I joined. My parents thought it would be a good idea for exercise. Little did they know how important Taekwon-Do would be for me.
Taekwon-Do has made me who I am; I have met my wife through TKD as well as my best friends. Taekwon-Do allows me to travel all over the world and make new friends. I was in Argentina for a month in May this year training and it was amazing to see the excitement building then The world championships in Mar del Plata will be very hard. I think it will be one of the best yet.
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My name is Julia Cross from Scotland
I will be competing in the senior female tul and matsogi divisions. I will also be coaching.
I started when I was 11 years old. My Father took me along to a new club in the town, Master Sheena Sutherland and as he was already a blue belt, he decided that I should give it a try. I was a slightly overweight child and did lots of other sports but felt that TKD would help me to get fitter and slimmer. Taekwon-Do has given me a goal in life and a structure. I have seen the world and met so many great people from all cultures and walks of life. I feel very lucky to have chosen this path. Argentina 2009 will be fantastic. I was first in Argentina in 1999 when I won my first World Title: it is a very special place for me. I aim to make it where I will win my last World title.
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My name is James Jestrimski from Australia
I will be competing in junior male matsogi division. I began training in January, 2005. My parents decided to send me along to learn TKD when I was quite young, to keep fit and active and to learn self-defense. Every day I try to live by the tenets of TKD. I have made many sacrifices to achieve my 1st Dan and I believe that these have helped me to become a better person. I enjoy the challenge to better myself physically and mentally and sharing passing on the knowledge that I have learnt as an assistant instructor. Leading up to the world championships I have been training 5-6 nights per week. My fitness and skills have increased and I'm really looking forward to the World Champs. Although this competition is more about experience than high achievements, I will still compete to the best of my ability during my time in Argentina. I'm really excited to travel to South America, make new friends and learn new things.
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My name is Kurt Ottesen from Canada.
I am member of the umpire committee. I started Taekwon-Do October 31, 1988. When I was 13 a friend encouraged me to try Taekwon-Do at his dojang. With my parents support I went to my first class on Halloween night! It was incredible! When I was a child I was not very confident. When I began training in Taekwon-Do, I started to see that YES, I could do some things really well. As my confidence grew and I started to help other kids in the class.
Taekwon-Do really is something special, something that can help people make a better life for themselves, to be more confident, to develop new skills, to take charge of their future and MAKE THINGS happen. To me that is the best thing about Taekwon-Do. It allows you to develop your future.
I am very excited to be a part of the 2009 World Championships in Argentina. The people in Argentina are so enthusiastic about the athletes and their performances that this is certain to be a monumental event.
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My name is Master Ung Kim Lan from Germany
I am head coach of the German team.
I started TKD in 1965 in Vietnam. I found Taekwon-Do to be both a martial art and a sport.
Taekwon-Do is important
for my spirit, my mind and my body. I am looking forward to meeting old friends and to make new friends and learn new ideas at the 2009 World Championships.
It will be like a TKD´s family meeting.
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My name is Joanna Paprocka from Poland
I will be competing in the senior female matsogi and team matsogi divisions
I started Taekwon-Do when I was 8 my older sister started to date Tomasz Szczepaniuk, who happened to be a Taekwon-Do coach. In that time it was more about good fun and as a reward for good grades at school. Later on, Tomasz married my sister; I became more interested in Taekwon-Do, joined his team and spent all my free time at the gym. I've never thought about why I started Taekwon-Do. It is important to evolve and get better and better. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and happiness. I can travel all over the world and meet new people. My sport achievements brought attention to several sponsors. I get some benefits from them, as well as motivation for further hard work. They make me keep on going. I treat the World Championship in Argentina as a huge challenge. I'll have the opportunity to defend gold medal in the Individual Sparings (third time) as well as in the Team Sparings (fourth time in). TKD is very popular in Argentina, so I expect crowds of Argentinean fans, which will support their favourites. I'm sure it will be exciting.
As I have never been to Argentina it will be nice to get to know country, its people and culture.
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My name is Mariusz Steckiewicz from Vietnam
I am head coach of the Vietnamese team. I started Taekwon-Do in 1988.I was a big fan of Bruce Lee as a young boy. All my friends and I dreamed of possessing skills like Bruce Lee. Honestly I did not know much about differences between Karate, Kung Fu or Taekwon-Do. I just wanted to become like Bruce Lee. Now Taekwon-Do has become my way of life. I love teaching and spending time with my students. It gives me satisfaction and energy. I have taught in Poland Finland and now in Vietnam. I am happy that through Taekwon-Do I can also affect others and try to give them as much as I gained from it myself. I believe that the 2009 World Championships will be an unforgettable event. Grand Master Hector Marano who is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, I am sure he will put all the efforts to give to the participants the best possible competition. I have been also observing for several years competitors and I am sure we will see lots of amazing actions. One thing we can be absolutely sure: the Argentinean competitors and most of all spectators will bring the atmosphere to the boiling point.
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My name is Master James Tjin-A-Ton from the Netherlands
I am an umpire at the 2009 World Championships.
I started Taekwon-Do in 1976- As a child in Suriname (where I was born) I was inspired by Bruce Lee and his fast kicks and movements. When I moved to the Netherlands I joined a Taekwon-Do club. When I achieved first degree Black Belt I became an instructor. I think that we as instructors have a mission to teach other persons, our students the Taekwon-Do tenets, so we are helping in our own way for a peaceful world.
The 2009 World Championships will be great. Grand Master Marano, his organisation and the hospitality and nice temper of the competitors of Argentina together with all countries around the world will ensure that the WC will be a fantastic success.
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Mi nombre: Master Azucena Zorzón
Empecé a practicar en el año 1975, en esa época se conocía el TKD como karate coreano. Fuí a ver una exibición que hacía un grupo de alumnos de quien después sería mi Maestro hasta el día de hoy, Javier Dacak IX Dan, desde entonces todo cambió para mi, empecé en el mes de Agosto de 1975, y desde entonces nunca mas abandoné la práctica, tengo mucho para contar, pero no se si es lo que le interesa. Como mujer en aquellos años era muy difícil practicar TKD, ya que no les gustaba mucho a la gente, en especial a los hombres, ellos no querían mujeres en las clases de TKD. Desde entonces mi camino en éste hermoso arte, fué muy difícil pero a la vez muy lindo.
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Argentina
Australia
Canada
Germany
Holland
Japan
New Zealand
Poland
Scotland
United States of America
Vietnam
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| Can you locate the country for each of the champions? |
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