19th International Kids Course

On the 12th and 13th March 2016 the 19th International Kids Course (IKC) was held in Vienna, Austria. After the successful IIC in September 2014, ITF-Austria once again hosted an international ITF event in Vienna. The participants came not only from various Austrian clubs, we were delighted to also welcome attendees from the countries Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden and Scotland.

The IKC was organised by the department “Kids Training Program” (Head: Christina Mechacek IV Degree, Member: Christopher Nord III Degree, Manuel Frank I Degree and Wim De Graeve 1st Kup), which is responsible for spreading the ideas and teaching methods of the ITF Kids Development Program throughout Austria.

The course was conducted by Master Donato Nardizzi VIII Degree, President of ITF England and Head of the “Children’s Development Committee” of the ITF. Master Nardizzi presented all aspects, the philosophy and teaching methods of the Kids Development Program, which he developed together with Mr. Fabian Izquierdo from Argentina.

All participants learned about what makes it unique in the world of Martial Arts, especially the emphasis of the tenets of Taekwon-Do which permeate the entire program. The didactical and pedagogical training approach for children from the age of three was put into practice throughout the course and many participants were happy to show that they can still be children, despite their age. Master Nardizzi is an outstanding speaker who conveyed his ideas and teaching methods in a way that is understandable and focusses on the practical implementation.

For the evening of the first day, a dinner was held in one of the two revolving restaurants of the Donauturm (“Danube Tower”). At a height of over 160 metres, the moving restaurant offers a 360° view of Vienna and the Danube river which runs through it. The guests were offered a selection of traditional Austrian cooking including the Viennese Schnitzel and the Sachertorte (chocolate cake). En enjoyable evening was had by all.

At the end, the course was an enrichment for all 47 participants. Amongst these, we would like to especially mention Master Ernesto Santaniello VII Degree from Italy who shared some of his own experiences with and ideas for teaching children.

ITF-Austria would like to thank the team who organised this event and, above all, Master Nardizzi for the educational course.