On the weekend of 18th and 19th January, the Irish National Taekwon-Do Association (INTA) organised a seminar with Master Thierry Meyour and Sabum Mira Sjovall from ITF Finland.
Master Meyour is a longtime friend of the INTA and we were delighted to welcome him and one of his students to Ireland. Master Meyour is a renowned coach and thinker in all aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do and Sabum Sjovall is one of the leading ITF competitors of her generation.
The seminar was conducted over two days with more than 4 hours training on both days. Saturday’s session had more than 50 people in attendance and was open to all grades from 6th Kup and above. Sunday’s seminar was restricted to 2nd Kup and above and again had more than 50 people in attendance. We were also delighted to welcome members of the Irish Taekwon-Do Association to the seminar on both days.
Over the course of the two days, Master Meyour balanced the sessions between fundamental movements, pattern execution and sparring. Sharing their rich knowledge and distinct perspective, they covered areas such as:
- Proper framework for stances;
- Activating the posterior chain
- Creating fluidity of movement;
- Static vs dynamic movement;
- Moving economically;
- Sparring footwork;
- Teaching beginners; and
- Pattern tempo.
Over the two days, Master Meyour and Sabum Sjovall created a warm, fun and positive atmosphere that encouraged questions, prompted experimentation and facilitated an environment where people could learn. Even the most experienced Masters attending walked away from the seminars with new ideas and perspectives.
Some of the feedback we received included:
Master Meyour’s teaching methods and his knowledge about taekwondo is incredible and having a female instructor like Ms Sjövall there is inspiring
Master Meyour’s teachings brought a new perspective into my practise. I learned many new ways of improving my skills and techniques. Along with such an inspiring role model as Ms Sjöval, she made me excited to learn and try new things
I will definitely use what I learned in my own training but also to coach the younger students.
It was an event that I would certainly recommend to anyone wishing to improve their skills, irrespective of their level of experience
The INTA would like to thank Master Meyour and Sabum Sjovall for joining us for an incredible and inspiring weekend of all that is best about ITF Taekwon-Do
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