2015 Camp Report by Jannilla Liden

Was it crazy or naïve or just plain stupid to head off to a Tae Kwon Do camp with two kids after just a few weeks of training Tae Kwon Do for all of us, I asked myself as we drove into Myuna Bay on the hottest day in November since 1982.

The look ahead on the itinerary had meant very little to a Tae Kwon Do beginner… Kummooyeh? Hogu sparring?? Bo defence and twirling? Ninja Challenge? What had we set ourselves up for?

Excited, flushed (and a bit scared), we set off for the first session with Master Peter Hartman and quickly immersed ourselves in the training. Great to see such a huge crowd of Tae Kwon Do enthusiasts of all ranges with both new and some familiar faces to greet us at the first training. (And first lesson learned… bring proper shoes.)

First session (for us) on Saturday was the Kummooyeh Session with Sarbomnim Michael Tebble and his team. The larger class was divided into four smaller sessions where we got to try our newly learnt foam sword techniques in both patterns and sparring sessions. The court outside the hall was littered with broken carrots after our favourite “Bow to your carrot – Chop your carrot” session with Master Anne where we got to try out swinging an actual sword. And not to forget the epic battle “Kill the king” with Nerf guns as an added flavour to the swords.

During the Assessment for Black Belts and black tip, we had some free time to invade the pool. Archery was next on the schedule which was a favourite with the kids and left (on me) the largest bruise yet. Another lesson learned… make sure your elbow is out of the way of the string or it’ll hurt. Despite great efforts from all of us, the apple on top of the target remained immobile.

We got back to the hall in time to view the end of the ongoing assessment. I was hugely impressed with the hard work put in by everyone involved. Great work!

Next up was the Hogu sparring session with Master Anne Mouland-Claassens where I picked up a lot of new insights into sparring.

Last session of the day was Jujitsu with Poon Leung. It was extra fun to do the moves with one of my kids, alternating who got to choke whom (!). Also, the black belt pattern work ongoing next to us was very interesting to watch.

I must admit that I missed out on the movie that night as the bed was beckoning and the siren call was irresistible after a very intense day for both mind and body.

To make up for my lack of showing up to the yoga on the Saturday morning, I was the second in the hall, wondering where everybody was.

Got to stretch out and try out some seemingly impossible exercises. Also discovered a newfound urge to try a handstand after 20 years – where did that come from?

Later that day, I learnt that Bo equals sticks. The Bo twirling session with Sarbomnim Andrew Traves was a great introduction – got to get myself a broomstick ASAP and try out the exercises.

We also did a secret session with Master Anne that (as promised) will remain a secret…

Last on the schedule was a Ninja Challenge with Masters Ron and Master Anne with several challenges to test our balance, strength, ingenuity, endurance, team spirit etc. I’m sad to say that Team Andrew lost…

We left Myuna Bay that afternoon with tired but happy bodies and minds. Thanks everyone who were there – it was awesome.