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Is mise Audrey agus is mise captaen na mban i mbliana. (Sula théim ar aghaidh b’fhéidir go míneoidh mé cén fáth a bhfuil é seo á scríobh as Gaeilge agam…… bhuel, cén fáth nach scríobhainn as Gaeilge é!? …. Agus, bhuel dúirt Webmaster-Brian go raibh cead agam!) Ar aon nós, tá lán fáilte romhaibh go UCD TKD agus tá súil agam go n-éireoidh go hiontach linn i mbliana. Éiríonn thar barr de ghnáth le na cáilíní (nó na mná ba chóir dom a rá) , agus tá súil agam go bhfanann an caighdeán chomh hard arís i mbliana. Ach, tá é seo suas chugaibhse! Bíonn an-chuid comórtais i rith na bliana agus ba chóir go nglacfaidh sibh go léir páirt iontu. Ní hamháin go mbíonn an-chuid craice ag baint leo ach is deis é freisin chun boinn agus coirn a bhuachaint agus chun a thaispeáint cé chomh iontach is atá mná UCD TKD i ndáiríre. Ceapaim go bhfuilim tar éis bualadh le beagnach gach duine agaibh i mbliana agus ní fhaca mé duine ar bith fós nach bhfuil réidh agus lán ábailte páirt a ghlacadh sna comórtais. Má ta amhras ar éinne – bhuel ná bíodh! Ní mhaireann an babhta speáráil ach dhá nóimead agus bíonn briseadh idir gach pointe a fhaightear. Agus anuas ar sin, is deis é snas a chur ar do phátrún le haghaidh an chéad ghrádú eile. Ní raibheas féin ró-iontach ag an speáráil riamh, agus chun an fhírinne a fháil, fós cuireann sé eagla orm anois is arís ach geallaimse daoibh go n-éiríonn sé níos éasca de réir mar a théann tú ar aghaidh. Bain triail as, ach thar aon rud eile bain taitneamh as agus feicfidh sibh an feabhas a tiocfaidh oraibh. Is gealltanas é sin! Má tá aon cheisteanna agaibh ná bíodh cúthail ar bith oraibh teacht agus labhairt liom nó r-phoist a sheoladh chugam ag aonsmaoint@yahoo.com (“,)
Well I guess I’ll start this like everyone else by saying how and why I started TKD. I could say I started tae kwon-do because of all the wonderful things that the martial art entails, like honour, skill, self-defence etc etc, or maybe I could even say that I was tempted by the many exciting social and alcohol related perks and all the incredibly handsome male members but if I said either of those things I’d be lying. Honestly I joined cos a friend of mine who was obsessed with Sarah Michelle Gellar, knew she was a black belt in tae kwon-do and needed company joining. That friend quit after 2 classes and never got why this club is so good. I on the other hand knew I found something…. err painfully fun.
What I hadn’t realized at that point was that there’s more than just the exciting sparring classes and the rather useful side effect of fitness. The social side of the club is an essential element of understanding why it’s so good. I only really discovered this in the last two years and if you’re reading this and considering joining or learning more about the club you’re already in then I am urging you to talk to people and get to know us, talk to me- I’m big but not as scary as I look. Come out with the club for the nights out, hang around after class and compare muscle pain and relative exhaustion. You’ll find everyone is incredibly friendly, even when they’re kicking your ass.
I know people from Colleges all over the place, Trinity, NCAD, DIT, UL, UCC, DBS, MIT, Harvard, UCLA, UCL, Bournemouth College, UCO Angers and Le Fac du Droit, Paris. Of all the colleges I’ve been too or heard about UCD is the most impersonal and unfriendly but here in the Tae Kwon-do club you’ll find a ready made social group and we embrace everyone from the Science and Engineering geeks to the D4 Com students and the airhead Arts students(of which I’m one) to the Ag scientists-no comment. So come to class today, find me and say Hi.
This Advertisement was brought to you by UCD Ladies Capt and Diet Coke- drink sensibly!
Mmmm? Yea what do you want? Oh you want to join Taekwon-Do, do ya? Are you from Claremorris? No? Can’t help you then, good luck with that. (Cue Blaithin jumping up and down menacingly behind me shouting about courtesy, integrity and the perils of that type of behaviour even if I have learned to wear my cup twenty-four hours a day). Eeeep!
Seriously though (kinda), I have always been interested in martial arts and did train in Shotokahn Karate at home but facilities where I am from were very limited at the time. On arrival at UCD I was astounded by the sheer volume of clubs with big, long weird sounding names whose general practice generally involved hurting people (or getting hurt as was my case). I signed up for Shaolin Kung-fu, Ninjutsu and Taekwon-Do with the intention of deciding which to keep up after a few weeks of training. Eventually I drifted away from Kung-fu but I stuck with, and continue to do so, Taekwon-Do and Ninjutsu ( club mates will berate me for that but I couldn’t get rid of the image of training in the sewer and eating pizza at training intervals, my inner child was doing backflips). As much as I love Ninjutsu (check that out too), joining the Taekwon-Do club was the best thing I did in my time in UCD and I can say that without bias. Being an arts student (or to use the technical term, a ‘bum’) it was very difficult to become good friends with people in my course (not trying to scare any new arty-farties but there are a lot of us) and I can honestly say that all the closest friends I have made in college are members of the club. The craic is great (just be careful about wearing dresses about Clonskeagh at four in the morning as many, many members I suspect have built in cameras), the training can be as intensive as you want with such a large number of classes catering to different levels of ability and the benefits to your fitness and self confidence are massive (not to mention all the drunken revelations you will have at one of our many, many, many social events). There are pros and cons like any other club but c’mon, it’s Mam and Dad’s cash, join the club and see for yourself. I’m Conal the men’s captain for 2006/07. If you want to know anything at all about the club or college in general, give me a tinkle at conal.dixon@ucdconnect.ie. I hope I’m not rambling am I? Some people just go on and on and on. And another thing………
Ladies Captain 2005/2006 - Moira McElligott
Hey all!
Well everyone said I wouldn’t take the time to actually
write a welcome note, so I’ve proved ye guys wrong,
here it is, written by
ME, and during my holidays …now that’s
dedication!!!! Look I am actually fairly crap at introductions,
speeches, or anything like that, and those who know me will have seen
my ability for making an ass of myself when it comes to this sort of
thing:)
I joined the club last year as a fresher; having done taekwondo
as a kid…and honestly I did not think I would keep it up for
long as I had
joined lots of clubs and just thought it would be good to do something
to keep fit. I was not expecting to end up heading out after
training
as a group, trips away to random spots, the competitiveness of the
competitions, the sheer amount of trophies one club can bring home from
them; I really didn’t know what I had let myself into! The
year really flew, and taekwondo is a great way to take a break from the
stress of college, and a great way to get to know another group of
randomers up for a laugh! If you don’t believe that TKD can
influence your college life, come down to training, join the freckin
club, see for yourself!! If you need to know anything,
don’t hesitate to contact me:
moira.mcelligott[at]ucdconnect[dot]ie
See ye at training!
Moira.
Greeting and salutations folks, Welcome to TKD! Well done to you, for choosing one of the best clubs out there. Like most newbies I entered UCD fresh faced and naive, ready to believe the promises of free booze and surplus sex made by all the clubs and societies during fresher's week. Like many, I joined them all! I joined Karate, and marveled at the strained constipated looks on everyone's face as they performed painfully slow techniques. I tried BJJ (Brazilian Jujitsu). I was deeply impressed by their grappling style, but slightly apprehensive of their extremely tight shorts. I tried Ninjutsu, but got dizzy from all the rolling. I even joined Tai-Chi Chuan. But I decided that a Martial Art that got me so relaxed I nearly fell asleep wasn't for me. So I picked Taekwon-do!
I don't say these things to disparage you from joining one of the martial arts, and I'm not going to get into a debate about which is more realistic or "Alive". In fact, I would urge everyone to cross train in as many styles as possible. UCD has some really excellent clubs to offer. I would however say this. I have tried them all, and enjoyed most, but I stayed with TKD. It is one (if not the) best club out there. No other club in the entire college can boast as many trophies, championship medals and assorted awards each year. No other club offers as many classes each week (which are all free by the way). Very few other clubs will get you as fit, flexible, and confident in your skills (and yourself) as Tkd. Also, no club or society in this college can drink as much. (this is the reason TKD have won the martial arts boat race four years in a row).
So whether you joined Tkd to lose a few pounds, gain some self confidence, learn how to defend yourself, get fit, win some trophies, make some new friends, kick some ass, get good and drunk after training, or any combination of the above, choosing UCD TKD was a great decision. We have a great club here, and I hope you enjoy being a part of it.
See you at training folks and if not then, in the bar afterwards.
Ladies Captain 2004/2005 - Blaithín Lynch
Hello and welcome to
all the new and old female members of the best martial arts club in UCD. Well,
the award kinda speaks for itself! Having won? Club of the Year? for the past
two years running (2003, 2004), it's clear that this is the club to be
in!
People join Taekwon-do for lots of reasons: to get fitter, more
flexible , to become more confident in defending yourself, enter competitions,
go on weekend trips away, make more friends outside of your course, to see what
all the hype is about????? No doubt one of your reasons for joining falls into
one of these. And it's true, while you're training with us in UCD you will get
fitter, more flexible and become more confident in self-defense. You will also,
most likely, come away with a trophy or two at competitions if you decide to
compete for UCD. You just have to take a look at how well we've been doing in
previous years to realize that UCD Taekwon-do competitors are a force to be
reckoned with! The ladies teams (both senior and junior) deserve a special
mention here, as over the past few years of Intervarsity competitions, they have
dominated!
If, on the other hand, you're more of a supporter than a
competitor, then UCD TKD has many wine receptions, trips away, random nights out
in town after gradings that you can support by just showing up and having a good
time!
If you're still not convinced that UCD TKD is the club for you,
then come down to one of our training sessions to see what we're all about. We
train more often than any other martial arts club in UCD, so one or two of our
sessions should suit your timetable.
Men's Captain 2004/2005 - Greg Lechmar
Hey guys! Welcome to the UCD Taekwon-Do Club and website! My name
is Greg Lechmar and I am the men's captain for this year. If you are new to the
club this year, you have joined at a great time! As Blaithín mentioned we have
consistently been the top club in UCD for the last couple of years!
I
promise this year will top last year in many ways! More fun! More trophies! More
training! ..and of course more scandal and shenanigans!!
OK, so what do the guys get out of Taekwon-Do?! You get to fight, meet lots & lots of TKD honeys, get free booze and learn how to take care of yourself!! There's also great camaraderie in the club. Friends for life are made in this club! Each week you will be challenged to learn and use cool techniques in class. You will feel fitter, stronger and quicker in a matter of weeks! If you're stressed, there's no better way to relieve it than to put on some pads and spar an opponent, or just work it out on a kick-bag! For those who are more interested in perfecting technique, Taekwon-Do has many patterns which incorporate harder techniques and combinations as the student progresses.
The club competes in many tournaments during the year, the highlight for many being the Intervarsities! This year, we will be looking to repeat UCD's impressive whitewash in last years Intervarsities team events. There is often an opportunity for some students to travel abroad with the IUTF and compete also.
Well that's all for now. If you want to know any more, you can e-mail me at glechmar[at]hotmail[dot]com, or just come down to training and participate in aKeep it Frosty.....
Ladies
Captain 2003/2004 - Nuala Freeman
Hello to all the
ladies members and welcome to all the new members, I hope you know what you have
let yourself in for! It’s all good here at the TKD club I have been a member of
the club for quite a few years now and it just keeps going from strength to
strength (especially the ladies side!). As the largest TKD club in Ireland and
UCD club of the year 2002/2003 the club has built up a great reputation in
competitions and other events, in particular the social ones, (both of which
again largely due to the ladies contingent!). Seriously though the rewards you
gain from being a member of the club speak for themselves fitness, flexibility
and the enormous sense of achievement when you pass a grading or participate in
a tournament is well worth any pain you have to go through! That said the club
comradery and team spirit is one of the best qualities of the club and I have
met some of the best people I know through the club. Remember though you only
get back what you put in so keep coming down to classes to train or touch base.
So far this year the girls have been doing great in keeping the club as good as
it in all aspects so lets keep up the good work ladies and if you need anything
just contact me at nualafreeman[at]hotmail[dot]com.
Men's Captain 2003/2004 - Barry Dixon
Hi I like you!,
Welcome to the newly
restored wonder that is the UCD Taekwon-Do website! My name is Barry Dixon (and
as I can not type Colm our chairman has kindly typed this up for me!) and I am
the men's captain for this year. I have taken time off from my busy Orts
post-grad schedule to extol the virtues not only of Taekwon-Do itself but of
this glorious club to which I am a member.
For those of you who are
unaware, Taekwon-Do is a Korean martial art which emphasizes the use of kicking
techniques. For this reason then areas such as flexibility, stamina,
cardio-vascular fitness and all round general strength of both legs and upper
body are some of the many benefits which applying yourself to the many benefits
which applying yourself to Taekwon-Do will foster. Coming from a background of
team sports, one of the greatest benefits I found was the individuation of the
effort I put in. Its not a team that advances, strengthens and improves, it's
you.
