Training Location

All classes are two hours in length. All you need is a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt. For the first few weeks of the semester, beginners can come to every class. After the first month the classes are broken down as below. All classes are held in the UCD Sports Centre (Belfield).

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Remember we train in the Belfield Sports Centre, which is located beside the Student Union Centre, between the grass and astro-turf pitches, and across the road from the tennis courts (beside the water tower).

Training Times

All classes are two hours in length. All you need is a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt. For the first few weeks of the semester, beginners can come to every class. After the first month the classes are broken down as below. All classes are held in the UCD Sports Centre as mentioned above.

Monday (8-10pm) - Sparring/Fitness Session, Hall B

This is a tougher class than the others, and focuses on sparring techniques, as well as strength and endurance. Beginners are welcome to attend, but be aware that the tempo is higher than the regular classes. You'll be amazed at how quickly the body can adapt though! We do have some sparring equipment that people can borrow, but please bring your own gumshield.

Tuesday (6-8pm) - General Class, Hall A

This is a general class where we cover patterns, breaking, sparring, fitness, as well as some sparring. We do a short sharp warm-up, dynamic stretching, combinations, pad-work, movements up and down the floor, patterns, breaking, self-defence, and a cool down and strectch out - but not everything in the one class!

Thursday (5-7pm) - General Class, Hall A

The Thursday class is very similar in style to the Tuesday class, and this year will be taken by Mr. Hargaden,(II)

Friday (1-3pm) Workshop, Hall A

This is an opportunity to focus on one or two particular aspects of Taekwondo to go into in a more in-depth way than is possible during a regular class. So we may spend a full hour on, for example, the turning kick, or breaking, or self defence. Each week a different member of the club will have the chance to demonstrate and instruct on an area of Taekwondo which they have a particular insight into.

Background Of The Club

This club is a member of the Irish United Tae Kwon-Do Federation, the Chairman of which is Mr. Don Dalton. The IUTF is an ITF style practicing association and is affiliated with the ITF. The club has been in existence since 1995 and was founded by Dr Patrick Falvey, a former IUTF Leinster area representative. Membership is open to all students and staff of the university. The club is bound to follow regulations laid out by the Athletic Union Council and the IUTF. The aim of the club is to promote TKD in Ireland and to ensure students in UCD have an opportunity to experience TKD. The AUC is the governing body for sport in UCD.

The Club has grown from very few members to be one of the largest martial arts clubs in the country with an official membership of about 250 students and post-graduates per year. There is a large representation of all faculties. Due to the nature of the club, it contains black belts from various other Taekwondo associations (including the WTF), bringing together a wide range of views and styles. Every year the club participates in tournaments at intervarsity,national,international and intercontentiental level, as well as various domestic and global tournaments. The club has been very successful with several members at advanced grades and several trophies collected at various competitions. Also, as the club is a college as well as a martial arts institution, there is a healthy social side to the club providing an alternative location for student interaction.

Instructors/Black Belts

Regular Instructors

  • Mr. Fearghal O'hAodha (II)
  • Mr. Mark Hargaden (II)

Black Belt Members

  • Mr. Peter Tierney (III)
  • Mr. Tiernan Byrne (II)
  • Miss Kathy Connellan (II)

Occasional Instructors

  • Mr. Dan Naughton (III)
  • Mr. John Mackey (IV)

Past Instructors

  • Dr. Pat Falvey (III)
  • Mr. Karl Connelly (II)
  • Mr. Brian O'Hanlon (I)
  • Mr. Eoin DeBurca (I)
  • Mr. James Sunderland (I)
  • Ms. Catherine Moriarty (I)
  • Mr. Greg Lechmar (I)
  • Ms. Blathin Lynch (I)
  • Mr. Chris Quinn (I)
  • Mr. Barry Dixon (I)
  • Ms. Joanne Doyle (I)
  • Ms. Catherine Moriarty (I)
  • Ms. Jumoke Arogundade (I)
  • Mr. James Sunderland (I)
  • Dr. Cathal MacConfhaola

History and Origins of Tae Kwon Do

The word Taekwondo means literally "the way of the hand and foot" in Korean. Tae kwon do in its modern form was first devised by General Choi Hong Hi in 1955, but the native Korean martial arts on which it is based can be traced back many hundreds of years.

The earliest evidence of martial arts can be seen in the Kokuryo dynasty (37 - 668 AD). Wall paintings found on tombs uncovered near the Aspro river show what appears to be unarmed combat between two people. However there is no other evidence of unarmed combat during this dynasty. It was during the Silla Dynasty that the first real evidence of martial arts in Korea came from. The Hwa rang or the military caste were experts in unarmed combat - as well as archery, sword fighting and horse riding. Annual festivals were held where the Hwa rang demonstrated their fighting skills. It was during this time that the Kingdom of Korea was expanded to include the entire Korean peninsula.

During the Koryo Dynasty (953 - 1392), the martial arts prevailing at the time were systematized and thought to the Korean military. Compulsory martial arts tournaments for the military were held in which their skills were honed. During the Yi Dynasty (1392 - 1907 AD), a number of influential books on martial arts techniques were published - the Korean History book and the Military Arts Manual. With the fall of the Yi Dynasty and the Japanese occupation of Korea (1907 - 1945) however, the native Korean martial arts were forbidden from being practiced. However when the Japanese introduced conscription into Korea, the martial arts were reinstated, and the Japanese arts of Karate, Kendo, Aikido and Judo were introduced. This cross pollination of ideas led to many new techniques being adapted and incorporated into the Korean systems.

What is Taekwon-Do?

  • Taekwon-Do is a method of self-defense. The guiding principle of the art is that the practitioner shall make no attack except if s/he is threatened by a dangerous opponent.
  • The discipline of Tae Kwon Do is designed to make the student non-violent; to make his/her life more meaningful. The essence of the art of Tae Kwon Do rests in the integrity of the practitioner.
  • Accordingly, the first technique taught in the training academy is the bow of respect by which the individual attests to the trust in their instructor and in their fellow students (his/her friends in practice).
  • Fear is restricting, one who is fearful limits themselves and tries to impose limitations upon the freedom of others. When we are free of fear, we no longer seek to dominate others for we are confident that they cannot dominate us... they have no means of intimidating us. We know that we have a valid place in the world and in society. We have chosen it, taken it, taken root, and flowered in it.
  • There are those who, lacking in true inner confidence, attempt to assert their individuality by boisterous and belligerent protestations against anything that thwarts them: and that is almost everything.
  • Yin and Yang, the concept of Hard and Soft is a theory essential to the study of Tae Kwon Do. The practitioner's of Tae Kwon Do become mind in manner with the knowledge that they can assert themselves with force when necessary. S/he becomes like water, which because it possesses tremendous natural force - for generating life as well as the terrible destruction - is all the more beautiful and reassuring when we see it in a gentle stream; flowing around the rough rocks in it's path.
  • Without the proper approach and attitude, the student, though s/he practices the techniques exhaustively, will not arrive at the ultimate goal of the art which is to realize a true and full determination of oneself.