By Guy Southard

MARCH 23 was independence day for the four Tae Kwon-Do (TKD) clubs at Launceston, Bude, Tavistock and Okehampton.

It was the day that the instructors of these clubs (Guy and Lisa Southard - Bude and Okehampton and Dan and Anna Hunt - Launceston and Tavistock) decided to breakaway from their parent association, the T.A.G.B (Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain).

A decision that was difficult to contemplate, but deemed necessary. The feeling of being out in the cold and alone is quite fearsome but proved to be unwarranted, as the messages of support from members still within the association, and some that had already made the break, was overwhelming.

Russ Martin, and Alec Hay, both 7th Dan World Masters, were amongst the first to step forward and offer help and guidance. There was even support offered from Ciaran Macdonald, a leading authority on applied Tae Kwon-Do.

We had been feeling very undervalued as instructors for quite some time.

“I’m paraphrasing, but it started during COVID-19 and the lockdowns. We were told very early on that there was nothing they were able to help us with so it was up to us to work together, support each other and use social media as much as possible, which Dan and I, with the help of our wives, both of whom are also qualified instructors, and other instructors in our area did very successfully.

When the lockdowns ended, there was no thanks for our efforts, but they were very quick to start taking their commissions. We felt our only value was as revenue collectors.

Since leaving, we have been able to reduce costs to our students as we no longer have to hand over these payments to the association and the governing body.

Licences and gradings have become much more affordable, and we like to think that we are making TKD a much more family-friendly activity.

Now that we are independent, we can write our own syllabus, which had become quite sterile and ineffective with far too much choreographed set-pieces to learn, which didn’t really address the subject of self defence.

We are now concentrating on the application of moves from our patterns and how they can be employed. Earlier this month one of my students commented on how much more fun it is.

Other bonuses to our new-found independence are access to a greater range of competitions, and development opportunities and courses for our students.

These benefits have invigorated our own training journeys, Mr Hunt was recently promoted to 4th Dan, his wife Anna is due to grade up to the same level later in the autumn. Their children, eight-year-old Ethan and five-year-old Logan, who also train in TKD are on their own path to black belt and have also recently been promoted to 5th cup and white belt/blue stripe respectively.

My wife Lisa graded to a 5th Dan over the weekend just gone, and I will be promoted to 7th Dan. Between the four of us as instructors we total over 90 years experience in Tae Kwon-Do.

To find out more and get involved, email [email protected]