Local taekwondo athlete, instructor and internationally certified official Susanne Mitchell, accompanied by four local students of Yorkton Kee's Taekwondo travelled to Korea to participate in the third World Youth Taekwondo Camp.
The camp, held at Muju Park, followed a hard training regimen which had participating athletes rising at 6 a.m. completing morning training, eating lunch and more training in the afternoon.
Mitchell says the training was very good, consisting of basic techniques in sparring and poomsae as well as Taeguek 4.
An interesting aspect of the board breaking training, Mitchell reports was having participants write their bad habits on the boards they broke. It was said that when they broke the board, they broke that bad habit.
The training went very well for the participants, says Mitchell, noting they represented Canada very well despite the heat and humidity which made the days seem particularly long.
The host committee treated them very well and were most accommodating and helpful, says Mitchell.
Sam Lohnes says he was very excited to learn that he was among the 254 athletes from around the world invited to the training camp. In addition to the rigorous training, the Yorkton contingent also managed to get in some shopping and sightseeing. He expressed appreciation of the friendliness of the people, as well as the beauty of the buildings and countryside. He also expressed amazement at the huge numbers of people everywhere they went.
"I really appreciate the work they put into making the camp so much fun," Lohnes decares. Much of the Koyrugi and poomsae training took place in the Banditbul Gym, a huge open air facility which was about a 50 minute drive from where they were staying.
After dinner the group was treated to some Korean cultural events including music and dance. They also had an opportunity to meet with athletes from other countries such as Poland, Switzerland and the U.S.
The professors, instructors and taekwondo masters were firm but kind and greatly helped to improve the skills of the participants.
Another favorite activity was exchanging souvenirs with participants from other countries.
After the wind-up performance by the Korean demonstration team, and farewells, the group returned to Canada.
Lohnes appreciates the opportunity and the experience. "It was the best trip I have ever been on and I will always remember the great times I had," he declares.
Shane Varjassy noted the crowds, cheaper prices of consumer goods and the fact that many people spoke English.
His Kyrogi training focused on movement and kicks rather than sparring while the poomsae training centred on the purple belt level. "I learned that when doing back fist, side body block and hand knife, you have to lead with your elbow to get more power," Varjassy reports.
The demonstration teams performed some amazing feats, Varjassy notes. The broke boards and apples with backflips and spinning kicks. One of the blindfolded athletes kicked a cup off a sharpened sword guided only by the sound of a bell.
In addition to the training, Kathryn Lohnes enjoyed the sightseeing, traditional Korean drum lessons and listening to an olympic gold medalist talk of the training and benefits of taekwondo.
The instructors and masters were excellent and patient with the students. They made the taekwondo fun and helped Lohnes to improve on her skills. "I think my kicks are better now with the help of the masters and instructors," she comments.
She suggests that the heat and humidity made the training workouts harder but the instructor made them fun and challenging. "I can honestly say that I have never worked harder in training in my life," Lohnes claims.
t the final closing ceremonies which featured the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) demonstration team performance, an address by the Kukkiwon and the WTF presidents, the participants were presented with certificates and gifts.
"I was very sad to leave Korea and the good friends I made but will always have great memories," Lohnes closes.
