’Enthusiasm is infectious’ for Newry Ace Taekwon-Do

Caroline Cutler, Paul Cutler Garth Kidd Arianna and Ashleigh Kidd.

The anniversary event also had a special guest of honour, Grand master Paul Cutler, the highest ranking Taekwon-do practitioner in Northern Ireland having started in 1973.

From strength to strength

Newry Ace Taekwon-Do is owned by local Newry man Garth Kidd, who opened the school on March 25, 2014. Originally located in the Win Business Park, the school is now located on the Armagh Road, in the Itec Business Park.

Opening the school in 2014, Garth had no expectations on how many would attend, or how much it would grow. Speaking to the Newry Reporter, Garth said: “When I started the school, I thought it would be a small selection of hardcore martial artists, but it grew very quickly, with people from all ages attending in the first year; I still have students training that were there from day one.

"I believe the school grew very quickly as I’m very enthusiastic about Taekwon-do and enthusiasm is infectious. Today there is students ranging from 3-60 years old with a 50/50 ratio of male and female students, all ranging from beginners to black belts.”

The Newry Ace Taekwon-do group at the Canal Court

Old and young

The school has dedicated a programme specifically aimed to the younger side, offering a ‘Kubz’ class which has some students as young as three years old.

“These classes are designed to teach young students a variety of life skills, such as, anti-bullying, listening and concentration skills as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Garth.

The teen and adult classes are often packed with new students just beginning their journey, and experienced students who are more than happy to help everyone regardless of their rank.

Meghan Maguire, Pauline McCracken, Rakia Alouane, Ashleigh Kidd and Caroline Cutle.

“We have many teens, adults and families training with us as Taekwon-Do lends itself to be a fun and challenging activity for all, with something for everyone.”

Founding father

ITF Taekwon-do was founded by General Choi Hong Hi in 1966, with schools around the world still following his teachings and wisdom.

A normal class would have students practice patterns, a type of training that focuses on controlled offensive, defensive movements and techniques to simulate a real-life scenario.

Power test, is one practice which has students breaking boards, wood and bricks. The aim of the power test is to demonstrate your accuracy and power onto a specific target, which shows your understanding on the technique as well as distance.

Sparring - although not for everyone - is an important part of a student’s training. With a full set of safety equipment, sparring is the closest you will get to an aggressive scenario were your speed and decisions can show you how you would act in a threating scenario, with the aim to diffuse an aggressive situation and staying safe.

The final part of a normal class would be stretching. Taekwon-do involves plenty of challenging kicks and movements; Students need to put plenty of time into their stretching before the class begins, and stretching is crucial again at the end as a warm down.