Archived News - April to August 2011
23rd August 2011 - Importance of Grading.
Grading is not just a test for a student so that the Chief Instructor can assess, but also a means by which a student can assess themselves. Any student will realise the pressure involved when participating in grading. Your performance will show you just how well your body adapts to these kinds of pressures. A student must never take a grading for granted, but instead must realise that a grading is a privilege – not a right.
When students are participating in a grading, many members forget the key elements which must be demonstrated to the examiner:
- You must show a good understanding of your patterns. Blocks, kicks and punches must be executed in a well balanced manner with a strong, accurate impact. Techniques which show low impact, poor balance and no power would receive a low score.
- Before executing a technique, whether blocking or striking, you must be sure to have your target focussed clearly in your mind. Blocking or striking wildly will result in lack of power and timing.
- When you are executing a “one step sparring” technique it must be done with power and accuracy. When using your hand, the block must be strong and the strike must be straight, strong and accurate. When using a kick, it must be strong and accurate with a good sense of balance displayed.
- When free sparring, you must demonstrate your knowledge of kicks learnt in class – not as a single kick, but your own combination of different kicks. The ability to use the proper kick is also important. The target you are focused on may not be open to every kick therefore you must determine which kick would be most effective. Your ability to time your blocks and strikes are also important, as rushing in causes clashing and clashing is not an effective way to fight.
Whenever grading it is important to remember that the person who is fastest is not always the best. It is the person who is calm and controlled, that triumphs over speed.
GOOD LUCK AT YOUR NEXT GRADING!
20th August 2011 - A Visit to the Clontarf Girls College.
We at the Academy have been very busy from the start of the year educating schools all across Perth and the country areas about the values and benefit of Taekwondo as well as the self defence side of the art. Mr Rawlins along with Sinead, Jasmine and Dennis have been teaching and promoting Taekwondo at various primary and high schools to kids of different ages and the response and interest have been great with everyone enjoying all the session. We could be coming to your school soon, so watch out for us, or maybe talk to your school principal about running some classes. These pictures are from the Contarf Girls College.
16th August 2011 - Our First International Trip.
By Nikita, Aidan & Allie
(Allie, Nikita and Aidan)
Report by Allie, Nikita and Aidan about their Malaysia trip here.
As a bonus, Jordan Prince-Wright has produced a video on Malaysia.
Day 1. Thursday
We arrived at the Perth International Airport early in the morning (0400hr) for our first international taekwondo trip to Malaysia. For some of us, this was our first trip overseas and for others it was their first taekwondo trip competing abroad.
So we were all both nervous and excited about the whole event and it was also the first time that there were no seniors fighters on this trip to guide us and look after us, but Mr. Rawlins, Justin and our parents (support staff) were there to help us. After a quick briefing on the rules and what is expected of us from Mr. Rawlins, we were allowed to do our duty free shopping or just rest before our long journey to Malaysia. We boarded the plane at 0620 like zombies for the 5 and a half hour trip which seems to take forever and even Mr. Rawlins quizzing us on Aussie slang didn't make the journey any faster.
(Briefing at Perth Airport and waiting for our bus at Malaysia Airport)
The plane finally landed and we were all wished good luck by the Air Asia crew on the intercom. As we took our first step onto Malaysian soil we were hit by a wave of heat that surprised us all even though we have been training in Perth with dusk mask to help us acclimatise for their conditions, it was still hot. After going through customs we were met outside with a sign that said "WELCOME TEAM RAWLINS AUSTRALIA". Once we boarded our bus it was another one and a half hour trip to our hotel. So by the time we reached our hotel we were truly exhausted and tired. Our check in was rather quick as Mr. Rawlins pulled a few strings, and got us checked in pretty fast. We all check in ok and went straight to our room for a bit of a rest before team registration and weigh in.
Once everyone had registered and weighed in it was time to find somewhere to eat which was another headache as we struggled to find taxis. After nearly getting run over and killed on the streets of Malaysia dodging traffic, we finally found the taxi rack and all made our way to the City where we all noticed how different the lifestyle was in Malaysia to compared to Australia.
(Sights of Malaysia)
Day 2. Friday
We all woke up refreshed and ready to start the day, we went downstairs to a huge buffet with lots of food to choose from. After eating our fill we were briefed on the plans for the day. Once our food had settled the first thing on the agenda was a training session and a kick out. It was a hard session and those that were not used to the heat found it even harder. Not everyone was familiar with each other as we were from different branches (but still one club ) so at the end of the training session we had fun learning each other names and some club song. It took a few tries but it came in handy later into the comp when we were cheering and singing for everyone.
Four of our team members were in the Poomsae Championships today at 2:00pm so after a shower and a short rest, it was off to the stadium to support and watch them compete. When we arrived there they were having their Malaysia National Team Selection for the World Poomsae Championships and the standard was very good. They were strong, flexible and in sync with each other. It was good to watch.
Unfortunately 3 hours of waiting for them to finish we still haven't started our comp, Mr. Rawlins decided to wait for 1 more hour for it to start and when it didn't, he told all the sparring competitors to go back to the hotel rest up, have dinner and get ready for tomorrow so we all wished Jordon, Reggie, Natalie & Marisha good luck. It was a stormy wet wild night as we left for our hotel but strangely it was still very hot.
(Our Poomsae competitors)
Day 3 . Saturday
Once again it was up early get your stuff ready and head down for breakfast where we found out that 2 of our team mates, Natalie & Marisha won gold medals last night. We congratulated them all and focussed on continuing the gold medal tally. As we walked into the stadium we could see all the other teams warming up stretching and kicking pads. There was a lot of noise, excitement, nerves and tension in the atmosphere filling the stadium as well as so many people watching. We now had a little taste of what an international championship felt like and when we saw the draws. PHEW! There were more than 20 fighters in most of our division and it looked like we had to fight our best to win a medal. Five rings were in operation and we found ourselves spread across various rings all day so it was hard to support and cheer on our team mates but we did our best and stood behind our team's sign very proud to represent our club internationally.
There were so many fights all through the day that it was hard to keep track of who won what fight but when the day finally ended at 10:30pm and we counted our medals. We ended up with 6 gold, 3 silvers and 1 bronze, a very good day at the office from a Junior team that just competed in their first international competition but there was no time for celebrations as some of our Juniors were competing the next day in the Senior divisions.
(Action on Day 3 of competition)
Day 4 . Sunday
It was the final day of the Championships and our last chance to win more medals. The people that fought yesterday were allowed to have a little sleep in but everyone else had to be up early, get ready have breakfast and be at the stadium to support the remaining fighters. The divisions were just as big as yesterday and it was good to see all of our fighters get past their first matches. For Nadine & Tiaana (Juniors who competed yesterday and now competing once again today in the seniors) were injured and pain. It was hard but they soldiered on and won silvers in the Senior division.
The day continued as usual with lots of good fights to watch when a guy in the crowd started causing trouble by stealing things from people's bags and when he got caught, his gang members retaliated and fights broke out in the stands. After a while everything calmed down and the attention went back on the competition. We were also glad to see that Mr. Rawlins was not in the middle of all the action this time.
When the competition was finally over at 10:00pm, we had picked up 2 more gold, 3 silvers and a 1 bronze medals. Our club also collected the overall third place trophy for the Junior Category (a brilliant achievement by all ). It had been a long hard and exhausting few day for all of us and we were glad it was finally over. We have learnt so much from this first international trip and everyone will go away with their own fond memories of this trip.
(More action from the Championships)
Thanks to our parents for letting us go away on this amazing trip. Thanks to all our supporting staff and to our team manager Katie D'Souza for taking good care of us even though she was on crutches after a nasty fall. Well done Katie. Most importantly, thanks to our coaches Mr. Rawlins, Justin, Haris, Rihan & Paul and not forgetting our international referees Mr. Sims & Mr. Capriotti. Yyour advice, words of encouragement and relax nature made this an enjoyabletrip.
Now let's party, go shopping, shopping and more shopping, and enjoy the rest of our next 5 days in Malaysia.
(Celebrations after the comp)
8th August 2011 - Grading.
Grading on 27th August at Alexander Heights from 10am to 1pm.
That's Loyalty!
Brett Fforde, one of our old Black Belt instructors, who is now living and teaching in Townsville as the Head Coach for Crossfit Townsville, showing off his Rawlins Tattoo on his chest and wearing it with pride. Nice wash boards Brett.
STA/OTU Referee and Coach Seminar.
(Attendees at the seminar)
After attending the joint OTU-STA Referee and Coach Seminar held on 31st August, the Academy now has more qualified referees and coaches.
23rd July 2011 - Engagement of Jason Rocca and Alexis Marshall!
Congratulations to one of our best, Jason Rocca to the beautiful Alexis (Ali) Marshall on their engagement. We at the Academy wish you all the very best for your future together.
18th July 2011 - Olympic Qualification Event Selections.
Well done to Jess Jordan for qualifying in the next round of Selections.
Photos from Days 2 & 3 Malaysia.
Day 2 (at least half a day) photos here. Day 2 are here. More photos to come. You don't need a Facebook account to view those photos. You can also download them by scrolling down the page and click on the download link. I know there are people who don't like Facebook and don't have an account but that's the easiest and fastest way to upload lots of photos. Other people can also upload photos on Facebook if they have an account. If you don't have an account and want to upload your photos, email me to organise an alternative way of sharing your memories. The more photos we have from different cameras, the better it is as we have different perpectives of the tournament.
So far, at least 8 golds, plenty of silvers and a handful of bronzes. Full results and report to come. It had been a hectic weekend and with the late finishes (aka around 9 or 10pm), memories are not very good.
Well done to Ian Sims and Tony Capriotti for their wonderful refereeing skills. We have received many positive comments about their level of refereeing.
A massive thank you to all our parents, supporters and especially to Katie D'Souza, our team manager.
Also thanks to the coaches, Mr Rawlins, Justin, Haris, Kristy, Paul and Rihan.
Finally to all the competitors, congratulations and well done! It has been a fantastic experience which we will learn from and improve for the next tournament.
15th July 2011 - Weekend of Competitions.
Good luck everyone competing in Malaysia and Melbourne.
Poomsae starts this afternoon in Malaysia. Some pictures from Malaysia are uploaded on the Rawlins page on Facebook. They will be uploaded if there is time after each day. You don't need an account with Facebook to view them. Enjoy!
25th June 2011 - Olympic Qualification Event Selections.
Well done to Sinead, Jess and Jasmine on their achievements in the Olympic round selections .This time they were in Canberra on the 4th June for the 2A Event of the Olympic division selections for the World Qualifiers in Baku later in June. Unfortunately this round we did not do too good with only Jasmine winning her division. Jess coming second and Sinead losing her first round. Overall Mr Rawlins was happy with the results and the performance that his angels put in. We have travelled to every part of Australia, and for Jess & Jasmine even to China (World Championships) in the past 6 months ompeting. It has taken a lot out of the girls and not once has one of the Olympic Selection events been held in WA which is a sad shame but the girls have soldiered on. They also had to fund themselves to all the events outside of WA and have done boththe Academy and Western Australia proud.
(Mr Rawlins and his Angels ready to party and enjoy themselves after another Selection Event in Canberra)
Rawlins Challenge.
Even though the 9th Rawlins Challenge was changed to a different date and venue (due to matters out of our control), we had a good number of competitors both in sparring and patterns. We were happy that most clubs still participated in the event. The spectators and competitors were entertained to a full day of actions and skills both in the sparring and poomsae. Everyone was squeezed in which made the atmosphere more cosy and entertaining with the canteen staff keeping everyone feed, refreshed and happy. Thanks to everyone who helped and competed on the day. See you all at the next event! Enjoy some of the photos.
18th May 2011 - Rawlins Challenge Postponed to 28th May.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Rawlins Challenge scheduled for this Saturday, 21st May, has been postponed to next Saturday, 28th May at Alexander Heights Community Centre NOT Kingway Indoor Stadium.
Doors open at 8.30am
Competition starts at 9am.
Food and drinks are on sale.
Our sincere apologies for any inconvience caused.
6th May 2011 - World Championship Results and Videos.
Results from the World Champs:
Jess lost to Spain 1-3 in 1st fight
Jazz lost to Mali 2-3 in 1st fight
Unlucky girls but well done in doing your best by providing close matches and showing that you match it with some of the best in the world.
Videos of most of the fights at the World Champs are available on Dartfish TV. Jess's fight is available here.
29th April 2011 - Good Luck to Jess and Jazz In Korea!
Congratulations and good luck to Jessica Jordan Dicoski and Jasmine Cross on once again winning their spot in the true Australian Taekwondo Team which will be competing at the World Championships in Korea from the 1st - 7th May. Once again it was Team Rawlins that was successful in getting the only 2 athletes on the Australian Team from WA and Mr Rawlins was chosen as coach for the Australian Team but due to other commitments this time, he had to turn down the position. We wish the girls all the very best at their attempt to win the World Championship and take them one step closer to the Olympic Games.
9th April 2011 - Jess and Jazz In The West Australian Paper.
Click on article for a bigger image.
