27th July 2007
Grading times for 28/07/07
Gradings time will be as so - give or take half hour either way.
White Belts- 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Yellow Belts - 11:30am - 12:30am
Blue / Red Belts - 12:30 - 2:00pm
Place --- Alexander Heights Community Centre
Linto Way, Alexander Heights.
Good luck to all
24th July 2007
By Annette Di Cicco
27th June 2007 was the beginning of a trip not to be forgotten. Members of the Rawlins team headed to the Perth International Airport full of excitement, nerves, and anticipation of what they were about to enter. 50% of the team had never flown over seas before let alone compete in an international tournament, so it was a whole new world. The boys from Broome, Jordan Williams and Mark Familari had never experienced tournaments at any level, so we can only imagine how they were feeling. Our experienced Seniors Jess Jordan, Sinead Smyth, Sarah Di Lena, Clinton Norris and Jason Rocca just took it in their stride with our ever playful Jason doing handstands over the team during our official team photos.
After a dose of duty free shopping it was time to board the boeing 777. We looked great in our Australia uniforms and felt proud to be representing our club and country. The flight over was fun, with everyone changing seats and all members of our team already bonding together. Mr Rawlins and Justin were relaxing with a few beverages. Geoff Cooper and myself were taking everything in, wandering what we were about to learn as team managers and chaperones. We arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport and were escorted to our bus by what looked like army members. We were taken to the Crystal Crown Hotel only to find we were at the wrong one, so we boarded the bus again to travel to another Crystal Crown Hotel. This is where our accommodation headache began.
(Mark and Brodie socialising)
The next morning we were told we were only checked in for that night and we would have to be transferred to dormitories at the sporting stadium. From what I hear about past dormitories we did not want this. A few heated discussions from Mr Rawlins and me toward the disorganised organising committee saw our team be transferred to the first and nicer Crystal Crown with only 2 team members per room, apparently other teams were squeezing up to 5 in a room. Weigh in was just as disorganised but with Mr Rawlins having the respect around the world which he does, a few strings were pulled and we were registered to fight where we were suppose to… at the Juara Stadium.
Once our team were sorted in their rooms, the junior squadron and I headed off in search of McDonalds. Along the way we had a bit of fun with the locals.
(The team having fun with the locals)
The next morning was the start of the seriousness, other than when Mr Rawlins gave everyone a morning wake up call in a disguised voice. He thought he was pretty cool fooling everyone but it was funnier for us to see his face when he realised every one of his students knew it was him.
(Emily lighting the torch with her ITF counterpart and the official)
Emily O’Sullivan and Garrick Blinman were the two Aussies to be chosen to be a part of the torch lighting ceremony, with Emily actually being the torch lighter, how special was that! Chantelle, Tiaana, Clare, Brodie, Brandon, Mark and Jordan were also asked to walk with the Australian flag. Nerves had certainly set in but were soon a shadow in the back ground as one of our most experienced juniors, Chantelle Wallace fought beautifully to win the first Gold medal for Australia. Mustafaa Olimi from our Queensland club won silver and what a little dynamite fighter that boy is. At 11 years old, he has a huge future in Taekwondo. For a full report on results and info on how our team performed see Mr Rawlins player report. We celebrated Chantelle's and Mustafaa’s medals getting together with the coaches, the juniors and a few of the parents in the restaurant of the hotel lobby. After a while, it was off to rest for the next day.
Day 2 started with a bit of aggression off the court when people tried to push in and take our bus. I am not nice when people are unfair and rude to me, or those I am expected to protect, but really…I was unaware the person I stood up against was a referee for the tournament…oops! Anyway, a referee of all people should have been fair. Nevertheless, we got to the stadium on time.
Our youngest black belt member Tiaana Di Cicco, showed how much hard training pays off when she won gold, but my goodness her mother was embarrassing …she was screaming, very loudly and jumping for joy to the point of looking foolish (I can say this because it was me)… I was a little excited. Clare Francis, also showed them what we are capable of here in the west, with her determination and talent bringing her the gold medal for her division. Jessica Jordan was unstoppable, (after her first fight gave Mr Rawlins more grey hairs)- (oops did I write that), but never fear, Jess came through with brilliance to win another Gold for Australia. Sarah Di Lena was admirable with winning a silver medal in the condition that she did. Her foot was not a pretty sight but she pushed through the pain and did not quit…she has the heart.
(Sarah being wheeled on the baggage trolley accompanied by Jess and Sinead after the tournament)
Sinead Smyth, Clinton Norris, Garrick Blinman also won silver with some really tough competitors in their division. Brodie Sciberras’ quickness on his feet won him Bronze and Nadine Venter also claimed a Bronze medal for her division, so as you can tell, the 9th World Taekwondo Festival was a success for our team. Because the tournament ran so late, we had to return the next day for the formal medal presentations. It was a buzz for all involved. We left the Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara Kuala Lumpur with our heads held high, with also the respect of other countries who commented to myself, Geoff, Justin and Mr Rawlins on how talented, well behaved and close our team is.
(The successful team with medals after the World Taekwondo Festival)
Thanks go to Clinton Wallace, Andy Venter and Geoff Cooper who were behind the scenes sweating in the humidity so that our precious fighters did not miss their calls. There were also those who fought their hearts out during this tournament and deserved medals through their skill and passion and high level of talent, but lucked out with unfortunate bad decisions, injury, one bad move or inexperience, but the heart and perseverance was there and that’s where the main part of success comes from.
We had a team dinner that night which was a lot of fun and laughter. At the same time we celebrated our male team manager/chaperone, Geoff Coopers birthday.
The next four days were full of rest, relaxation, mischief, more accommodation blunders and ILLNESS! So much for a break! I had Chantelle knock at my door and give me a fright with how quick she had become extremely ill. They fell like dominoes the day after with Mr Rawlins saying “toughen up”, until the bug got to him… then we all suffered and heard how bad it was.
The seniors got to visit the zoo, which they thoroughly enjoyed with some interesting animals with interesting bits? We also got to shop shop shop and visit Time Square, which is a multi level shopping centre with a theme park inside. Check out the photos on the Rawlins web site. We also went to the Aquarium inside the Twin Towers. There were certainly some interesting and beautiful creatures in there.
With a likeness to God, on the third day Mr Rawlins rose again from his near death bed, but must have still been delirious as he allowed Claire, Emily and Tiaana to do his hair. Yes you read it right and we have photos to prove it!! Nice hot pink clips and bows sir??
Changing hotels once again the next day was a bit much. We were supposed to stay at the Carlton Holiday inn but there were no rooms available. This tournament was organised and run by Mr Karan, a friend of Mr Rawlins, so we were soon upgraded to The Condor Hotel, which had a great pool that the team were quick to discover and jump into.
(Having fun in the pool guys?)
Back to focus for the next tournament, RAWLINS GIRLS ARE HOT TO GO! (as our club chant invented by the senior girls says) The same four, being Jess, Chantelle, Claire and Tiaana all won Gold again, this time they were joined by a Rawlins boy, Brodie, who also won Gold. Emily came fighting back with a vengeance with the help of her talking to from Mr Rawlins after the first tournament…that’s the spirit Em. You will only get stronger with that attitude and it got you the silver in this tournament. Sarah decided she wanted to smash her foot up even more…pure passion for the sport or pure stupidness…sometimes there is a fine line when you want something bad, but you succeeded in winning silver again Sars. Kristy, (nanna as she is affectionately known as) an instructor from our Albany club came over for this tournament. This woman is motivational and so funny and wholesome, a pleasure to be around. Kristy has not competed for a while but showed she still has what it takes and won a bronze medal.
Our head coach proved that family comes first when he took off in the lunch break to buy gifts for his family including a birthday present for his son Aiden. That’s dedication for you. Can you imagine if one of us did that…our heads would be rolling. Ah, the benefits of owning and running your own club.
But never fear Justin is here, and did a great job as always coaching. Mr Rawlins did not quite make it back in time so Justin’s son Garrick jumped in and coached at one stage when we had 2 fighters on at the same time. He proved to be a chip off the old block as he helped coach Jason into his next round. On ya Garrick. Master Justin and Master Charles were both honourably chosen to present medals to the recipients at the presentation.
Once the tournaments were over, the party began… the after party was lots of fun with dancing, singing and even a beat box challenge between our very own Clinton Norris and Mr Karans son. Of course Clinton was very impressive and won hands down. Some friendships were struck between ours, Warren Hanson’s and Mr Joon No’s club (both from Melbourne). For inside details on the after party we can’t tell, so if you would like to experience it for yourself, then focus, train hard, save money and dedicate yourself so you too can experience these opportunities.
I would like to finish by saying; Mr Rawlins and Justin are two highly talented coaches who give themselves tirelessly to make these opportunities for all of our club students possible. They have a passion and a dedication to all who train under them. To know them is to admire, respect and appreciate them both for all they are and all they do, please never forget this. In my opinion and others as well, we belong to the best club around…Rawlins Taekwondo. Our senior black belts bring a lot of joy to many members of this club also. Jess, Sinead, Sarah, Jason and Clinton, along with the seniors whom were unable to make this trip this time, deserve the respect of all members. They love to watch the juniors improve and grow and they put their own free time into helping the students achieve their goals and in turn assisting the Rawlins club success.
(The victorious team after the Selangor/Malaysian Open)
This article was written by Annette Di Cicco, female team chaperone/manager but in the words made famous by Jason in Malaysia… OK, THANK YOU (in a Malaysian accent of course)
By Mark Familari
July 24th was the day that Jordan and I left our small town of Broome and went to the city of Perth. Here I stayed with coaching legend Charles Rawlins. My friend Jordan and I watched Taekwondo Tournament videos and looked at what it was we were up against.
Jordan and I had been doing Taekwondo for almost ten years but had never had one tournament fight in our life. The club we train in focuses more on the self defence and street smart side of Taekwondo and heavily focus on the traditional side as well. So for us tournament fighting was like re-learning how to fight.
I was excited to fly over to Malaysia and see first hand what over 50 countries competing had to offer. I remember telling "WIN'' television my goal was to not lose one match and I had really planned on getting a gold medal. We left two days after staying in Perth and we met the team, we saw some familiar faces from when we had gone down a few months before. We settled in quickly with the team and as soon as the plane landed we were on an hour long bus trip to our first hotel, it was 2 am. We reached the first hotel and started lugging off all our bags only to find out the bus driver had gone to the wrong hotel and the place we were staying at was another hour away.
We lugged everything back on and slept through the drive. We settled into our hotel and began training a few hours later. In training, Jordan and I could see the agility and strength of the Rawlins Australian team and we were inspired. We pushed ourselves in training.
After training and shopping for a few days the first tournament came. The Korean Friendly Tournament was held in a small venue and there were around 50 countries there. There were teams training on the mat and Jordan and I were quite amazed by it all. We quickly snapped out of it as we were told to train on the mats. This is the time were the teams show off to each other and tried to intimidate one another.
After the opening ceremony and a few hours Jordan had his first fight. He gave his opponent a run for his money but just missed out winning. A few more hours and I was up next. It's a lot to take in; the crowd, the coaches and the opponents. You exchange gifts before a fight but you both know that your entire reason to be there is to in the words of Rawlins himself "Kick their bloody heads off".
I got Korea in my first match, an experienced fighter but I didn't care I wanted that medal. The match started and I went off kicking, I lost in 45 seconds. After the fight I wouldn't talk, I was too angry. But everyone told Jordan and me we did really well for our first fights, and it was true we did. And looking back now I see my mistakes and the experience gained from making those mistakes is priceless. After the tournament the whole team fell sick, but we still trained and shopped. We weren't going to let some fever stop us from winning. The next tournament the Malaysian International Open, Jordan and I were better prepared. He won his first match and I still lost mine but only by one point. The Rawlins' Australian Team were awesome in both tournaments, resulting in nine gold medals, several silver and bronze medals.
We stayed a few more days shopping and partying but then it was time to head back home. Jordan and I saw what it was like to be at that level and we now know what it is we were up against. We are back in Broome and showing our club the things we learnt while training under Mr Rawlins and Justin Blinman. The experience and knowledge that these coaches have is remarkable and we can only get better by training and learning from them.
(Sarah and Mark having a dance)
23rd July 2007
Fantastic Medal Haul at International Competitions
(Mr Rawlins and Justin with all the medals)
Members from our centres returned with great results from two International Championships, at the World Taekwondo Festival & 9th Korean Open, we walked away with 4 Gold, 5 Silver, and 2 Bronze.
Gold went to Tiaana Di Cicco, Clare Francis, Chantelle Wallace and Jessica Jordan.
Silver went to Mustafaa Olomi, Garrick Blinman, Sarah Di Lena, Clint Norris and Sinead Smyth
Bronze went to Brodie Sciberras and Nadine Venter.
Well done to all competitor that fought and congratulation to those that won medals.
The second competition was the Selangor/ Malaysian Open, where we also walked away with our heads held high, with 5 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze.
Gold went again to the Golden Girls - Tiaana Di Cicco, Clare Francis, Chantelle Wallace, Jessicia Jordan and this time they were joined by Brodie Sciberras our first golden boy.
Silver went to Emily O'Sullivan and Sarah Di Lena (who must like the silver)
Bronze went to Kristy Compton.
Once again well done to all competitor you did your self,your country and your coaches proud.
Full report, stories and pictures to follow
1st Black Swan Taekwondo Poomsae Seminar
By David Darling
Black Swan conducted it first official practical Taekwondo function in the form of a Poomsae Seminar held in Warnbro at the Warnbro “Y” Community Centre on Saturday the 23rd June 2007.
The weather was wild with plenty of rain and strong winds however it did not deter approximately forty students from braving the elements and attending the Poomsae Seminar to further their knowledge of Taekwondo.
Registration began at 12.30pm and Black Swan Councilors were busy explaining to many interested practitioners the benefits of joining Black Swan Taekwondo Inc. They obviously were successful at this task and we had most students joining rather than just paying for a one off seminar. Our thanks to council members Rebecca Russell and Annette Di Cicco for their work in this area.
The Seminar started on time at 1.00pm with a short introduction followed by a warm up session of about ten minutes. Then it was straight into the Taegeuk Poomsae. The students were enthusiastic to further their knowledge in the mysteries of the correct way to perform their Poomsae both for their gradings and for technical competitions. The students attending were a typical cross section of the Taekwondo community. From white belts up to black belts and young children to older students some very experienced and others at the beginning of their Taekwondo journey. These students are exactly the ones Black Swan Taekwondo Inc are attempting to help by promoting and developing Taekwondo for all not just the elite athlete.
(Some of the members who attended the seminar)
As students reached the highest Poomsae they are allowed to learn they were moved to the back of the hall to go through and consolidate what they had learnt with the help of Sharon Jones and Chris Edwards. After training hard for about 2½ hours a break was needed and our thanks go out again to the councilors who helped in providing food and drinks for the students including Mr Rawlins who demonstrated able chef skills.
After the break it was back to work and for the next 2½ hours the seminar continued with the higher taegeuk poomsae followed by the black belt poomsae. The students maintained their enthusiasm throughout and were asking questions right to the end. The seminar was a great success and Black Swan is looking forward to conducting many more throughout the state in our endeavors to promote and develop Taekwondo. Our thanks to all who assisted including Mr Darling for his time and expertise.
Mr Darling the Black Swan Technical Director was pleased with the general standard and is aware that most students and instructors know their Poomsae but is also aware that the World Taekwondo Federation has made an enormous effort to standardise the Poomsae around the world.
This combined with the introduction of a World Technical Competition circuit similar to the sparring competition means that Poomsae is a big growth area in Taekwondo because it allows far more scope for those interested in poomsae but not the sparring to be involved to a far greater extent. The scoring for poomsae has also been standardised and is quite specific about what is correct technique. This leaves the onus on instructors to found out what is now a world standard and passes it on to their students.
Mr Darling has written a Poomsae book complete for the Rawlins with photos of the standardised Poomsae as well as History Terminology Philosophy and other subjects helpful to members of the academy and available through your instructors.
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