135th TTM Grading - 8-12-2019

Photos credit- Mr Tu Tran and Mr Andrew Chau

For most people, December marks the end of a chapter as a new one begins and this is no exception for the students and family of Tam Taekwon-Do Mudokwan.
On Sunday 8th December, the final grading of the decade took place at Auburn Youth Centre. This was also the first grading since Grandmaster Tam’s promotion to the esteemed level of 9th Dan black belt. The day was not only an opportunity for students to showcase the skills that they have learned in classes, but it was also a day to celebrate the hard work of students and instructors, and the efforts of family members who continue to be TTM students’ biggest supporters.
The morning commenced with the grading of black belts then colour belts, with each student demonstrating their knowledge of Taekwon-Do skills in pattern, self-defence and sparring, as well as their theoretical knowledge. The grading concluded with breaking from red belt black tips who all did an outstanding job at breaking a number of boards with a large crowd eagerly watching at the sidelines. After grading, students performed demonstrations of self-defence and breaking, exhibiting their hard work and outstanding skills. This was performed by students from Burwood dojang; Ethan Li, Tanya Liu, Alysha & Ashly Chau and Chloe Liu. This was followed by an exciting demonstration of board and tile breaking by the black belts – Sabum Jacek Leszczynski, Boosabum Amanda Lokanadan, Boosabum Roman Myaskovetskiy, Samantha Tam, Chris Lai, Richard Chan, Jeremy Dang and Jawaad Hage. Grandmaster Tam even broke some tiles too, performing a turning kick using the shins to shatter the tiles in his suit! Not only did he make the demolition of tiles look like a walk in the park but he also managed to keep his suit immaculate!
The demonstrations were followed by an award ceremony to celebrate exceptional individuals for their consistency and dedication to Taekwon-Do throughout the year. Congratulations to all of the recipients! The day was wrapped up with a big Taekwon-Do family photo and a hearty luncheon was enjoyed by everyone in attendance. A big thank you to the parents, who brought food to the luncheon, for making the day memorable (and delicious). Undoubtedly, there were no empty stomachs leaving Auburn Youth Centre that afternoon.
This was one of the biggest grading with 104 students being graded in a single day. And this was no easy grading; these students were graded by GM Tam and Sabum Mayumi themselves, so they were sure to have had a tough examination! Taekwon-Do is not something that just happens every few months at a grading. It is an ongoing commitment that requires unwavering, hard work. Each student’s involvement is an important contribution to the high standard TTM holds, whether it is through helping out classmates with their techniques, taking your kids to lessons even after a long day at work, or cheering for your friends at tournaments!
Finally, thank you to Grandmaster Tam. Your passion for Taekwon-Do is inspiring and what a privilege it is to be trained by you! Thank you for everything that you do, during and outside of training hours. We hope you get enough rest before the New Year begins.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to seeing you back at TTM for an even more exciting year in 2020!
-Wendy Song and Izumi Tam

Congratulations to our newest black belt and welcome on board TTM Black Belt Club

Black belt 1st Dan
Ronson Chan, Aidan Wong, Aaron Chu, Jasmin Tran, TJ Tran, Michael Karevski and Marcus Karevski

9th Gup White belt yellow-tip
Rimas Freiman, Shiv Patel, Ricky Lai, Joella Bechara, Ahmad Sehsah, Kaiden Pham, Eva Rose, Gideon Gunhtang, Arthur Gray, Julie Zhu, Tarah Kaiou, Frederick Gray, Jakub Misar, Anh Vu Pham, Ithiel Kwong and Binish Adhikari

8th Gup Yellow belt
Zahra matos, Ibrahim Matos, Jacko Deng, Christopher Le, Misaki Uno, Joshua Mears, Nicholas Marcos, Andre Goninan, Alex Cusak, Joanna Bechara, Nathan Wongso, Alana Abouhana, Richard Ni, Paul Cusack and Brandon Kidner

7th Gup Yellow belt green-tip
Benjamin Murr
Victoria Adioski, Bianca Bozinovski, Stefan Talevski, Dylan Jovcevski, Steven Bosevski, Stefani Bosevska, Amelia cao, Elizabeth Le, Moses Chan, Jordan Conwell, Jonathan Borg and Gabrielle Wongso

6th Gup Green belt
Ethan Ang, Bianca Tran, Melanie Tran, Xavier Moloney, Kyan Aung, Shabri Aulia, Anaya Ganesh, Chloe Lu, Luca Bosevski, Aleesa Agsalda, Anson Shum, Lucinda Zheng, Winny Prasetyowati and Jason Admadja

5th Gup Green belt blue-tip
Alice Deng, Isaac Neville, Nathanael Chan, Tony Youssef, Brian Chan, Ian Chan, Isabella Bosevska, Kush Parikh, Kiana Parves, Keyaan Parves (probation), Novojit Datta Daniil Volkov and Christina Wu

4th Gup Blue belt 
River Hooper, Ashly Chau, Alysha Chau, Chloe Liu, Tanya Liu, Vadim Ermoliev, Ethan Li, Ryan Lee, Tamara Kidner, Justin Zhang and Nathan Lai

3rd Gup Blue belt red-tip
Marcus Tsui

2nd Gup Red belt
Stevie Adioski, Isabella Bozinovski and Reuben Luong, Russell Kang, Kristian Bozinovski and Alyssa Fraccaro

1st Gup Red belt black-tip
Mayah Yeung, Alfred Agsalda, Hussein Hammoud, Leah Yeung, Isabella Tsui, Jana Hammoud, Ali Hammoud and Kelvin Chung

2019 Award recipients
Appreciation of sponsorship and support
MInchinbury Lighting - Mr and Mrs Hao & Lyn Ly, Mr and Mrs Ken & Sammy Lee, Dr Michael Zhu, C 7 T Auto - Mr Charlie and Richard Chan, Hi-Tec Oil, MCG Transport, Ultimate Dent Repair - Sabum Raymond Sue, Isaas Tsui, Sabum Alan Luong, Sabum Jackson Chan, Sabum Jacek Leszczynski, Boosabum Amanda Lokanadan and Boosabum Mark Balfour.

Excellent Competitor of The Year
Adamrinjarni, Mayah Yeung, Aaliyah Eurlings, Dylan Eurlings, Ethan Tang, Sabum mayumi Tam, Tsvetomir Dinchev and Russell Kang

Best Grading Result
Alice Deng and Jessica Dang

Most Dedicated Award
Ronson Chan, Rayden Chan, Rianne Chan, Jacko Deng, Tanya Liu, Nathanael Chan, Adamrinjarni, Kush Parikh and Shabri Aulia, Winston Phan Vanessa Ly, Brandon Kidner, Samantha Tam, Charlie Lay, Gabrielle Wongso, Jason Atmadja and Eva Neil

Most Improve Student
Shreya Singh, Ali Sobh, Dylan Jovcevski, Amelia Cao, River Hooper, Sophie Yang, Alanna Abouhana, Ashly Chau, Isaac Neville, Alessia D'Alessandro, Jessica Hyman, Nathan Wongso, Alex Cusack, Dr Michael Zhu, Marcus Karavski, Kerry Draganoudis, Ithiel Kwang, and Rory Neil

Best Attendance Award
TJ Tran, Ashley Chan, Natalie Tran, Bianca Tran, Ryan Lee, Amelia Cao, Bianka Lee, Petros Calokerinos, Aaron Chu, Bianca Bozinovski, Annie Chan, Shreya Singh, Justin Mio, Elizabeth Le, Christopher Le, Isaac Lin, Misakin Uno, Tsubasa Uno, Nick Qu, nathanael Chan, Tanya Liu, Chloe liu, Alice Deng, Sabrina D'Alessandro, Adamrinjarni, Lucinda Zheng, Ethan Ang, Anaya Ganesh, Winston Phan, Dr Michael Zhu, Charlie Lay, Gabrielle Wongso and Paul Cusack