We had a great time at the KTAA (Korea Taekwondo Assoc. of Australia) 18th Tournament in conjunction with the World Composite Martial Arts Federation Cheon Gong Cup on 5-3-2023

Last week, I was given the opportunity to participate at the 18th KTAA Tournament. This was quite a unique experience as this competition was not ITF rules. Nonetheless, Tam’s Taekwon-Do Mudokwan was invited to participate and I thought that this was a brilliant opportunity to spar opponents with very different sparring styles. It was also an opportunity to showcase ITF Tul to an audience that was unfamiliar with ITF Taekwon-Do… Which I believe was very well received. 
 
The preparation for the competition was an interesting experience as I had to make some adjustments to my sparring. The rules were quite different to what I am typically used to. The biggest adjustment was definitely not being able to punch the face; it was almost like fighting an instinct which I’ve been conditioned to naturally do. I was also not allowed to kick to the head… Although that may have been a blessing in disguise. 


 Another interesting factor which I had to account for was that I was competing in a weight division that was two classes above my own. That was definitely a challenging aspect as my competitors were much bigger than me. That meant I had to focus on footwork - working on angles and distances to avoid being caught by their naturally longer reach, but also being able to score. I also wanted to avoid taking too many hits from my opponents because they were so much heavier than me!
 
​Overall, it was a good experience. I felt that the other students and instructors were welcoming to TTM even though we do not practice WT style. It was also a big learning experience; how scores were taken in this tournament is rather different to what I’m used to in ITF Taekwon-Do tournaments. 
 In any case, I felt that I was able to achieve my purpose; TTM was able to demonstrate a powerful performance, and I was able to spar and challenge myself with many opponents. 
 I’m looking forward to participating in more tournaments as I prepare for the World Championships in Kazakhstan this year. 
 Please show your support to my fellow dojang mates, Grace and Kevin, as are also preparing for this big tournament.
 Taekwon,
 Elaine

Grandmasters, instructors and members from WT and spectators thoroughly enjoyed our ITF pattern Kwang-Gae performed by Sabum Mayumi Tam, Boosabum Vanessa Ly, Musk Chow, Kevin Quach, Emilian Boettger, Elaine Li and Mayah Yeung.