Archive for July, 2011

0

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

By
Adam R
– July 28, 2011

Last night marked the end of a long few months of wrangling, back and forth and phyiscal labout, as we took to the mats for the first time in the new ISK Martial Arts academy. There were still a few things to get done in the last few minutes before the start of the class (if I never have to cut a jigsaw mat again it’ll be too soon), but we got there, and the place looks amazing.

It was a big class to start, which was good in a way, as it gave us a chance to see how things would work with a full hall. On the flip side though, it was HOT. I mean seriously hot. Combined with the lingering fumes of the white spirit we’d been using to take the last of the tape glue off the mats, and it made it a very uncomfortable warm-up.

The rest of the lesson followed suit – hard work, regardless of it being line work, forms, self-defence, sparring, we gave the place a worthy christening. If you check the latest news post you’ll see some red faces and some very sweaty doboks, and I’m really suffering for it today. I feel absolutely drained, which I’d love to put down to the hard gym session on Tuesday, but I think it’s that first lesson that did the damage. As a result I’ll be skipping my Thursday session at the gym tonight, as there’s nothing left in me to give.

To the uninitiated this might read like a bit of a whinge really, but anyone who was there last night, and there at any point during the renovations, will know just how awesome it was, and how much of a high we all left on (nothing to do with the white spirit fumes either!). Training should be hard, it should leave you exhausted, sweating and ready for bed; in my opinion anyway, and that’s exactly what we got last night.

It’s great to be in our new home, I look forward to many years of self-imposed pain and tiredness :)

0

A New Beginning

By
Adam
– July 28, 2011

The new ISK Martial Arts academy opened its doors for training for the first time yesterday, the end result of a solid week of hard graft by the instructors and students.

Studio One - The first thing you see when entering the academy

There was a bit of last-minute fiddling to finish the matting and make sure it was ready to train in, but we’re delighted to say we’ve had our first lesson with students from all over the county.

The view walking into Studio Two from Studio One

In typical fashion, we chose one of the hottest evenings of the year to train, but what better way to ‘wet the baby’s head’ than to work up a proper sweat and get the place used to the sort of effort it’s going to see day in, day out for the next few years. Tang Soo Do has come to Redruth and it’s not going anywhere.

The view back across towards the door to Studio One

The people of Redruth have a new noise to listen for in the evenings now, the sound of dedicated martial artists bellowing kihaps out. We’re here to stay, so come and join us, meet some of the nicest people you’re ever likely to, get fit and have a great time.

Hot, sweaty, tired, and very happy. The first class in the new academy pose for the camera.

We’ll be holding an ‘official’ opening and open day sometime in the coming weeks, once a few last things behind the scenes are finished, more details as and when we have them.

Tang Soo!

0

Welcome back

By
James
– July 28, 2011

Last night saw our return to the art’s, this time in our new Dojang.

For the last week students and instructors have been beavering away at, what was once, ‘Body & Soul’ gym in Redruth. The building had lain dormant for the last 9 months or so and was in a hell of a state. Holes in walls, no electricity, no water, broken stuff everywhere. It’s by no means finished but it is at least now habitable.

After a first mad rush to get the mats finished and a foolhardy attempt to clean mirrors with less-than-clean cloths we began our first class in our new home. The first thing that struck me was that we were no longer on the ground floor, it felt a little weird. The next thing was that we were now on a high-street. The sound of 15-odd students ki-hap’ing in unison reverberated through the street like an express train, there were a few wide-eyed faces looking up . . . The next thing that struck me was the heat. It was a beautiful day, hot with no wind. Needless to say the room with the low ceiling soon turned into a sauna. Within minutes i was drenched. When we came to perform a hyung (Kata)  i honestly thought for a minute i might pass-out. I returned to the back of the class feeling very wobbly!

Still, all things considered it was a good first lesson in our new home. I have a feeling the club is going to get very busy . . .

0

Academy Renovations – Progress!

By
Adam
– July 25, 2011

The work and improvements are continuing in the new academy at a frightening pace, you wouldn’t recognise it as the same building we took the keys to a week ago.

Walls all white, much brighter and cleaner

The two-tone mixture of navy and aqua-blue that was painted on nearly every surface is gone, replaced by coat after coat of fresh, white paint. Even without electricity (which is another story altogether), it’s already a lot brighter and looking a lot bigger.

That dingy back room looks a lot better (despite the rubbish phone camera photo)

We still plan to get in for an inaugural session this Wednesday, and despite it possibly being by candlelight at this rate, it should be a good turn-out and a great way to celebrate a lot of hard work and pulling together to make it all happen.

0

The Re-Fit Continues…

By
Adam
– July 22, 2011

The hard-working students and instructors were back in the new academy on Wednesday evening to continue the renovations.

Work on what’s become known as ‘Studio 1′ was still the main focus, as we want to be able to train in the new building as soon as possible. The walls are now all scrubbed and sanded clean where necessary, any holes filled, and everything washed clean. Those aren’t fun jobs at the best of times, but while we’re still waiting for the electricity and water to be provided, they take on a whole new level of annoyance. Still, spirits were high and the strong work ethic instilled through our training meant that everything got down quickly, and done well.

Walls prepared and ready for a couple of coats of paint

In the area behind reception, which will become a sort of ‘lounge’ area, work continued on the floors and walls, but because of the lack of windows and electricity, everything was done by the light of some headlamps!

Tim beavering away in the darkness

Along with the hard work in the building itself, another team had the less-than-envious task of moving the rest of the matting and equipment over from our second storage area in Falmouth. A massive pile of tatami and a lot of effort later, and we finally have everything we need to get started.

Tatami and crash mats, along with the dismantled wooden screens

There’s still a lot more to do but we’re all pulling in the same direction, and with a lot more hard work and a little luck, we should be able to have our first session in there next week.

I'm sure there's something wrong with this picture...

0

All hands on deck!

By
Elly
– July 20, 2011

Things are getting exciting over at ISK Martial Arts. If you have been looking on the main site, you’ll know that we have recently moved into bigger premises. We are now above Wilkinsons’ on Redruth High Street – a prime location. It’s a bit shabby at the moment though, it’s stood empty for a while and is in need of a little bit of TLC…which is exactly what we have been doing!

Last evening saw a small contingent head over there, roll up our sleeves and start the decorating process. Walls scrubbed, wallpaper peeled off, holes filled and mirrors polished. Lots more work to go, but everyone from the club is chipping in and giving a little bit of their free time to help. It’s one of those things that makes me thankful to train in a club where everyone is committed and cares deeply about what we do. When we open the doors to the public we can say we’ve all built this club together. Quite a nice thought.

Despite not having a permanent base at the moment, training continues in the Falmouth class as usual. Still working hard in the preparation for the World Championships. Less than 3 weeks to go – haven’t even brought me suitcase! Uh-oh! Got some serious packing to do…well, who am I kidding, all I need is dobalk, changbong, sparring gear, sun lotion & a bikini! Sorted!

0

We Have a New Academy!

By
Adam
– July 20, 2011

That’s right, after finally signing the lease and officially making it ours, ISK Martial Arts is over the moon to announce that it has a new, permanent home in the middle of Redruth.

We left our previous home in Pool a few weeks ago after three great years, having outgrown it, and now have almost double the floor-space in two separate studios.

The new building is the venue of what was “Body and Soul”, a gym that was well known in the local area for years, itself having now moved on to new premises. Sadly the building isn’t in a great state of repair, and there’s a lot of work needed between now and our grand opening later in the summer. So last night a team of students and instructors from the club, armed with buckets, brooms, scrapers and ladders headed over to start the re-fit.

As you can see from the pictures, we’re still waiting on the electrical work to be completed, hence the darkness, but that didn’t stop the team going to work and getting a lot of the preparation started, including:

  • Dismantling some unnecessary screens
  • Tearing up the old carpets
  • Scraping a lot of old, nasty wallpaper off the walls
  • Repairing some holes in the wall
  • Transferring the matting from the old academy
  • Removing the radiators

..to name but a few jobs!

There’s still a lot to be done, but we’re martial artists, and not to be put off by the thought of a bit of hard work!

More updates to come this week, and soon a date for the grand opening.

0

Much news!

By
Elly
– July 2, 2011

Lots of exciting news! As you may have guessed from reading the news on the main site, I was awarded my 1st Dan black belt a couple of weeks ago. I have trained for four years for this so it was a fantastic honour to be invited to join the ranks of the ISK Dan grades. What made it even more special was I got to take my grading alongside some fantastic people; Mrs Chinn, Mr Leonard & Mr Richards. I joined roughly the same time as Mrs Chinn and we have gone up the ranks of the gup grades together. We have fought together, competed together and trained together for four years. It’s been a fun journey.

The next bit of exciting news concerns the British Championships. There are some fantastic reviews and thoughts on the championships on fellow students’ blogs on this site. For me, it was an important competition. It was my first competing as a Dan grade. I found the categories much harder, with many more competitors. I was expecting to at the start of the day, after the Masters, but unusually they ran the Gup competitions first. It was great watching all our gup grades perform to their utmost and all the training we put in certainly showed in the results.

By the time my categories were called I was super fired up to compete, which was a welcome change for me. Normally I just enjoy the whole process of watching others and having a go myself, but this time it was different. Maybe it was the new belt round my waist but I really wanted to perform my best. I performed what was probably the angriest-looking chil sung of my life…slightly to weh ga ryu if I’m honest, need to work on my chun ga ryu performance a little! But, it worked! I came away with two golds (chang bond & chil sung hyund) and a bronze (traditional hyung), which I am more than happy about. Would like to thank all instructors who have given up their time to teach and train me, in particular Master James and Mr Leonard!

Now, after a week off on holiday I’m keen to get back in the Dojang and start training hard (again) for the World Championships in Florida!