A taekwondo match is of interest to all ages

On the first day of December, the gym of Taekwondo athletes was bustling, when 28 enthusiastic taekwondo enthusiasts from all sides of the age and experience spectrum sweated for three and a half hours in match training.

Päivän teema oli etäisyydet taekwondo-ottelussa. Ensimmäisessä harjoituksessa käytiin eri etäisyydet taktisesta näkökulmasta – mitä asioita tulee huomioida hyökkäysottelun ja puolustusottelun etäisyyksissä. Toisessa harjoituksessa käytiin läpi tekniikoiden erilaisia etäisyyksiä pitkistä ”runneri-hyökkäyksistä” clinch-etäisyyksien tekniikkaan. Kolmansissa treeneissä em. asioita sovellettiin.

The day was rewarding from the instructors' point of view, and the direct feedback received from the campers comfortably supported this observation. Thanks to all the campers! The events of the beginning of 2013 will be announced on these pages, so it's worth checking back from time to time.

EThis year's license can be purchased from 1 December 2012. The license is valid for the events of the Taekwondo League already in December, but the insurance cover is valid from January 1, 2013. Every Taekwondo athlete must have a valid license to participate in belt tests and competitions as well as many other events organized by the association. In addition, every hobbyist should have valid insurance coverage, which is easy to obtain when buying a license.

You can buy a license The homepage of the Taekwondo Federation.

Thursday 29.11. In 2012, belt tests were organized for the Kalajärvi taekwondo course, in which 14 people participated. In the group of younger, 7-10-year-olds, 12 people completed the yellow belt, i.e. 8th cup, and in the group of older juniors, 2 people.

Taekwondo basics effectively

The Kalajärvi course had exercises once a week during the fall, so the total amount of exercises before the first belt tests was relatively small. For this reason, the training was strictly focused only on the things required in the taekwondo belt exams. In the belt tests, the general skill level was good in relation to the age of the belt players. In the younger group, the increase in concentration with age and practice will significantly improve performance by the next belt exams.

The 8th kup belt rank was performed by:

– Elias Lahtinen
- Onni Tolppola
– Elias Liitsola
- Santtu Miinalainen
– Tommy Teittinen
– Pietu Lammi
– Olivia Salenius
- Perttu Harvala
– Leevi Rantakari
– Liisa Myyryläinen
– Mikael Koivisto
- Ossi Outila
– Minna Liiri
– Santeri Lappalainen

Today, November 24, 2012, the student championships were held in Tampere's Nääshall. There were three competitors from the gym of taekwondo athletes. Tanja Lovikka took part in the women's under 49 kg category, who went directly to the finals against Klaukkala's Johanna Niemi. The match was even until the end and Tanja was able to turn the situation around for herself in the third set with her strong attacks. The tight match ended 3-1 and Tanja won the gold medal!

Elom Damalie participated in the under 80 kg category, which had a total of four participants. In the series played on the pool chart, Elom got to fight against all the participants and collected two losses and one win. Topi Unkila of Pori taekwondo beat Elomi in the first match extremely tight 1-2 with a point scored at the end of the third set. In the second match, Loviisa taekwondo's Jouni Lahtinen faced Elomi's concentration and Jouni was able to inoculate points with main hits. Readings for Jouni 10-1. In the third match, the opponent was Reza Salehi from Tampere Kumgang. Elom, who collected small bumps, was not able to offer his best skills, but he made good use of his opponent's violent style of play and earned him warnings. With the score 9-7 in Saleh's favor in the third period, Elom earned him a fourth full warning and thus won the match by forfeit. A bronze medal as a reward for this!

Pauli Raivio, who works as an instructor at the taekwondo athletes' gym, participated in the men's under 68 kg category, which was the biggest category of the competition, with ten competitors. On Paul's way to victory, Turku's Budokwain Ahmed Abdulghani was the first to fall with 12-0 at the end of the second set due to the point difference. Another opponent, Hannu Lavikainen from Joensuu taekwondo, with whom we already fought three full sets. However, Pauli, who played a bit sticky, won with routine performances by 9-5, who knew his place in the semi-finals. In the semi-final, the opponent was Budokwa's representative, Anton Saari, who normally competes under 63 kilos, Nuoren Saari's experience was not enough to keep up with Paul and in the third set, the point difference reached 14-2 and the final place in the bracket. In the final, Aleksi Nurisalo from Tampere's Kumgang offered resistance after three sets. After two tight sets, Pauli took the lead in the third set and kept it until the end, increasing the final score to 3-6. For Paul, after a full day's work, a gold medal around his neck!

Taekwondo athletes strongly congratulates all medalists! Juho Ranta is present as a coach and physiotherapist.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who made the League Finals 2012 event possible! Every small and big action was an important part of Finland's biggest taekwondo competition.

Results can be found here>>

Special thanks to Anastaasia, Vesa Lahti, Tatu Iivanainen from Vantaa Hwarang and Henri Nordenswani from the Helsinki Taekwondo Club.

Matti Sairanen, who represents our team, is leaving on November 22. going to the Para-Taekwondo World Championships to seriously pursue a medal. The bronze medalist of the previous games in the category A6 under 80 kg, now competes in a weight class lower.

”Olen harjoitellut tosissani ja tuntuu että olen parempi kuin kaksi vuotta sitten Pietarissa”, toteaa Matti.

”Uskon että kevyempi painoluokka sopii Matille, kunhan muuttuneet etäisyydet saadaan osumaa kohdalleen. Matti on sarjaan fyysisesti todella vahva”, toteaa kisassa valmentajana toimiva Sampo Pajulampi.

Taekwondo aims for the 2020 Paralympics

In connection with the tournament, a seminar will also be organized where the necessary steps to add Taekwondo to the Paralympians' program will be considered. Taekwondo is not yet in Rio, but hopes are high for the sport to be included in the program of the 2020 Games.