Inside the ITF Harmony Course

The Harmony program consists in a plan suited to the needs of elderly or senior persons who are keen on working on their body and mind, with the aim of improving and achieving a fine quality of life through the practice of Taekwon-Do. As the Program is studied, the student will develop self-assurance and personal welfare, as well as a better perception of his/her own corporal image. 

This clip gives an insight into the Harmony Course. For further information contact the ITF for details.

Related Articles

Relaxation : the key to power and performance

Spend any amount of time in a dojang  and you will see some guy (and it is more often than not a guy) whose moves look, well, clunky. They have a tense stiffness about them, a forced attempt to generate power. Trust me I know I was that guy (and still am on occasions).

Instructors faced with the clunky guy almost invariably say “try to relax”. Of course as soon as anyone tells you to relax you are likely to find yourself completely unable to do so, in fact, you are likely to actually stiffen up more. Akin to the experience of being told not to think of a pink elephant, the first thing that pops into your mind is a pink elephant.

Snippets of amazing old footage

DON’T FORGET TO WATCH No. 10 – Paul McPhail performs Juche forwards and backwards

For my 5th degree black belt grading in 1993 I thought it would be a cool idea to perform Juche Tul forwards then backwards for General Choi.

The plan failed miserably as I started the backwards part… I hadn’t even considered the possibility that General Choi would take offence to it. He turned his head and refused to watch. I figured… well… I may as well carry on now and struggled through to the end.

I passed the grading so I guess the General had forgiven me by the day the results were announced.

Here is the footage of the pattern at the grading.

Road to Double Gold

Final Session: Mira Sjövall’s Road to Double Gold

This session was even more interesting, in that WT Master from France Lionel Villaret was invited to take the session. This is a perfect example of “cross-training” or “outside-the-box” thinking that Black Eagle TKD is well known for.

Angles & Trajectory of Techniques

Knowing the correct angles and trajectory of Taekwon-Do movements is a tricky business. Why? Because a lot of that information IS NOT in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. This means Master Instructors analyse movements and teach their own theories, in collaboration with guidance from the technical committees around the world.