South Islands First IV Dan
Congratulations to Kris Herbison who was promoted to IV Degree
Black Belt on the 4th of November at the Instructors Conference
in Rotorua. For more information on the grading see the ITFNZ
Taekwon-Do Website here
Click here to enlarge
After the grading Mr Herbison became sought
after by the media and had an article on him in the Otago
Daily Times and also on Dunedin's Channel 9. Also his old
primary school, Rotary Park Primary School, called on him
to come to the school and talk to the pupils about Taekwon-Do
and to give a demonstration.
Black Belt Grading
Congratulations to all of those who graded and passed their
Black Belt Grading in Dunedin in December 2005, see the resutls
on the ITFNZ webiste here
Examiners and applicants at the beginning of the first
day
The grading began at 9am sharp on the Saturday
morning, as usual, and the sounds that came out of the training
hall as the organisers and instructors left for the Regional
Meeting indicated that the grading was going to be a tough
one! At about 3pm the applicants began some formal testing,
including some of the breaking! Then they completed the fitness
test, where they looked a little worse for wear, as seen below.
At the completion of the fitness test the 1st gups were required
to undertake their oral interview while the rest of the applicants
went for a swim.
How the applicants looked at during the fitness test
The formal part of the grading began at 10am
on Sunday, after the remainer of the oral interviews and the
written exam. The applicants were all put through their paces
some more over the new few hours.
The Examiners Master Davidson and Mr Patterson look on
with interest
Yimu Wang and Emery Ng Chie free sparring
 
Russell Stuart and Richard Lavin perform nearly identical
reverse turning kick breaks
Thank you to the examiners, Master Davidson
and Mr Patterson, and the organisers Nicole Kettings, Dianne
Hinson, and Nigel Patterson for an excellent grading.
South Island Black Belt Camp
The first South Island Black Blet Camp was held on the 24-25
September 2005, in Hanmer Springs. The camp was designed to
further upskill the Regions current Instructors and Assistant
Instructors as well as develop our other Black Belts to help
them advance and potentially become Instructors. Thakyou to
the funding authorities, Miss Ewen for organising the camp
and to Mr Banicevich for coming to instruct. They all contributed
to the success of the weekend. Read the full report here...
2006 Team Manager & Coach Named
The Positions of Team Manager and Coach were appointed at
the Regional Meeting held during the Black Belt Camp and are
as follows:
Team Manager
 The
Regional Team Manager for 2006 is Mr Kris Herbison, III Dan.
Assistant Manager positions are still vacant for Dunedin,
Christchurch and Nelson/Marlbourgh, any interested applicat
should contact
Mr Herbison before the 1st of December 2005. Learn
more...
Team Coach
 The
Regional Team Coach for 2006 is Mr Neil Kettings, II Dan.
Mr Kettings is looking for an Assistant Coach for Christchurch
and Nelson/Marlbourgh to conduct team trainings for the local
team members. Any interested Black Belt should contact Mr
Kettings before the 1st of December 2005. Learn
more...
Tournament News
New Zealand Team Medals at World Champs
  Congratulations
to Mr Richard Lavin and Mr Campbell Gold, competitors from
the South Island who travelled to represent New Zealand in
Germany recently. More information is available on the ITFNZ
website
South Island Team Results from the 2005 Nationals
The Regional Team performed well at the National Championships
in Levin, winning 5
Gold Medals, 8 Silver
Medals, and 12 Bronze
Medal, and 3rd overall Male Team. We would like to
thank all the sponsors for their support of the team.
View members of the
South Island Taekwon-Do team and who won what medals.
South Island Regional Tournament 2005
The South Island Regional Tournament was a successfull event
run by Mrs Lorraine Eade in Blenhiem. Congratulations to the
Dunedin Club winning the Best Club. Full
Results Here
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Congratulations
to Mr Russell Stuart, III Dan, and Mr Richard Lavin, III Dan,
who hav been approved as Co-Instructors of the Otago University
Club as Mr Kris Herbison, IV Dan, is moving to Christhcurch
Also,
ongratulations to Mr Nigel Patterson, I Dan, who was approved
to open a new club in Alexandra at the beginning of 2006 called
Central Taekwon-Do, further details to follow.
Congratulations
to all those who passed the coloured belt gradings during
November. The South Island came second in the country with
33% of A Passes, and congratulations to the Otago University
Branch who achieved the Best Club with the Highest % of A
Passes, this is a good contiunation from the Dunedin Club
gaining best club in the previous grading round! 
