Taekwondo

Captain: Will Greenwood

Email: william.greenwood@dur.ac.uk

Website: www.dur.ac.uk/dutkd.club

About:

Durham University Tae Kwon-Do Club (DUTKD) was founded in June 2005 by Alexander Malt as Captain and Chris Davison as Head Instructor and Treasurer. It is a club that was established by students for students, though it is not adverse at all to anyone else in the area joining. It was set up with the aim of providing training to all people interested, whether a complete beginner or an experienced veteran. It was also a club designed to by pass the stylistic differences present throughout the Tae Kwon-Do world, and therefore everyone, regardless of style is welcome. The club will aim to help individual athletes grade up in whatever style they choose to adopt, there is no pressure to conform to the Durham style!

Being part of a University, this club is keen to make the atmosphere informal yet informative. The etiquette encouraged is not the same as in most ‘Classical' schools, and may be surprising for more experienced traditional martial artists. The Club's syllabus has been specifically designed to incorporate individual thinking (in fact this is expected as part of the grading theory exam).

As part of Team Durham, it is DUTKD's responsibility to officially represent the university at Tae Kwon-Do tournaments (this is an optional part of club membership). Durham University's first Tae Kwon-Do team was fielded in March 2006 and, although small, made quite an impact in its first competition, having the highest average points per fighter. The following year, March 2007, saw Durham secure second place in the Student Nationals, narrowly loosing to Leicester with notable performances from many of the club's competitors.

In October 2006 Durham University Tae Kwon-Do Club changed to become a club that practised both Tae Kwon-Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. However due to increasing popularity of Jiu-Jitsu the two clubs split apart in 2008.

For more infromation contact Will or visit the website.