By Ochiaka Ugwu
Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN) in a show of commitment to promoting Taekwondo sport in Nigeria trained 50 Taekwondo coaches on new Taekwondo rules.
The Two-Day-Training Seminar which held between Thursday and Friday last week had coaches from all over Nigeria attending.
Speaking during the event, Head Coach of KCCN Taekwondo Department, Coach Gbolohan Ogunmuyiwa said aimed to build on the coaches’ experience as a refresher course.
He noted that coaches were not coming to learn from the scratch having known a lot, but given the fact that Taekwondo was a dynamic sport as new rules come out all the time.
He revealed the coaches would by taught on new system of officiating and managing the sport to be abreast of the latest trend in the sport.
His words, “New developments get to us late in this part of the world and we don’t to adjust to new rules early making us to be lacking behind most times. That is the main reason our counterparts are always ahead of us in competition because they get information faster.
“We aim to sink it in the minds of the coaches that when new rules come out, they should work with it immediately to be at pair with their counterpart world over. It is not only about fighting alone, but knowing the rules and working with them.
“We also want to create love, unity among coaches. It should be an avenue for them to bond and get intimate coming from different places.
“We are also promoting the sport as it will embrace the news stand making it possible for Nigerians to know more about it. The National Sport Festival that would be held in Enugu has Taekwondo as one of the 15 compulsory sports.
“The morale of the participants are high and they are really committed to the learning and bonding. There will be examination at the end of the seminar to test their level of attentiveness and outstanding ones would be rewarded. The seminar is free which many go outside the country to spend big resources. It was brought to their doorstep free of charge. I hope they are getting the maximum benefits from the situations.
“The seminar takes place every year. We have also a kind done a gender balance by having two women and men instructors. We need more internationally qualified and advanced coaches to meet the aspirations and yarning of Nigerians who desire to learn Taekwondo.
KCCN has done fantastically well and I hope that we have bigger budget for this to accommodate more participants.
Also speaking, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Taekwondo Instructor, Deacon Engr. Enujoko Obiajulu Patrick said the seminar was impacting, educating, instructing and interesting saying it was a kind of progamme they pay millions to travel outside the country, but KCCN provided it free.
“The seminar has helped me to upgrade my coaching knowledge, expose me to new Taekwondo rules, regulations, updated me on the new Taekwondo trends. I have also bonded with most of my colleagues from other parts of the country and we equally share ideas on how better to promote the sport” he said.
He thanked KCCN for putting the seminar together which he believed had imparted on them, but wanted the progarmme to be held twice a year and the length of seminar to be expended to enhance productivity.
He however, called on the government at all levels to invest in Taekwondo.
A Coach of the Senior National Taekwondo team, Ibrahim Yahuza said KCCN has succeeded in giving Nigerian Taekwondo coaches a window for updating and promoting their skills.
He said it was a good development and needed to be encouraged informing that he has been attending for the last five years.
He stated that Taekwondo was the fasted growing sport in the world with its rules being updated all the time and the coaches needed to be abreast with it to keep track with the development.
He revealed that the participants were schooled on the current Taekwondo Olympic style and many other new rules.
He thanked KCCN for bringing Taekwondo developmental progammes to Nigeria and for building a big hall in University of Jos which was a way of giving back to the society.
