Warrior Martial Arts

A team of students from Warrior Martial Arts travelled to Dublin recently to compete at the All Ireland Tae kwon do championships. The team consisted of students from several of the Warrior clubs. Competitors from Baltimore, Union Hall, Ballineen, Clonakilty, Innishannon and Ballinhassig all made the trip to Dublin, some travelling the day before the competition and the majority travelling by bus on the day of the event. 22 students in total took part for Team Warrior, this included instructors Dan and Barry O’Mahony.

The team had an outstanding day, taking 5 gold, 3 silver and 11 bronze All Ireland medals. All the Warriors did very well on the day putting in strong performances, unfortunately not everyone could be in the medals. The crowds did not faze any of the students as they took to the floor with confidence. From 6 year old Ewan Mc Nulty of Union Hall club to chief instructor Dan O’Mahony all competed for All Ireland titles in their relevant divisions.

The full team consisted of brothers Ewan, Sean and James Mc Nulty, David and Killian Forde and Daniel Nolan of Union Hall, Brian O’Mahony, David Kelly and Jonathan Hurley of Innishannon, Dave Coleman of Ballinhassig, Claire Wilcox, Aishling O’Driscoll, Dwayne Crowley and Eugene Birlea, brothers Conor and Brian Carmody and their dad Michael of Clonakilty club, Andrew Foley of Baltimore club, Padraig Mc Namara and Sarah Murphy of Ballineen club and instructors Dan and Barry also competed on the day.It was great to have 4 All Ireland Title holders coming home and several more medalists in the team.

More Photos:

All Ireland Tae Kwon...

Warrior Tae Kwon Do instructors Dan O’Mahony and Barry O’Mahony are currently training to test for promotion to 5th and 4th Dan respectively.
In preparation for the tests, which will take place in November of this year, both instructors have travelled abroad to try and glean as much knowledge as they can from some of the art’s top practitioners.

Dan travelled to Worcester, England in April this year to train with Warrior Tae Kwon Do’s Black Belt Examiner, Master Clive Harrison. Master Harrison took Dan through a wide range of techniques and patterns, giving invaluable advice to the Warrior TKD President. As always, Master Harrison was an outstanding host and made Dan feel very welcome at all times.

In June, Barry travelled to New York to attend the Tae Kwon Do International annual seminar, led by Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim. During the 3 days of training, Barry benefited from a seminar by Master James Marr on how to improve as an instructor, technique and pattern instruction from Grandmaster Kim and Master John Meany and a Hapkido class by Grandmaster Lee. As well as learning plenty about Tae Kwon Do and the various interpretations and styles of the art that are practised around the world, this was a great opportunity to meet many other practitioners of TKD and form new friendships.

We would like to thank all of our friends in other schools both at home and abroad for affording us the opportunity to train with you and attend your events over the years, we are truly grateful.

Photos from Worcester:

Dan training with Ma...

Dan training with Ma...

Photos from New York:

TKD International Se...

TKD International Se...

TKD International Se...

TKD International Se...

Andrew Foley (Baltimore), Sophia Cassidy Eulitz and Mark Moriyama (Ballydehob) Link to more photos at the end of the article.

The recent Cork Open Championships saw a number of relatively new faces in the Warrior Tae Kwon Do squad. The lineup on the day featured juniors Josh Cronin, Brian O’Mahony, Andrew Foley, Jonathan Hurley and Sophia Cassidy, as well as seniors David Coleman and Mark Moriyama. With the exception of Josh and Jonathan, both of whom already have a wealth of experience,  the rest of the team had only previously competed on one or two occasions.

The tournament was a very physical one, with no punches pulled when it came to the sparring bouts, but this was of little concern to the Warriors, who were more than up to the challenge.

Josh & Brian, who both train at the Ballinhassig and Innishannon Warrior Martial Arts clubs were unlucky in their bouts, coming up against opponents who had far more experience and also a considerable height advantage. These factors didn’t worry the two young Warriors in the slightest though, and they battled with all the heart and bravery of fighters twice their size.

Better fortune was in store for Baltimore’s Andrew Foley who, taking on very tough opposition, fought with great intelligence to earn himself a Bronze medal in a hotly-contested section.

From Ballydehob club, Sophia Cassidy Eulitz put on a brilliant display taking a Bronze medal in patterns, which was no mean feat in itself, but also a second Bronze in sparring. Her club-mate Mark Moriyama then added to the medal tally by bringing home a further 2 Bronze medals, having had to perform his pattern 3 times before going on to the semi finals of the Men’s White-Green Belt sparring.

Also competing in the Senior Male division was Ballinhassig’s David Coleman who, due to an error on the day, ended up fighting a single-fight challenge against the winner of the Men’s White-Green Heavyweight division. The going was tough here as David’s opponent was an experienced fighter and a heavy hitter. Going the full distance, David weathered a barrage of powerful strikes but did not back down once and gave as good as he got. Unfortunately the points did not add up in his favour, but the battle has left David even more determined to succeed in his future bouts, a sign of a true champion.

Also in action on the day was Jonathan Hurley of the Ballinhassig and Innishannon clubs. Jonathan is, at this stage, no stranger to the competition circuit and his experience stood to him as he took on a field of Red & Black belts to claim a well-deserved Silver medal for his powerful performance of the pattern Hwa Rang and a Bronze for his energetic and precise sparring.

More photos:

IUTF Cork Open 2011 ...

IUTF Cork Open 2011 ...

IUTF Cork Open 2011 ...

For the third year running, over 200 Warrior Tae Kwon Do students, from clubs as far apart as Ballydehob and Ballinhassig and friends from the Blarney Tae Kwon Do club, gathered in Clonakilty to take part in the “Clash of the Warriors” Martial Arts Championships. The event, sponsored by Dunnes Stores and Dogfish Design, was held at the Clonakilty Agricultural College in Darrara, Clonakilty on Sunday March 13^th and attracted a wide range of competitors, with some participants as young as 4 and 5 years old, while some of their parents competed in their own respective sections later in the day.

To read the full report of the event, visit the News section of the official Clash of the Warriors website.

Photos and videos of the event are also available from the site.

Black Belt Presentation Photos – February 2011

This season, any opponents taking to the pitch against Ballinhassig’s GAA teams had better beware – rather than sitting on their backsides watching TV all winter, a group of these players decided to get involved in their local Warrior Tae Kwon Do club.

Engaging in tough Kickboxing sessions involving flexibility conditioning and sparring, the lads showed outstanding perseverance and an excellent level of fitness. Hopefully all of their hard work will stand to them in their upcoming matches.

Best of Luck!

Congratulations to Ben Moran, Jack Murphy, Sam Cronin, Killian Kearney, Cathal Kearney, Evan O’Toole and Emma Kelly who, just before Christmas, took and passed their very first Tae Kwon Do examination.

Having trained very hard for a long time in the “Ninjas” class (for 4-7 year olds) in Innishannon, these young Warriors have now graduated to the Junior Tae Kwon Do classes in their areas and will now be training with students of all ages and grades.

We would ask all of our older students to make sure that they, and all beginners, feel especially welcome in their new clubs.

Photos from the Innishannon Ninjas’ last class before Christmas

Warrior Tae Kwon Do’s Innishannon Ninjas – Christmas 2010