Master Byrne Visits Belgacem's Cho's Tae Kwon Do

Master Byrne demonstrates with Mr Walker

It was a strangely muted group of students from Cho's Hamilton, Larkhall, Bellshill and Lochend schools that gathered at our School in Hamilton on a cold and raining Tuesday night.

The unusually quiet atmosphere was probably a product of the fact that the night before the same students, along with 200 other AIMAA Instructors and students from other forms of Tae Kwon Do, had sweated their way through a two hour seminar presided over by the martial arts living legend that is Grand Master Hee Il Cho.

It is a testament to the awe inspiring fitness and conditioning of this 70 year old Tae Kwon Do dynamo that there was a preponderance of knee braces, ankle supports and a clearly perceptible aroma of assorted ligaments and muscle rubs amongst the students who were clearly paying the physical price of what was a magical but demanding night. However, despite the aches and pains, the 40 or so students had eagerly gathered for an all too rare opportunity to train with AIMAA's Ireland's Regional Director, Master Peter Byrne.

For those of us who have had trained under Mr and Mrs Belgacem for some time, Master Byrne 'the demolition man' was a very familiar name and we had frequently been regaled with tales of his explosive one step sparring and the power and precision of his self defence techniques. As we watched him executing a series of kicks and punches as he warmed up at the front of the class we knew we were in for a treat. The class was then called to order and we were introduced to Master Byrne and his senior students who had accompanied him from Ireland to attend the seminar with Grand Master Cho the night before. After a short introduction the class was taken through a carefully managed warm up that started slowly and built to a very demanding level as we prepared our sore and stiff muscles for the session to follow. Master Byrne then treated the class to a fantastic exercise designed to perfect particular combinations of movements that feature in tae kwon do patterns. This involved doing 8 sets of up to three movements in various directions which tested awareness, form as well as power and precision of the individual movements. By doing these over and over, Master Byrne explained that this would not only assist in perfecting the movements but would also ensure that even when tired and disorientated (a common combination of problems in a grading) you would be equipped to still perform these movements with the required power and control. Master Byrne then turned his attention to one step sparring and we quickly discovered why this is a discipline he has become famous for, The sheer power and controlled aggression he puts into his movements lifts these from simply managed combinations of fighting and defencive movements into explosive fighting techniques that do justice to the fundamental purpose of one step sparring.

He took us through the one steps at a blinding speed stopping to concentrate on ones that he would demonstrate on the long suffering Mr Healy (the sound of him hitting the floor after take downs makes your bones shudder!). He then wandered round the class as we drilled these offering advice and suggestions with that patient humility that seems to be common to the AIMAA Masters that it has been my pleasure and privilege to meet and train with. We then turned our attention to self defence techniques. Again, Master Byrne showed how bringing a sense of controlled aggression can make even the simplest of movements look sharper and more effective. Again the speed of some of his movements left us mere mortals bewildered. Again, he would patiently work with us to break the movements down, showing where the emphasis should lie to make them as effective as possible. It was with real regret that the shortest hour and a half in living memory came to an end and as we gathered for a post seminar photo the aches and pains of the night before were a distant memory as we basked in the glow of yet another magical Tae Kwon Do experience.