DEFINITELY been a hectic start to 2018 with plenty of travel and hard work well rewarded Term 1. Congratulations to CWT athletes competing at Belgian Open, Dutch Open, Sofia Open, Malaysian Open, US Open Taekwondo Championships  (Las Vegas) and National Junior World Selections (Canberra) on terrific performances and results considering year is so young and our Specialty Programs have just resumed for another year…stressing the importance of each and every lesson on route to discovering excellence. From club level, through to state, national and international… with both, World Championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics an attainable and realistic goal for our athletes, with every training session a commitment; every fight a trust; every partner an equal; every failure a stepping stone; and every victory a reminder of the sacrifices made by many on route to achieving excellence….GO CITY WEST!!!    

This year offers new beginnings and opportunities to thrive in our healthy club environment. For newcomers just starting up Taekwondo, the earlier you embrace every opportunity to learn and grow, the sooner you will realize your own potential through martial arts. City West Taekwondo is not just about teaching members how to block, defend and counterattack…. our long term objective includes character building; mind development & lateral concepts; TEAM work, collaboration & support; physical & mental conditioning; social benefits; disciplined work ethic and of course, pathways leading to future success. Hope you enjoy getting fit with us and focused for life!    

So far, international competitions have dominated term 1 with City West Taekwondo proudly flying the aussie flag. And we have so much more to look forward to, with the return of our Tournament Programs this year. To save any confusion, separate to traditional Grading Classes, our Specialty Programs focus just on competition training in either discipline – Poomsae or Sparring. CWT Tournament Programs are strictly by invitation only… based on student’s work ethic, definitive passion and prominent listening skills in traditional grading classes. And although I’m in charge of ‘Sparring’ and Carla heads ‘Poomsae’, any one of our qualified instructors can make a recommendation for a student to trial our Specialty Programs (select entry process). Minimum grading level 6th Gup (Blue Belt 1 stripe) for Poomsae and 7th Gup (Yellow Belt 2 stripes) for Sparring. Because we have limited openings each year, it’s always a good idea to accept an invitation if it comes your way; trial program for a few weeks and then make up your mind as to whether you want to continue down this path. If you decide that it’s not for you, that’s fine because quite frankly, it’s not for everyone. Most important consideration must be, as much as tournament training is hard work, lots of fun and has tremendous rewards, it can be extremely taxing and demanding on the instructors, students and of course parents, which is why we take a simple no-nonsense approach. SELECT ENTRY means just that, you have a rare opportunity to learn specialised skills and experience amazing opportunities through our leading pathways, but if you can’t commit 100%, then it’s not worth wasting any further time on the matter. Tournament Programs are structured in a serious training and learning environment and leave no room for timewasters or poor attitude….just passion, focus, discipline and willingness to listen carefully and learn how to best achieve realistic goals in taekwondo competition!    

CLUB SPONSORSHIP DEALS!  2018 offers not only new hopes and dreams, but also major rewards for those prepared to put in the most. Sharing our philosophy and vision for success, we have secured two major club sponsors in Insurance & Financial Planners – VICTORIAN INSURANCE SOLUTIONS and FORTIZ ACCOUNTANTS. Both highly reputable businesses, proudly supporting City West Taekwondo achieve greater heights, as well as committed to providing our members and families with financial, superannuation and accounting services and advice. CLUB SPONSORS are crucial to helping the club grow and creating opportunities for our members, so please SUPPORT those who support us!  Already our generous sponsors have invested in both our Poomsae and Sparring Programs, including awarding scholarship funding support to Tayla Eckley ($500), James Hird ($250), Bailey Lewis ($500) and Liam Wilson ($250)….all in pursuit of their Taekwondo dreams!    

IMPORTANT NOTICE to Parents visiting club headquarters, car park matters on the rise that everyone needs to be aware of. I am saddened by the number of complaints and rising frustrations occurring in the car park. Firstly, our purpose built drop off/pick up zone is clearly a NO WAITING area which means you can’t stop and park your car out front whilst waiting to collect your kids. This is not a parking spot, rather a drive through area for your convenience. Accordingly,  please just drop off, pick up and move on. Disappointingly, some parents are not following these rules; in turn, causing major traffic jams, fueling tempers and creating negative environment all round. Drivers, please be especially mindful, courteous and respectful of our disciplined environment and surroundings, and no more cluttering up front drive-through area. As well, we seem to be running out of car spaces and unfortunately encroaching on our neighbouring premises. We have good neighbours that have every right to complain when we invade their space. Accordingly we ask at all times that the last five car parks (belonging to Factories 2&3 behind us) be left vacant, unless instructed otherwise. Also, our neighbours across the road do not want us parking there either as they are a 24hr on-call service requiring constant access to their entry site. But on the positive side, there’s been no complaints from our far neighbours at Anaconda. Safe to say, parents can freely park there and safely escort their kids to and from Taekwondo. Thanks for your understanding, patience and co-operation.    

Frank De Pasquale – 7th Dan Black Belt

City West Taekwondo – Founder & Head Instructor