Taekwondo coaches, refs update skills ahead Korean Amb. Cup

Nigerian Taekwondo coaches and referees, took to the mat for a three-day session aimed at updating their knowledge of the basics of Taekwondo and poomsae techniques. The session put together by the Taekwondo Federation of Nigeria was essentially meant to ensure the standards for usage and application of taekwondo techniques by coaches and referees is updated in order to improve the knowledge transferable to athletes by coaches for the development of the sport.
Tagged, “Kukkiwon Taekwondo Seminar”, it was the second in the annual series featuring forms, movement as well as competition rules.
Participants numbering over thirty were afforded the opportunity to go through the experience of athletes, under the directions of the Grandmaster and coach of the Nigerian Olympic team, Grandmaster Kim Jin Beom who was assisted by two others, Grandmasters Bassey Dominic and Koffi Sunday.
Though invitation to attend was an open one, observers believe that the relatively low turn-out of participants may not be unconnected with the current economic hardship.
Commenting on the experience, Dr. Ferguson Oluigbo who doubles as head of Nigerian Taekwondo Referees and Secretary General of West African International Taekwondo Referees Union, described the session as a necessary tool for improving referees reflexes, their interpretation of rules and athletes performance for appropriate scoring at competitions.
The closing session saw participants took to the mat at the Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos dovetailing into the opening of the Korean Ambassador Championship, featuring Taekwondoists from Nigeria, Ghana, Niger and Mali with over three hundred athletes expected to take part.