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 My
training began in 1990 with Master Peter Byrne in my local
village of Aughrim. The school had been running there for about
three years when I joined as a support act for my cousin who
wanted to join but wouldn’t go on his own. Immediately I was
interested and I still can quite vividly remember watching the
highest grades working four or five lines in front of me in
class and saying “Some day I’m going to be up there in the front
line with them.” That was the first time I set a goal in Tae
Kwon Do and my first real memory in life of saying something to
myself that knew I wanted to do. The self improving power of Tae
Kwon Do was already clawing at my subconscious.
The training was tough and
each class was scheduled for two hours but would go over time as
Master Byrne got carried away with his love of teaching. Often
classes would be bag work and sparring all night and there was
not much in the way of sparring gear there. “Whatever you have
will do and if you have none just use control” Master Byrne
would say, his sparring gear consisted only of a black pair of
grappling gloves! A few people had foot pads and I never seen
shin guards, head guards or gum shields in that school until
years later. Often the sparring would get very heavy between
some students and Master Byrne would have to step in and sort it
out. There was always someone injured or with a bloody nose, I
was even knocked out cold one night in class by Master Byrne but
that was all part of the journey.
My Mother used to leave me to
training and I remember getting a nervous feeling and upset
stomach on the way in the car because I knew the hard training
that was coming. I really think going through that feeling in
the car years ago got me mentally tough and ready for
competitions and helped me control my nerves for my full contact
fights. Some instructors have asked me how and why did I get
involved in full contact tournaments but the sparring I was
brought up with in Master Byrnes school was full contact every
night, at least in a tournament there will be full protective
equipment!
In 2010 I hope to run
A.I.M.A.A’s first full contact tournament, to allow students a
taste of what it’s like to compete in this class and give them a
stepping stone to their full contact career outside the AIMAA.
To enter these types of competitions you must be in top physical
and mental shape, so get them heavy bags out and pound them for
10x3 minute rounds then your bodyweight or weights workout,
remember the secret as Grandmaster Cho always tells us is,
sweat- lots of sweat!
 
Another aspect of Tae Kwon Do
I love is conditioning, again because of my instructors
influence over me (Instructors do not underestimate the power
you have over your students) watching him punch the walls of the
dojang before training every night and hearing it echo around
the place. The stories Master Byrne told us of Grandmaster Cho
and Master Ameris’ breaking ability inspired me to start
conditioning myself, realising that one day I simply won’t have
the ability to break concrete through regular training, I
started and continue daily so I might one day be capable of such
an achievement. I realise this aspect of training is not for
everyone and I fully understand that but it’s just something I
want to do for myself to keep the stories of breaking alive for
another generation of AIMAA students.
Today I run three AIMAA
schools and try to have a mixture of everything I have seen over
the years from anyone that I have trained with. Including tough
physical exercise, sparring, bag work, traditional work and
relaxing meditation at the end of a tough workout.
Meditation/relaxation was never a part of my training as a
colour belt but after introducing it into my class I got such
great feedback from my students that I try to make it a regular
end to an intense training session. That is what is great about
AIMAA, you can introduce new things into your class curriculum
and it won’t be frowned upon. Grandmaster Cho introduced Boxing
and Grappling techniques into AIMAA and always says that as
Black Belts we must actively seek new ways to improve ourselves
and our training or we and our students will stagnate.
 
My goal firstly is to continue
teaching and learning Cho’s Tae Kwon Do for my life, loyalty to
my instructor and Association is deeply rooted in me. I also
hope to one day open a full time Martial Arts centre with
training facilities for all, a library of books to research this
and all types of Martial Arts and also to raise awareness on the
social impact of training Tae Kwon Do and to look more on
preparing the mental side of Tae Kwon Do competitors. I hope
this has given you a small insight into where I come from in my
short Martial Art life to date and what I hope to achieve by
continuing.
Yours in Tae Kwon Do,
Paul Healy
A.I.M.A.A Ireland.
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