As I mention in my Blog profile , My name is Billy O'Brien and I am originally from Togher , which is a suburb located on the Southside of Cork City in the Republic of Ireland. I first heard about Taekwon-Do in 1979 when local kids starting talking about it. To be honest,it sounded mysterious and other-worldly. Sure,everybody had heard of Karate,but what was this Taekwon-Do? Little did I know then but that my future Instructor lived just across the road from me!
As we entered the '80s,this Taekwon-Do practically threw itself in my face. I was a student in Scoil Stiofain Naofa , which used to be the Secondary School for a lot of youngsters in the Togher area , and was located on Tramore Road , a couple of hundred yards from my house. A couple of Second Year classmates had already started taking classes - Danny Seymore and Sparky. I asked them what it was like and where did they train. Believe it or not ; in my own school!
So one night in December 1980/January 1981 , I made my way up to my school , only this time it was not for lessons , but rather to join Taekwon-Do. I must admit that I was nervous entering the door of the school gym and being met by a sea of white doboks and colored belts gathered around a table taking details of the newcomers. My mind is a bit fuzzy on the exact dates but I was either still 13 or just coming up to 14 years of age. I filled out the form and was told to turn up for class a few days later.
So my first class arrived and I and what seemed like hundreds lined up in the huge gym hall for our introduction to the Art of Hand and Foot Fighting. In walked the two Senior Instructors. My first glimpse of a real living Black Belt! I was immediately hooked! For the record , their names were Brian Walsh and Jim O'Sullivan ( my neighbour ) , whom previous to this encounter had never even known existed. They were 2nd Dans and I felt quite small all of a sudden :-)
Mr Jim O'Sullivan - Mid 1980s
As we entered the '80s,this Taekwon-Do practically threw itself in my face. I was a student in Scoil Stiofain Naofa , which used to be the Secondary School for a lot of youngsters in the Togher area , and was located on Tramore Road , a couple of hundred yards from my house. A couple of Second Year classmates had already started taking classes - Danny Seymore and Sparky. I asked them what it was like and where did they train. Believe it or not ; in my own school!
So one night in December 1980/January 1981 , I made my way up to my school , only this time it was not for lessons , but rather to join Taekwon-Do. I must admit that I was nervous entering the door of the school gym and being met by a sea of white doboks and colored belts gathered around a table taking details of the newcomers. My mind is a bit fuzzy on the exact dates but I was either still 13 or just coming up to 14 years of age. I filled out the form and was told to turn up for class a few days later.
So my first class arrived and I and what seemed like hundreds lined up in the huge gym hall for our introduction to the Art of Hand and Foot Fighting. In walked the two Senior Instructors. My first glimpse of a real living Black Belt! I was immediately hooked! For the record , their names were Brian Walsh and Jim O'Sullivan ( my neighbour ) , whom previous to this encounter had never even known existed. They were 2nd Dans and I felt quite small all of a sudden :-)
Mr Jim O'Sullivan - Mid 1980sTo Be Continued...
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