New Instructors, would you like to join Red Star?
Are you a new instructor who has recently opened a club? Are you finding it hard to fit in, get advice and grow your club? Sometimes it can feel as if nobody really cares what you do with your club. I’ve been there. Endless unanswered emails, poor communication, membership money taken and nothing seen for it, courses done and not a cert in sight. It really is frustrating.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming some new clubs to the Red Star family. They have decided to come on board because of our open and friendly environment. They also noticed that we put our students first. We have a unique spark at Red Star unlike many Taekwon-Do schools out there that are run like corporate enterprises with a CEO in charge who along with their administration they feel they are above and beyond every other ‘mortal’ human being. We’ve all encountered them, those wonderful ‘leaders’ who are only concerned about how low you are bowing to them and how much you can make them.
Remember this guy? If not, best ask a child of the 80’s 😉
Without cramming up this little post with negativity, let me just say this – that environment doesn’t belong at Red Star. That unique spark I wrote about above is one of positivity, friendship and a very real dedication to each others goals. At Red Star we’ve broken the mold in many ways and it’s flattering to see many Taekwon-Do schools try to adopt our approach.
Here are some of our Black belts. This was taken in 2011 and we’ve since expanded on our black belt list! There are currently 22 black belts training at Red Star.
Having said all of that, this little post is not about us or any other club or organisation. It’s about you. If you are a young and new instructor that has opened a club or you are thinking of opening a club but you aren’t getting the support, encouragement or communications to help you along the way, feel free to drop me an email or a phone call. At Red Star we are always happy to help out and we are always willing to accept new members to the team.
A Red Star day out. We even have a nice tracksuit!
Here is what available to you as a new instructor:
- Membership of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (www.itf-admin.com)
ITF certification for all of your black belts
Access to the ITF Ireland team selections
Help with your colour belt gradings
ITF membership booklet and grading/license booklet
Access to ITF sanctioned events
This is Lauren Bradshaw winning the ITF European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2012. She beat Greece, Bulgaria and Russia in the final.
Here’s what else we have (unlike any other Taekwon-Do club!)
- Membership of Kickboxing Ireland (National Governing Body for Kickboxing)
Insurance cover as part of Red Star Kickboxing’s policy with KBI
Access to the Kickboxing Ireland national championships and team selections
Access to the WAKO international events (World and European championships)
Access to the IMAC coaching development programme (train how to be a proper coach!)
Garda Vetting (required by law)
Child protection training and the code of ethics training for children in sport
And there is no joining fee or membership fee! (outside of KBI and ITF membership)
And there’s more!
- Access to modern coaching methodologies and training principles
Annual first aid training
Help, support, guidance and a ton of new friends.
This is me on the morning I was appointed Kickboxing Ireland assistant national coach. Pictured here with the director of coaching Mick McDermott and the national coach Ian Kingston. (Poland)
I’m sure there’s probably more to squeeze into that, in fact here are a list of countries we have travelled to since our opening in 2004:
Atlantic City USA
Germany x 3
Holland
Italy (ITF Euros)
Croatia (ITF Euros)
Korea (ITF Worlds and World TKD Festival)
Bulgaria
Estonia
Poland
Scotland
England
So we’ve been around the block! Every year our international competitors get to travel to world and European level tournaments (WAKO and ITF). We also do our very best to offset the cost with our wonderful fundraising committee. We’ve also recently had international coaches and competitors visit is to conduct training seminars. To mention a few Tomaz Barada, Dylan Fitzgibbon and Monika Markowska.
So there you have it. If it sounds like a nice idea to become a member of one of the very best Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing clubs in Ireland, don’t be afraid to drop me a line.
All the best,
Jon Mackey
coach@redstar.ie
0864661661
