SIMPSON BAY--Taekwondo School “King Yen” held a graduation ceremony on Monday evening at La Vista Hotel, Pelican, for six students who attained their 2nd Dan Black Belt.
Lee Ann Liu, Destiny Washington, Alexander Adoptie, Jason Juliet, Angela Heyliger, and Paul Djasmin were the successful students who passed in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Federation headquarters) for promotion tests.
It was the sixth time in the young World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Olympic history of St. Maarten that students from the island have achieved such a high rank, tested and promoted by the St. Maarten recommender of the Kukkiwon.
Monday’s event was a double celebration of sorts after the Taekwondo School was recently awarded Best Overall Team at the 2018 Brown Pelican Sports Awards.
Grandmaster Liu noted the latest Black Belt recipients all have years of experience, some starting from a very young age.
“We have come so far that we can do our own testing on the island,” he told an audience of mostly parents and guests. “It’s quite a responsibility and I intend to pass my knowledge onto the other islands for testing. St. Maarten, besides Curacao and Aruba, are the only islands that have recommenders for the Kukkiwon.
“All these students are trained on this island without any help from abroad tested and promoted by SXM recommender authorized by Kukkiwon in Seoul. Therefore, my sincere congratulations to you, black belt students and to my person for being able to achieve such a distinguished honour. I hope that this milestone encourages you to shoot for the moon and if by chance you miss, you will still be among the stars.”
Invited speakers who took it in turns to offer congratulatory remarks included Paediatrician Dr. Pieter Offringa, Surgeon Dr. Luc Mercelina, Clive Holiday, and Head of the Government’s Sports Department Janelle Richardson.
The philosophy of Taekwondo is to build a more peaceful world. The art strives to develop the character, personality, and positive moral and ethical traits in each of the students. Tae Kwon Do strives to develop the positive aspects of one’s personality: Respect, Courtesy, Goodness, trustworthiness, Loyalty, Humility, Courage, Patience, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, an indomitable spirit and a sense of responsibility to help and respect all forms of life.
This takes a great deal of hard training and many do not reach far enough to achieve perfection in all of these aspects. Taekwondo reaches towards the total development of you and the founding of a peaceful world. The physical aspects of Taekwondo are merely a by-product. It is the mental and spiritual development of a person, which Taekwondo nurtures and helps give birth to.
The philosophy of Tae Kwon Do can be attained through the cultivation and maturity of all three aspects: Physical, Mental and Spiritual, in each of you. Once these three aspects have been instilled in a person, then the total maturation of the person will start a chain-reaction, which will, with God's help, lead us to a more peaceful world.
“Taekwondo is doing its part to build a more peaceful world, I Sabumnim Liu, as an instructor, is doing his best to attain this goal, and you, as practitioners of the art of Tae Kwon Do, have begun to set the world on the path of peaceful unification,” Grandmaster Liu added.
“My task is not an easy one. I may not see my goal fulfilled in my lifetime, but I am now planting the seeds which will one day take root and blossom into Tae Kwon Do's philosophy, total positive development of each individual and a peaceful world.”
The evening was emceed by Chelsea Henry.
