FOREST HILL TAEKWON-DO
ABOUT
Forest Hill Taekwon-do is a small family friendly Taekwon-do club located in the centre of Forest Hill, London.
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The Club is owned and run by Melinda Holohan (3rd Dan) with a focus on teaching a traditional martial arts in a safe and fun environment.
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The Club currently offers two main classes to the local community - Family Classes and Tiger Tots Classes.
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Children ages 7 to adults are welcome to train at the Family Class. The Family Class caters to the full spectrum of belt levels from beginner to black belt. The full ITF Taekwon-do syllabus is covered from patterns, sparring, drills and board breaking. Unique to the Club is that we also offer bo staff tutition as part of the syllabus, learning patterns with bo staff techniques incorporated and sparring with bo staff for higher level students.
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Tiger Tots classes are specially designed for the younger children ages 4 to 6. A bespoke syllabus based on the adult White Belt syllabus has been created for the Tiger Tots, allowing for them to learn the fundamentals of Taekwon-do at their own pace.
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​Melinda's own journey as a Taekwon-do practitioner began in Copenhagen, Denmark where she was introduced to WTF Taekwondo by her cousin. Melinda hoped that learning Taekwon-do would ease her parents' fear of their daughter being out at night with friends without the protection of her brother all the time.
Melinda later moved to New York, USA where she trained ITF Taekwon-do under Master George Semier (4th Dan). Master Sermier was instrumental in instilling Melinda's core values of Taekwon-do - the importance of technique and martial arts mentality.
Moving to the UK, Melinda continued her training in ITF Taekwon-do, first with Master Pat Leahy (4th Dan) and later with Master Everton Leroy Small (7th Dan). Under the tutelage of Master Small, Melinda had the opportunity to attend various seminars with Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha. Melinda is now training under Master Anthony Williams (7th Dan) of the English International All-Styles Taekwon-do.
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Melinda has found a renewed love for Taekwon-do in teaching the art to her students.
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Forest Hill Taekwon-do acts as an independent club from the various major ITF associations.
INSTRUCTORS
Melinda Holohan
Owner, Chief Instructor, 3rd Dan
I grew up loving martial arts. I would watch countless of Kung Fu movies with my father and my brother. Jackie Chan was a family favourite and we would watch his movies, such as New Fist of Fury and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, back to back. Karate Kid was also a classic movie that heavily influenced my interest in martial arts. Who didn't want to learn the crane kick and beat the bully? My martial arts journey has followed me around the world and I have explored various other martial arts and self-defense techniques such as Jujitsu, Krav Maga and Filipino Martial Arts in particular eskrima sticks, which I am particularly fond of. I have the highest respect for them all, as I don't believe that any art is better than the other. They all serve their purpose. I do, however, believe that we can and should learn from the other. Taekwon-do is my chosen area of expertise, as it offers me a balanced way - challenging myself both physically and mentally - to enjoy a martial art and express myself.
Anthony Williams
Head Examiner, 7th Dan
Master Williams is the founder of English International All-Styles Taekwon-do association. Master Williams has been teaching Taekwon-do for over 35 years where he has led successful competition teams. Master Williams has also judged competitions on a national and international level. Master Wiliams is the Chief Examiner for Forest Hill Taekwon-do.
Peter Chinque
Assistant Instructor, 3rd Dan
Peter is a 3rd Dan ITF taekwon-do instructor who has trained with Master Williams for many years. Peter firmly believes that hard work, dedication and internal reflection of ones abilities and challenging ourselves will bring us closer to our goals. Peter is committed to developing the Spiritual, Moral and Social aspects of students in both Taekwon-do and in helping them in their own journey.
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"Enjoyment, desire and imagination will take youover the thresholdof pain." - Peter Chinque
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Peter is a great asset to Forest Hill Taekwon-do, where he trains as well as acts as Assistant Intructor.