Four Captains - One Team (Part 2): Interviews with Jennifer Pena

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Issue 81
www.totallytkd.com
November 2015
Totally TKD News
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Page 4
Totally TKD Writer Wins International Youth Coaching Award
Chosun Taekwondo Academy Hosts 38th Black Belt Promotion Test
Head Girl Jones Is Top Of The World Grand Prix Class in Manchester
Warrior Spirit - Lutalo Stuns World Champion On The Way To World Grand Prix Silver
Hickey Hails Award-Winning ISB For Baku 2015 Coverage
British Championship Result For Manchester Pupil
Ginger Ninja Trickster Seminar
4th South Asian ITF Championships
ITF England Euro 2015 - Results
Four Captains - One
Team (Part 2):
Grandmaster Ro Byung-Jik: The Passing of a legend!
PUMA Day, 2015
The Story Of Tae Kwon Do
How To Handle Getting Hit:
The Necessity of Contact in Training
Four Captains - One Team (Part 2):
Interviews with Jennifer Pena & Izzy Brider
The Motion of a Middle Block - Part 2
Simply for the Art
Totally Tae Kwon Do Wants You!
Chinese Saber: Make it Part of your TKD Weaponry
Historic Taekwon-Do Pioneers Seminar
Exploring Korea:
Hangeul Nal & the Legacy of King Sejong
Ask The Grandmaster?
How & Why Do We Write Tae Kwon Do?
Self Defense Apps of Taegeuk Il (1) Jang - Pt. 2
Viewing Your Favourite TKD Magazine Correctly
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Page 45
Interviews withPage 49
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Jennifer Pena & Izzy Brider
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Page 73
Page 79
Totally Tae Kwon Do Magazine
- Nov 2015
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www.totallytkd.com
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Contributors: Liam Cullen (cover), John Dowding, Dr. George Vitale,
Supreme Master Kim Bok Man, Jeff Rosser, Ørjan Nilsen, Master Ray Gayle, Grandmaster Rhee, Ki Ha,
Professor Chris Bashaw, Joe Kaffko, Mike Swope, Grandmaster Low Koon Lim, Master Doug Cook, Richard
Conceicao,
Kelvin
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Tae Kwon
Do Liew, Media Insight, Trevor Baxtor, Liliana Cottrell, Jennifer Pena,
Izzy Brider, Master Jurek Jedut, ITF England, Grandmaster Swope, GB Taekwondo, Jon Tizick,
Master Gary Stevens, Master Zibby Kruk, Krishna Balal, Master T. O’Connell, Shane Fitzgibbon,
Stefan Jarmolowicz, Jack Zorab and Stuart Anslow.
PA
ITF England at the Worlds
Four Captains - One Team!
By Liliana Cottrell, ITF England PR Officer
In the first part of this article,
published in last month’s issue, the
focus was on the Male Captains of
the ITF England Taekwon-Do National
Team. This month the spotlight is on
our Girl Power. Jennifer Pena and
Izzy Brider are respectively the
Senior and Junior Female Team
Captains for England Taekwon-Do.
Both are fantastic role models to the
rest of the girls in the team and it is
far from coincidence that both
performed exceptionally well and had
great success at the ITF Wold
Championships in Jesolo earlier this
year. Jennifer became the Vice World
Champion in under 50kg female
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RT
2
sparring and Izzy claimed the World Champion title in 2nd Degree
Junior Female Patterns.
England at the ITF World
Championships:
Through the Eyes of
Jennifer Pena
(Senior Female Team Captain)
Jennifer Pena is the ITF England Senior
Ladies Team Captain. She trains with
Master Nardizzi at TKD Impact.
It is always such a pleasure to watch Jen
fight. At the 2015 ITF World
Championships she put in a great
performance and won silver and without
doubt she has the potential to hold the title
of World Champion some day soon. She
has a tireless work ethic, talent, and lovely
personality to complete the package and is
an inspiration.
“Jennifer is the perfect student to work
with. She never tires of training no matter
how many times we go over the same drill.
She always listens attentively and does her
very best to follow the coaching tips.” –
Master Donato Nardizzi, ITF England
President
Jen shared her take of this year’s World
Championships and you can see what she
had to say below.
Favourite moment from
Championship?
Being on the podium again.
the
World
What do you think of England’s
performance?
I think England’s performance was
outstanding. We have had the strongest
team ever this year across all boards and it
showed in the results. I am so proud to be
a part of it and to witness our
achievements. Obviously we still need
some work as I think the most of the silvers
and bronzes could have been gold. Also,
some didn’t perform the way they should
have but if they had I would imagine they
would have gone into the later rounds. The
females did extremely well with 5 individual
finals, which I believe have surpassed
expectations. England is up and coming
we have some really talented juniors, some
did not medal at the championship but I am
certain in years to come they will be on that
podium.
Highs?
 Adam Bonwick in England’s first final
 Izzy
and Zak becoming World
Champion
 Getting into the final
 Beating Argentina in team sparring
Lows?
 Losing in the last few seconds of my
final.
 Losing to Germany in Semi’s after a
draw in team sparring
What was the focus of your preparation
in the months leading up to Jesolo?
I worked on various things such as
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Jen Pena with the Ladies and Neil Ernest
strength, speed, conditioning,
fitness, dealing with certain
sparring situations but my mental
training was a big part and main
focus of my preparation for the
Worlds. Just having that ability to
overcome every negative situation
that I could have faced at the
Worlds.
What did it mean to you being a
part of it?
To represent your country in
something you love doesn’t come
by very often. So it’s a big deal.
Not everyone can say I’ve
represented England at the World
Championships. It’s an
opportunity to compete with the
best and be the best in the world
and it’s a great honour to be a
part of it.
Record of top achievements to
date?
Winning gold at my first
international competition as
a red belt at the ITF World
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Cup 2008 in -52kg sparring
Bronze in team sparring ITF World
Championships Argentina 2009
Vice European Champion 2014 in
-50kg sparring
Bronze in 1st Degree patterns ITF
World Cup 2014
Vice World Champion 2015 in 50kg sparring
Bronze in team sparring ITF World
Championships Italy 2015
How long have you been training?
I have been doing Taekwon-Do for
about 12 years but I started training
seriously as a competitor for 7 years.
Who / what motivates and inspires
you?
Just knowing that I haven’t reached my
full potential yet because I know I can
be better. I don’t think I‘ve ever left a
competition fully satisfied with my
performance I always look to see what I
need to improve on and work on it. I
also believe I have not showcased all
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Women's Pattern Team - Photo Courtesy of Master Jurek Jedut
my skills which makes me more
motivated to show them off.
However, in general, Taekwon-Do
motivates me because it is very
much an ongoing process where
you are constantly learning,
achieving and growing mentally
and physically not only as a
martial artist but also as a person.
Who is your TKD competition
idol? Coach, competitor,
legend?
I don’t really have a Taekwon-Do
idol. But I have enjoyed watching
Katya Solovey in the past, her skill
set is incomparable. The only
person I really admired was my
training partner who I trained with
7 years ago he became Junior
World Champion in 2007. He
doesn’t train anymore but he was
a very sharp and a very smart
fighter. He was amazing to watch
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his movement and timing was
impeccable.
Who would you say are the
people who have influenced your
development in Taekwon-Do
There are several people who have
influenced my development
obviously my instructor Master
Nardizzi but another person that
deserves a mention is Elena
Shutova (Bulldog TKD), a
competitor herself 6 years ago, has
supported me through the ups and
downs of my competitive career.
Both have contributed to my
success and have definitely played
a major part in developing my
sparring and patterns to another
level.
Jennifer Penna & Laura Fox Longdon - silver smiles
What next? Will you change anything in the way you prepare?
The Euros is the next big competition but I am planning to do a boxing fight sometime
after the Euros. No, I will not change the way I prepare, if anything, I will add to it.
In closing on Jennifer: “Jen came into the team quite late in her TKD career, but her focus
and determination is unmatched in both training and competition. She is not the tallest in
her division, but can she pack a punch! Jen is all about speed and power and a joy to
coach as she works very well with all the coaches. She is just coming into her prime now
and there’s definitely more to come from Jen. A great inspiration to all the women on the
team.” – Mr Philip Lear, ITF England Team Manager
England at the ITF World Championships:
Through the Eyes of
Izzy Brider
(Junior Female Team Captain)
Izzy Brider is the captain of the ITF England Junior
Ladies Team. She works hard and takes her training
exceptionally seriously. The number of additional
training events she attends is impressive and I don’t
quite know how she finds the time and energy to fit it
all in, on top of her regular classes; helping with
teaching; her studies and just being a normal lovely
young lady at the same time.
Her dedication is worthy of notice and it was rewarded
during the 2015 World Championships, when she
became an ITF Junior Female Patterns World
Champion.
Izzy Brider - patterns gold
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Izzy Brider on her way to Gold
Her instructor Mr James Miley of Trident TKD Academy, wrote about her: “Izzy has
trained at the Trident TKD Academy a few months after taking up Taekwon-do at primary
school, aged 5. She has always been interested in patterns and was, until she was 14, a
rather reluctant sparrer. She is extremely committed to Taekwon-do and has always been
enthusiastic and eager to learn and improve herself. The success in the World
Championships is a testament to her commitment notwithstanding her disappointments in
other Championships. She is a great example to other students in the Academy”.
Achievements
2015 ITF World Championships
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World Champion: Junior Female
2nd degree patterns
Bronze:
patterns
Junior
Female
team
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2013 ITF World Championships
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Bronze: Junior Female sparring
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2014 European Championships
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European Champion:
Female team power
Junior
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2013 European Championships
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Bronze:
Junior
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Female
team
Izzy's Celebration run to Coach Paul Adams for a hug after winning gold
patterns
power)
Euro
champ
2014
(team
Despite her achievements, Izzy remains
grounded, modest and humble. In the words
of her Dad, Mr Jeff Bryder, “Izzy tends to be
a little reticent to blow her own trumpet…
She feels honoured to be the Junior Female
team captain…
Izzy enjoys teaching and
coaching younger members of the
academy…”
After the World Championship Izzy shared
what winning gold meant to her among
other things.
Favourite moment from the World
Championships?
My favourite moment of the World
Championships was definitely becoming
world champion and standing on the
podium.
What did you think of England's
performance?
England's performance was amazing, it
Izzy with fellow World Champion, Zak Espi
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Junior Female Team Pattern Bronze - The Girls with Coach Paul Adams
was definitely the best we have done
since I joined the team in 2011.
Highs?
 I could name so many highs of
the trip but some of the best was
experiencing the atmosphere of
the WC and seeing my team
mates and friends doing so well.
Lows?
 The lows for me were losing out
narrowly in sparring which was
very disappointing for me.
 Losing 3-2 to Ireland in the semifinals of Team Patterns was a
blow for me and the girls.
 Not placing in Team Power was
another low due to our success at
the European Championships in
2014.
What was the focus of your
preparation in the months leading
up to Jesolo?
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Izzy Sparring
Izzy Brider with Team mate Kristine'Orton Evio on the podium
My focus when preparing was imagining
myself on the podium and seeing myself in
the final on centre stage.
What did it mean to you being part of
it?
It meant so much to me that I was a part of
this very successful campaign and such a
great group of people.
Biggest challenge you had to overcome
in training? Injuries?
I think one of my biggest challenges in the
lead up to the WC was recovering from a
knee injury and regaining confidence. Time
management was also a big challenge in
the lead up as I had AS exams to prepare
as well as the WC.
What next? Will you change anything in
the way you prepare?
It's now time to start preparing for the
European Championships in Scotland in
October. I will watch my performances
from the WC and see what needs
changing / improving.
Who would you say are the people who
have influenced your development in
Taekwon-Do
Mr Miley has been a big influence in my
development along with a lot of great
people I've trained with at seminars such
as Tomaz Barada, Master Willy van de
Mortal, Master Jedut, Stephen Tapilatu,
Jaroslaw Suskaand many more. Master
Tom Denis has also been a great help in
my development in all aspects and has
been very encouraging throughout the
years.
“Izzy is a true success story of ITF
England. Her improvement in both pattern
and sparring over the last 4 years has
been amazing. She has now medalled in
two consecutive World Championships as
an individual in each event and proves that
hard work really does pay off. She has
been through some disappointments in
competition as well as some injuries, but
she has always come back stronger.
Another determined individual who is a
great inspiration to her team mates.” – Mr
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Izzy and Jeff Brider with Master Jedut
Philip Lear, ITF England National Team Manager
So the European Championships is the next big event for Izzy and no doubt an exciting
competitive career is ahead for her.
Izzy Brider and Jennifer Pena
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Girl Power!
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“A nod, a bow, and a tip of the lid
to the person who coulda ...
and shoulda ...
and did.”
~Robert Brault
Grandmaster Ro Byung-Jik
Founder of the 1st Kwan
Rest In Peace!
July 3, 1919 - September 9, 2015
Issue 82: 1st December 2015
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