On Saturday last, the 23rd of February, the second edition of the Robbie O'Shea memorial cup was staged in the beautiful Celtic Ross hotel in Rosscarbery. This event was first run last year by the J H Kim Institute in Carrigtwohill and is run with friendship and fair competition firmly in mind. Having made the long trip down to Rosscarbery, the members of the Carrigtwohill club accepted the expected warm welcome which was offered by our hosts, Dan O'Mahony's Warrior Martial Arts. The night got off to an entertaining start with a very well thought out and enacted practical self defence routine being performed by members of Warrior. This was followed up by a demonstration from Warrior's younger members who put on a very impressive push-up show.


The fighters were then matched up as was best possible and it was time for the main event. As has become the custom, teams were a mix and match of both Warrior and J H Kim students, yet another show of friendship between the two cork outfits. The opening bouts were well contested affairs with Dylan McSweeney and Andrew Quinlan defeating their respective opponents. A very unique aspect of the night was the inclusion of music during the bouts which added a fun and exciting aspect to the already explosive action. the next fight was a titanic affair with one of the newest black belts in the club, Scott Mills making his ring debut. Scott gave a commendable performance and his fight ended in a draw. A very special mention must go to Tracy Morley, a recent newcomer to Taekwondo having made the switch from Kaizendo fitness. Sparring a black belt is never going to be an easy task but Tracy gave as good as she got and can be incredibly proud of her first venture into the ring. Andrew Green was our next competitor onto the floor and can count himself very unlucky not to come away with the result having put on an impressive showing in his bout. Another one of our new breed of black belts was next to put his talents on show as Mark Healy took the floor. Mark showed some impressive technique during his entertaining draw. Fiona Barrett announced her most recent 'retirement' in style with a very solid display in the penultimate fight. Then came the turn of the club stalwart that is Noel Maher. Noel was tasked with closing the show and he did it in fantastic style, winning his bout and leading the team home as captain. It would be Noel's turn to take home the Robbie O'Shea cup as Carrigtwohill emerged victorious.


A great night of action was rounded off with a brilliant social in the hotel as both sides mingled and talked over the events of the evening. The members of the J H Kim institute would like to extend their gratitude to Warrior for putting on such a great night and treating us with such great hospitality as is always the case.

The J H Kim Institute, Carrigtwohill was recently delighted to host Mr.Martin Williams from Boston for the second time this year. Mr.Williams is a leading instructor in the flagship JH Kim taekwondo school in the heart of Boston. Having delivered a fast-paced, intense and informative weekendʼs worth of teaching in February, it was to no-oneʼs surprise that the Carrigtwohill based school would take up the opportunity to once again welcome Martin and his family back to Cork.


Martinʼs classes are both dynamic and informative, coupling traditional taekwondo techniques with practical self-defence, grappling manoeuvres designed to simulate real-life scenarios. Martinʼs expertise in this area was apparent from the very start of the weekend with students quickly picking up the basics and executing them with ease in partnerfocused training sessions. Martin took sessions with students ranging in age from as young as five to students who have long since entered their adult years, with a resounding seal of approval coming from all.