Team Gurumu - Ultimate Open Championship

I am happy to announce the Gurumu Team that will be competing at the Ultimate Open Championship on the 12th October 2008 at the Metro Dome Complex in Mansfield.

GURUMU FIGHTERS

Peewee Male Advanced:
1. Amrou Greenidge / -21 kg
2. Viroshan Gnanapandithan / -24 kg

Cadet Male Novice:
3. Humoon Afsardeir / -31 kg
4. Thomas Murphy / -35 kg

Cadet Male Advanced:
5. Rajveer Chana / -35 kg
6. Thangaeswaran Nithirajah / -35 kg
7. Hary Sivakumar / -40 kg
8. Kane Atkinson / -45 kg
9. Brandan Agullano / -45 kg

Peewee Female:
10. Neeleeny Nithirajah / -31 kg
11. Vaisaly Gnanapandithan / -35 kg

Junior Female:
12. Michelle Saguan / -52 kg

Junior Male:
13. Denis Neuman / -73 kg

Senior Male:
14. Gurami Ghambashidze / -67 kg
15. Nikolajs Resetovs / -78 kg

HEAD OF TEAM

1. Sivakumar Renganathan

TEAM COACHES

1. Harwinder Singh
2. Pirabu Manickam
3. Manikandan Renganathan
4. Sade Adeniran

TEAM MANAGERS

1. Sajidah Norat
2. Jayanthi Renganathan
3. Rita Pindoria
4. Shama Jahangir

Please wish the fighters all the best and Good Luck to the entire team.

Watch this space for the competition details.

Special Exam Training Sessions

There will be special exam training sessions focusing on the complete exam syllabus. It is highly recommended that you attend these training sessions as there will be a number of senior members of the club who will be assisting you on the day to help you understand and master elements of the exam that you find difficulty with. It is also a great opportunity to seek help in order to correct your mistakes from the mock grading.

East Ham
Monega Primary School – 30th September 2008 (Tuesday)
Monega Primary School – 7th October 2008 (Tuesday)
Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm
Training Fees: £5.00

West Kensington
Fulham Centre – 27th September 2008 (Saturday)
Fulham Centre – 4th October 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 3.00pm to 6.00pm
Training Fees: £5.00

Please note that there will be a fee of £5.00 per training session as these extra sessions are not part of your monthly payment.

Picture Update 2: 2008 British Nationals

Enjoy ! ! !

Picture Update 1: 2008 British Nationals

Enjoy ! ! !

Picture Update: 1st Gurumu Star Training

Enjoy ! ! !

News Update: 1st Gurumu Star Training

This was the first ever Gurumu Star Training and it was certainly well attended. It was a whole days training session where we focus on three specific aspect of Taekwondo (Taekwondo Fitness, Olympic Taekwondo & Fighting Training and Traditional Taekwondo & Exam Training). It was also an opportunity for all our various centre members to train together as this rarely happens.

Although it was a long day, the sessions were well spaced with sufficient rest time between each sessions. For many students it was the first time that they have done a whole day of training and it certainly was not easy. Everyone taking part trained very hard and proformed very well, you should all be very proud of yourselves.

We hope the day was beneficial to you and we look forward to the next one. On the 2nd Gurumu Star Training we will be picking up from where it was left. Below is the date for the 2nd Gurumu Star Training, please note this date on your dairy.

THE 2nd GURUMU STAR TRAINING IS ON 15th NOVEMBER 2008

Gurumu Quarterly Mock Grading

Please find below the full details for the next Gurumu Quarterly Mock Grading.

West Kensington (Fulham Centre) – Sunday 21st September 2008

This mock grading is for the all West Kensington Members and all the Green Belts and above from East Ham classes.

Time: 9.30am to 5.00pm
Address: Fulham Centre, 80 Lillie Road, West Kensington, London W14 8XS
East Ham Meeting Point: East Ham Station at 8.00 am (Sunday Morning)

East Ham (Monega Primary School) – Tuesday 23rd September 2008

This mock grading is for all the East Ham Members who are currently Green Tag and below.

Time: 5.30pm to 9.30pm
Address: Monega Primary School, Monega Road, Manor Park, London E12 6TT

Please pick up the grading form at the next session. The form, your licence and grading fee of £10.00 needs to be submitted on Saturday 20th September at the Gurumu Star Training. If for any reason you can not attend Saturday then please bring the form along to the mock grading.

1st Gurumu Star Training

Gurumu Star Training is open to all Gurumu students and is designed to give you a more focused, intensive and effective training approach, focusing entirely on the essence of Fitness, Sports and Traditional Taekwondo. It is very rare that all our centre members meet and train under one roof; this is an opportunity for all Gurumu members from all our centres to train together in a fun environment empowering each other to bring out your hidden talents. Trust me, on this day there will be plenty of opportunities to learn from each other.

Date: Saturday 20th September 2008
Registration: 9.30am (Licence must be presented at the registration desk)
Venue: Monega Primary School, Monega Road, Manor Park, London E12 6TT
Session Fees: £10.00
Sessions Conducted By: Dr Samy Guru Naidu, 4th Dan and Mr Sivakumar Renganathan, 4th Dan

Below is the training schedule for the entire day:

9.30am to 10.00am – Door opens for registration
10.00am to 11.30pm – Training Session 1: Taekwondo Fitness Workout
11.30pm to 12.00pm – Break
12.00pm to 2.00pm – Training Session 2: Olympic Taekwondo & Fighting Training
2.00pm to 3.00pm – Lunch Break
3.00pm to 5.00pm – Traditional Taekwondo & Exam Training

Please note the following:

1. Full Taekwondo uniform and belt are required.
2. Full equipments required.
3. Payment for the day training session must be made when registering in the morning.
4. Please ensure to arrive on time so that you do not miss any part of the training session.
5. Please ensure you bring plenty of fluid and pack lunch for yourself.
6. Parents and family are more then welcome as long as there is enough space.
7. Please bring your licence (Do not worries if your licence has been sent off for renewal or you have applied for a new one).

If you are taking the mock grading or if you are competing at the London or Ultimate Open Championship then this training sessions is not to be missed. If you have attended any of our intensive training sessions before then you would know exactly how effective these sessions are.

"THIS WILL BE A GREAT DAY SO PLEASE DO NOT MISS IT."

We will also have a small equipment stall where you can purchase taekwondo equipment. If you require any equipment then please let us know in advance so that we make sure we have your item in stock.

Look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

2008 British National Championship

The British National Taekwondo Championship is the key sporting event for any Taekwondo practitioner. This year the championship was held at the Manchester Sportcity Velodrome on the 6th and 7th September.

Team Gurumu, which consists of 11 strong players aged between seven to 18 spent the summer preparing themselves to show the sport what they are exactly capable of at the ultimate championship of the year.

Gurumu are no strangers to success and added to their countless previous victories by finishing, with only 11 fighters, at the end of the two days with four Gold, four Silver and two Bronze medals. On day two of the National Championship, Gurumu with an outstanding team score of 62 point were crowned the National Taekwondo Champions of 2008.

Team Gurumu performed to a consistently high standard and were able to withstand the difficult contests thrown in their direction with many of their fighters enduring through gruelling preliminary rounds before entering the medal stages. Gurumu in total won 20 fights, which was nearly double the number of wins in comparison to its rivals.

Gurumu’s youngest fighter, seven year old Amrou Greenidge, stunned the crowds with his speed and determination, winning in the final by knocking out his opponent with an impressive turning kick to the head, and scooping a stunning Gold medal. His victory was followed by Michelle Saguan who also completed her match with a knockout performance, adding yet another Gold medal to the team’s total. Siblings Thangaes and Neeleeny Nithirajah followed suit by impressing the crowds with four out of seven knockouts out fights. Thangaes who had 29 competitors in his weight division seamlessly defeated his competitor’s dreams by winning all his fights. Neeleeny followed up with an equally victorious performance with both bagging another two Gold medals for Team Gurumu.

Silver medal were won by siblings Viroshan and Vaisaly Gnanapandithan, Hary Sivakumar and Denis Neuman. Finally the Bronze were taken by Rajveer Chana and Gurami Ghambashidze.

All the Gurumu Silver and Bronze medal fighters fought extremely well. Viroshan and Hary both fought four fights each in their respective weight divisions. With less then 5 fights Viroshan show a lot of courage and professionalism in the ring. He was very unfortunate to loose the final 12 – 10 but yet his performance was outstanding. Rajveer fought three fights and he certainly did not have it easy as his semi-final match was a bit controversial when his three head shots did not score, therefore loosing the game with tiny gap of one point.

Finally Brandon needs to be acknowledged too, he picked up a serious Achilles Injury during the first week of training. This meant that he could not train for the remaining of the sessions. The doctors confirmed that he has Achilles Tendinitis and not to do any physical sport especially fighting until it gets better but Brandon was determined that he competes at the nationals.

On Brandon's first fight his anckle started to play up, this really stopped him from fighting and he ended up loosing the fight. Altough his did not medal we are confident that Brandon will come back stronger for the next championship.

In total eight out 11 Gurumu fighters managed to fight their way into the finals and this by far is Gurumu’s best ever national championship results.

Team Gurumu were thrilled about their performance and had much to articulate about the team’s unified approach, positive attitude and high achievements. Chief Coach Mr Sivakumar Renganathan, 4th Dan was ecstatic as he expressed his delight over his team’s performance. He commented, “We too like Team GB at the Olympics have surpassed our expectations”. He also added by saying “The team have worked extremely hard and the team coaches have put in a lot of time and effort by creating them an elite training programme which has paid off. I am happy and proud of my team and my club and our ultimate goal is to get a club representative at the 2012 London Olympics and that is what we will be working towards”.

The team have already started training for the London Open Championship on the 5th October 2008 in Tooting and the Ultimate Open Championship on the 12th October 2008 at the Metro Dome in Mansfield.

"A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE GURUMU NATIONAL TEAM"

Gurumu Logo And Its Symbolism

The Gurumu logo consists of a triangular design with a jagged arrow head appended within this design, an eagle, three groups of stars and the globe. The entire design is composed of six colours, to signify the various elements of the complete martial artist.
With the triangular design of the Gurumu logo there are symbols to signify the various elements individually:

The Eagle: Signifies the defence of freedom and justice.

The Stars: Gurumu’s aim to produce martial artists of the highest quality.

The Globe: Signifies the Olympic status of Taekwondo and its worldwide recognition.

The overall design with the basic triangular shape signifies quality, accuracy and dedication. Meanwhile the appended jagged arrowhead signifies the veiled strength of the martial artist which if misused causes harm.

The inclusion of the six various colours in the Gurumu logo signifies the qualities of the martial artist.

Red: Signifies Self Defence

Yellow: Signifies Self Confidence

Gold: Signifies Self Discipline

Blue: Signifies Courage

Black: Signifies Athleticism

White: Signifies Meditation and Distinction

Gurumu Taekwondo History

Gurumu Taekwondo was established in November 1993 by Dr. Krishna Rao GuruNaidu, 5th Dan. Dr. Krishna Rao and his four brothers originally from Malaysia are five highly skilled individuals who between them have an impressive array of gold medals from representing their country in many highly recognised and prestigious championships. All five of the brothers are a popular icon in the world of martial arts.

Gurumu Taekwondo started in East Ham, a small town in the east of London. With the dedication and the determination of Dr. Krishna Rao to produce sincere martial artists, the club excelled from strength to strength. The quality of Gurumu teaching and training was clearly reflected in the ring as well as in the attitude and the behaviour of individuals.

In the world of Taekwondo, Gurumu is known for training top contenders. Members of the club have represented Great Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and at numerous International Championships. It took a lot of time and effort along with a tremendous amount of teamwork to be recognised as one of the best clubs in Great Britain.

Since 2002 Gurumu Taekwondo has been under the instructorship of Dr. Krishna Rao’s very own prodigy, Mr. Sivakumar Renganathan, 4th Dan. At the age of 22, Mr. Renganathan evolved the club to be what is today one of the most undefeated UK Taekwondo club.

Today Gurumu Taekwondo is the home for like-minded people who are seriously committed to learning and exploring the martial arts with a positive and a sincere mind and attitude. Gurumu provides a practical approach to learning martial arts and fighting strategies with quality, innovation and with a sense of harmony.

Our mission is to provide high quality training within martial arts instruction for safer environment for people of any age and gender in a fusion of physical strength, spiritual purification and harmony which will mark a good martial artist performance.

OUR GOALS AND AIM'S ARE:

• To develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as an art.
• To achieve physical fitness through positive participation.
• To improve mental discipline and emotional composure.
• To teach self defence skills.
• To develop a sense of responsibility for one self and others.
• To produce high quality Taekwondo fighters.

Brief Taekwondo History

The Korean Martial Art of TAEKWONDO was created by the late General Choi Hong Hi, (1918-2002) Founder of the International Taekwondo Federation. It was created by combining movements of Japanese Karate and the traditional, but crude, Korean martial arts of Soo bak Gi and Tae Kyon. Through extensive research and testing, Taekwondo has evolved into one of the most beautiful and effective martial arts in the world. Today, it has become one of the most popular martial arts in the world because anyone regardless of age, gender, or size can benefit from its training. Taekwondo offers a wide array of physical and mental benefits for both young and old. It is also an activity that parents can participate in with their children and use to strengthen family bonds. Lastly, Taekwondo promotes peace. The philosophy of Taekwondo can be summed up by the following tenets:

Courtesy (Ye Ui)
Integrity (Yom Chi)
Perseverance (In Nae)
Self Control (Kuk Chi)
Indomitable Spirit (Beakjul Boolgool)

The goal of all Taekwondo students is to incorporate these tenets into their daily lives’.

The ideals Taekwondo aims to achieve are evident in its Oath:

I shall observe the tenets of Taekwondo
I shall respect my instructor and seniors
I shall never misuse Taekwondo
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice
I shall build a more peaceful world

ASPECTS OF TAEKWONDO

MEDITATION: This is performed at the beginning and end of each session. The purpose of meditation at the beginning of the class is to allow the student to focus on the upcoming task. The mind must be cleared of all outside thoughts, concerns, and responsibilities. This is essential in preparing for a class which will be both physically and mentally draining. Meditation is also performed at the end of each class in order to allow students to visualize themselves executing the techniques they have just learned. This visualization process is very helpful for the perfection of techniques at all levels of training.

PATTERNS: These are a series of pre-arranged kicks, blocks and strikes executed in succession against a variety of imaginary opponents. The purpose of the patterns is to develop balance, breath control, coordination, power and technique. In these patterns lies the true beauty of Taekwondo - combining power and grace. There are twenty-four patterns in Taekwondo and these patterns range from 19 to 68 movements each. The novice learns one pattern at each belt level.

FREE SPARRING: This aspect of Taekwondo places one or more students against one another with the purpose of improving distance, timing, balance, speed, and strategy. Here the students are allowed to execute a variety of kicking and hand strikes and blocks against one another. The goal is to overcome their opponent with well-executed techniques stopped just short of the body.

SELF-DEFENSE: Taekwondo provides students with an excellent method of self-defence. It enables them to defend themselves against an attacker from a distance as well as up close. By utilising the many kicking techniques available, the Taekwondo practitioner can prevent an attacker from grabbing or striking them. If the attacker is able to grab them, then there are a variety of self-defence techniques, which include pressure points, wrist - locks, joint locks, and takedowns that the student can utilise. Therefore, a well - trained and conditioned student will feel confident and prepared to defend themselves in any situation.

BREAKING: The purpose of breaking is to enable the Taekwondo student to develop focus, power, concentration, and distance while performing the proper execution of a strike. Breaking also allows the student to see the amount of power they are capable of developing through the training. Pine wood, ten inches in diameter and one inch thick is used for power breaking.

The Birth of The Gurumu Blog

Dear Gurumu Members,

We have been going strong since 1993. We have been working very hard to develop our club and the quality of our club. If there is one thing that I can not compromise with, then that has to be the quality of the Taekwondo skills that I aim to achieve and maintain in Gurumu.

Quality and team work has been the aim of Gurumu since 1993 and this has been the focal point of our success in British Taekwondo. As a club and as a team Gurumu has won tons of Championships in Britain. As we have grown in strength we have failed to keep in line with the growing technological developments in the area of multimedia and communications.

Although I am a Computer Science graduate, I must admit it has never been my priority to involve information technology in Taekwondo but now I feel things need to change in the areas of club management, communication and the accessibility of information.

We are currently working hard on improving the ways in which information is being passed over to our club members. As our website is under construction and is due to be launched in the first quarter of 2009 we will be using the Gurumu Blog website to give regular club & taekwondo news updates, description of events and other development informations to our members and their parents.

Just like how we are strong in our Taekwondo, I want our club to also grow in line with the mordern age and the techological developments that we can easily access and use.

So here is the birth of the Gurumu Blog.

The Gurumu Blog will now be the main website from which you can get up to date club informations. It will also act as our club diary.

I hope the aim of the club blog serves its purpose and I really hope you find it interesting and useful.

Enjoy and train smart.

Regards,

Mr. Sivakumar Renganathan, BSc (Hons)
Chief Intructor and Head Coach, 4th Dan