ORLANDO CAMP - 2010

[Dave McNeill]

For the the last 14 years Master David Turnbull has hosted a Tae Kwon Do camp just outside of Orlando, Florida. This was the second year I had been invited. The event was at the aptly named Camp Challenge.

The first challenge were the tests themselves: Forms to perfection. High energy sparring. Clean self-defense techniques. Breaking boards, tiles and cement blocks in the freezing weather.

The next challenge was the weather - an all time low record was set for the weekend of the event. But that did not deter the 35 color belts testing and 41 testing Black Belts (18 for 1st dan,12 for 2nd dan, 7 for 3rd dan, 1 for 4th dan and 3 for 5th dan).

The last challenge was that most of the events were held in an open pavilion or out on the large grass areas. But again no complaints from the testers, the exam board (from Florida, Atlanta, Nashville and Nevada), or the 50 or so parents and guests.

The spirits remained high all through the long days (ending at 10:00 to 11:00 at night). Proof of this is this picture of a sign created by a 10 year old student.

I feel very, very privileged to have been a small part of such an inspiring event.