A total of 21 members of the Hong Kong Original Taekwon-do Council were lead by Master David Lau to attend the Penang Master Class and the Open Championship 2014 which were hosted by the Elite TaeKwon-Do Academy of Malaysia. Our members arrived at the Penang International Airport on 21 March Friday and were welcomed by members of the Elite TaeKwon-Do Academy.

The Master Class was held on the following date on 22 March 2014, being the 48th anniversary date of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. There were students coming from different countries attending the class, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Before class several degree certificates were also being presented to the instructors.

We have the honour to invite Master Lau from Hong Kong, Mr. Matthew Brunger and Mr. Ryan Hamdy from the United Kingdom to conduct the class. Mr. Brunger explained various ITF techniques and skills both in terms of patterns and sparring, and he also explained in details the theory of delivering the maximum power by using our body weight and muscle effectively.

During the class break all participants sang birthday song together, celebrating the 48th anniversary of the ITF. Elite TaeKwon-Do Academy bought a birthday cake and delivered several souvenirs to the guests. Group photos were taken before resuming the class.

After lunch several Master Class Certificates were being presented to the colour belt participants. Thereafter Mr. Brunger continued to deliver an intensive training to the black belt participants. The afternoon class focused on black belt patterns together with some sparring techniques. Notwithstanding the high temperature of 36∘to 37∘we all enjoyed the meaningful and delightful training.

The day ended with a welcome dinner with Master Lau and other guests. During the meal Master Lau sang a birthday song and gave a great surprise to Madam Sharon for her birthday. It was such a warm and happy evening.

The Open Championship was held on 23 March Sunday with around 250 participants, spectators, family and friends coming from different countries witnessed this spectacular event. Matches for individual patterns were held in the morning and four rings both inside and outside the hall were being heated up immediately with excellent skills and techniques being displayed by the participants.

Matches for team pattern and sparring were held after lunch with participants all demonstrating their high level of sportsmanship. They all strived their hardest in the matches and embraced immediately thereafter. Despite contesting for the champion, participants also strengthened their friendship with each other during the matches.

The Penang Master Class and Open Championship 2014 were meaningful days to all of us. Besides members in Canada, we were all celebrating the 48th anniversary of the ITF with members from different countries, which is a world-wide and cross-boundaries event.

Happy Birthday to ITF!