Girl
power kicked off on Saturday 27th Feb with an all female self defence
class in St. Laurence’s Community Centre, Stillorgan.
Female students from the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association’s
26 Taekwon-Do schools nationwide travelled to Stillorgan for the class.
The instructor, Valerie Keane, a 3rd degree black belt in the Korean martial art Taekwon-Do, is the highest ranking female in Ireland. Valerie is the National Secretary of the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association in addition to running two successful Taekwon-Do schools in Tallaght and Naas. Her son Floyd is the instructor at Stillorgan Taekwon-Do School.
The assistant instructor, Fiona Lyng, invited Valerie to instruct this special class to promote the benefits of Taekwon-Do for females. According to Fiona, Stillorgan is the ideal location for the class with its 40% female membership Taekwon-Do is suitable for females of all ages as the techniques become powerful through speed and skill rather than strength or size.(February 1999)