Today is the start of the first Junior World Champs 2007 team camp at Taupo since the selections were made in December.
The day started with breakfast at 7.30am and assembly in the gym at 8.00am.
Sparring was first on the agenda and this was no walk in the park. Each team member faced up to someone their senior; mostly coaches, management and other non-team members helping out.
I missed the early sessions due to having breakfast with my brother from the king country who was in town overnight. However, when I turned up mid-morning I watched some of the girls pitched against Mr Ballard (5th Dan) and Mr Pellow (6th Dan). The team were impressive! They weren't intimidated and showed great courage. They boys weren’t let off the hook either… everyone was challenged to 2 x 2 minute rounds.
Afterwards they all discussed the exercise and worked out what they needed to work on to improve further.
After lunch at about 1.30pm it was back to the gym for some game fitness exercises then a two hour specialty session.
Then it was down to the river for a swim and relax before dinner... it's been a fine and hot day here so everyone was on for a swim (although only about half the team went in when we got there - including yours truly).
The evening was spent with a mixture of chilling out watching another (you guessed it) Taekwon-do DVD, individual interviews with the coaches and team leaders (still about 10 to go Sunday morning), and a handful returned to the gym for yet more "tuning" of the bodies and techniques.
Overall there's a feeling that the team has gelled together really well. They're working hard, showing courage and conviction, supporting each other, and getting along well.
Here are some pictures of the day's action for you.
