Dynamic show at Valletta Waterfront

Diners and passers-by at the Valletta Waterfront were recently treated to a dynamic show from the Taekwondo Dragon Club. Taekwondo is one of the most popular martial arts coming out of Korea.

The area in front of V5 bar was transformed into a sparring ring instead of the usual setting with tables and chairs. It definitely made an impression on those present.

One of the major attractions of the night was wood-breaking, with members of the club skilfully snapping one centimetre thick planks.

They did this using their arms or legs, effectively living up to the name of this particular form of martial arts; after all Taekwondo means "the foot fist way".

A combination of koryo poomsae (a set of actions and movements exercised against an imaginary opponent) and contemporary music created the appropriate atmosphere as "Sabomnim" Stephen Formosa and Josef Spiteri performed the techniques proper to this sequence in unison with the music.

The other members of the team merged various taekwondo moves with music.

In order to give the lively audience a change of pace, a brief demonstration combining self-defence with slapstick was presented.

This provided an ideal ending to the activity and gave the audience a look at what Taekwondo is all about: learning and discipline, and, at the same time, loads of fun.