Ashiru:Kick Maters Programme Will Produce Olympic Games Champions.

President of the Nigeria Black Belt College , George Ashiru, has said that the just concluded Training With the Kick Maters would serve as a platform to discover and to train Taekwondo athletes to win national and international laurels.

The one - day programme which came to an end over the weekend at the Sir Molade Okaoya Thomas Indoor Sportshall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium was organised by the Nigeria Black Belt College with the support of the Lagos State Taekwondo Association as the event  attracted over hundred participants.

Ashiru, who doubles as the Chairman of the Ogun State Taekwondo Association, said he was encouraged to stage the course on a regular basis because the new generation of young Taekwondo athletes are not vast in kicking which make the sport different from other martial arts.

The martial artist who was the team manager of Taekwondo team that won two Bronze medals at the Olympic Games, said the athletes were able to achieve such feat at the Olympic Games through the programme as they were exposed to the methodology of creating champions, adding that the coure which focus on the Taekwondo philosophy, basic techniques sixty four kicking variations among others would pave way for Nigeria Taekwondo to qualify for the  Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Ashiru, who has been organising similar courses for over thirty years across the country,urged the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation,NTF, to keep a strong relationship with the National Sports Commission and States Governments with the new of promoting its developmental programmes and to win laurels at any organised competitions. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Taekwondo Association,LSTA, has described the just concluded Kick Maters seminar as a developmental programme geared towards preparing the athletes ahead of the national and Chika Chukwumerije International Taekwondo Championship. The one- day clinic organised by the Nigeria black Belt College in conjunction with the Lagos State Taekwondo Association came to end over the weekend at the Sir Molade Indoor Sportshall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. Its Chairman, Jimmy Ogunmowo, said the clinic was part of activities lined up to discover athletes who would be invited to camp ahead of the 2013 EKO Taekwondo Championship in May, stressing that it would help to sensitize the athletes to prepare adequately for the event. The LSTA Chairman, explained that the maiden edition of the EKO Taekwondo Championship propelled the state's Taekwondo athletes to clinch the second position at the Taekwondo event at the last edition of National Sports Festival tagged EKO 2012 Games, stressing that the association would sustain the Kick Masters seminar in a bid to produce athletes of international status. He said the association would soon organise a referee seminar to help the state's Taekwondo athletes to acquire modern training techniques since the sport rules and regulations are being updated quarterly.