An Interview with Irelands Taekwondo Legend Master John Darcy....
Martial Edge: How many members does AIMAA currently have?
Master John Darcy: It has 2,000 members in Ireland, from beginners to black belts.
Martial Edge: How did AIMAA come about?
Master John Darcy: In the early 80’s it had a different name, which was set up by our Grandmaster Hee Il Cho. But then a number of people wanted Hee Il Cho to leave. A vote was cast and I was one of the only people to stick with him. He told me afterwards that he knew he could rely on my support. Afterwards I started setting up branches of AIMAA all over the country. Now it is one of the biggest Tae Kwon Do associations in Ireland. Grandmaster Cho is the head of AIMAA World-Wide. He is one of a kind.
Martial Edge: He still teaches, doesn’t he?
Master John Darcy: Seven days a week. Now he is nearly 65.
Martial Edge: Most people would be making plans for retirement!
Master John Darcy: Not Grandmaster Hee Il Cho. He told me he prefers hitting punch bags to golf balls. Even other Koreans cannot understand why he trains so hard. I have total loyalty towards him, like Po-Un to his King.
Master Darcy refers here to the Tae Kwon Do pattern of Po-Un, which celebrates the poet Chong Mong Chu whose poem I would not serve a second master though I might be crucified a 100 times represents his absolute and unconditional loyalty to his Lord, the ruler of Korea.
Throughout the interview Master Darcy emphasized the close relationship Tae Kwon Do has with his life. As he admits, he has dedicated his life to it but is emphatic that it should not only be about kicking and punching. It should also have an intellectual and spiritual component. Without these aspects Tae Kwon Do becomes reduced to kickboxing.
Martial Edge: How does AIMAA differ from other forms of Tae Kwon Do?
Master John Darcy: AIMAA respects the old traditions and patterns of the Martial Arts, but also incorporates techniques that would be useful in a street fight situation- grappling, tackling people by the legs to bring them down, elbow attacks? These improve sparring and people’s ability to defend themselves. Ireland is a more violent place than ever before, I’ve had many policemen and security guards come to my classes to learn how to better defend themselves.
Martial Edge: Next week the AIMAA nationals that you have had a large hand in organizing are going ahead. How are preparations going?
Master John Darcy: It’s going ok, we have 400 hundred entrants in our Open competition. We like to keep it open so that we can learn from other martial arts. It stops us from becoming too narrow in focus.
Interviews 
An Interview with Irelands Taekwondo Legend Master John Darcy.... 
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