Instructor
The club's chief instructor is the Rev. Nicola Frail, 4th degree black belt, minister of St. John's Parish Church in Kirkcaldy. Ms. Frail began learning songahm taekwondo from Mr. Alex Miller, 5th degree black belt in Marin County, northern California while she was studying for a Master of divinity degree. Upon completion of her studies, Ms. Frail was ordained to serve a parish in rural Nebraska. Ms. Frail, then a second degree black belt, continued her training with Senior Master Hemann in Omaha and established a club in Craig, Nebraska. Ms. Frail returned to Scotland as a 3rd degree black belt, having completed her training to become a certified instructor. Ms. Frail founded St. John's Taekwondo Club in April 2004.
Our Club
The orginal intention behind the club was to reach out to children and young people in the parish, in particular to those who might otherwise not be able to participate in a martial art or organised sport. The club has evolved since its inception, and now attracts students from across the town. We continue to try to keep costs to a minimum so that these do not become a barrier to someone joining the club.
As the club has grown and students have advanced, we have added intermediate and advanced classes to our schedule. We cater for 5 to 6 year olds through our Tiny Tiger class and have just added a new class for beginner children.
In March 2007, we held our first ever black belt testing with guest judges Mr. Alex Miller, 5th degree from northern California, Senior Master and Master Kohl from our association headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The future development of the club and of Songahm taekwondo in Scotland is important to us and and we have a group of dedicated black belt students enrolled in our association's accredited junior trainee and trainee instructor programme.
