Senegalese Master in International Summer Exhibition

The long-awaited Grand Master and Senegalese Taekwondo National Team Coach Master Dam Seck will arrive in Banjul on Saturday morning with his team from Dakar (Team Dam) as part of an international summer exhibition.

Master Dam, among other things, will be holding a two-day programme with Gambia Martial Arts Academy and other Taekwondo practitioners around the Greater Banjul Area.

The exhibition is slated for 15th August, 2009, at the Buffer Zone and the Technical Training Course, will be held on Sunday 16th August 2009, at the Palma Rima Beach. This, he believes, is the best place to test fitness and teach Dynamic Kicks for students.

Master Dam, in his short visit, will visit the Gambia Taekwondo Association with his team, together with his student Master Basiru Choi, the Taekwondo Instructor of the Gambia Martial Arts Academy, to discuss and map out strategies in the promotion and development of Taekwondo in the Gambia; and to help prepare the Gambia in future international Taekwondo competitions.
The aims and objectives of the summer exhibitions and training programme are to engage the youths in active summer programmes, help them master the latest changes of Kukkiwon- Taekwondo training programmes, teach them standard fighting and referee techniques, share their experiences and talents with other co-practitioners from Senegal. This will as well give them the opportunity to meet and share with Grand Masters, National Team members, coaches, and Martial Arts experts from Senegal.

Master Dam has intended to introduce new Martial Arts, called Hapkido which is originated from Korea and a Military Self-Defence discipline.

Master Dam, a former Karate Champion from the YUKOKAI KARATE CLUB started his professional Taekwondo career in 1986, under the First Taekwondo Black belt holder in Senegal (Master Ahmed Dem). He was the first person who brought the national television to the Taekwondo clubs and also the first to organise the first Martial Arts open competition in Senegal, which took place in USTD downtown Dakar, featuring Taekwondo, Kungfu and Karate. He was the first person to introduce Taekwondo into the Senegalese Army, through the influence of his father who was a military officer.

Due to his determination and hard work, Master Dam earned his First Black Belt Degree in 1989, and can now boast of holding a 5 WTF Dan in Taekwondo and 5 Dan in Taekwondo Mudo and 3 Dan in Hapkido.

Master Dam is the President and founder of the Senegalese Hapkido Federation, the winners of the World Non-Korean Taekwondo Essay Competition in 2007 in Korea.

Master Dam is married to Sainabou Demba who was a gold medalist in the 2001 African Championships, and was awarded the title of "Linguère" in 2004, which means "Queen," for her achievements as a female athlete.