CEES
Dismas Agutu has accomplished alot in a sport few Kenyans even know exist; “Tong- Il- Moo- Do.” He is a member of the Kenya Tong-il moo Do national team and also a member of staff at the College of Education and External Studies-(CEES).
Dismas recently represented the country in Seoul, South Korea in the recently held International Peace Cup Tournanment where he won a gold medal.
We recently interviewed him to get an insight on his great accomplishments in the sport. This is what he had to say...
Please tell us about yourself?
I am Dismas Agutu Akang’o, I am 31 years old, For the last 6 years, I have been working as a support Staff (clerk) in the Department of Educational Studies and in my spare time i represent the country in Tong-IL- Moo- Do tournaments.
I have a 2nd degree black belt in Tong- Il- Moo- Do. I have successsfully gone through all the grading and certification in “Tong- IL- Moo- Do”
What motivated you to play this sport?
I have been practising Tong-IL- Moo- Do for the last 12 years. I grew up in a rough neighbourhood in Nairobi where violent attacks were an every day occurence. I mainly enrolled in the classes to learn self defense but later i developed a deep passion for the sport. I started training at Best Kickers Martial arts, Kasarani.
Tell us about tournaments that you have participated in?
One of my greatest achievements is making it to the Kenya Tong-IL- Moo- Do National team. I am one of the 20 people who represent the country in international tournaments.
I was selected to join the National team in 2015 after succeessfully meeting all the requirements.I have participated in very many local and international tournaments over the years.
This year I had the priveledge of representing Kenya in the international Peace Cup tournaments in seoul, south Korea this past February, 2016. I won a gold medal in the individual sparring category. Various countries participated in the Peace cup tournaments like Brazil, USA, Nepal, Thailand, Korea, Kenya and Ethiopia. During that tournament, Kenya won 8 gold medals.
In 2014, I participated in a tournament in Thailand and won 2 Silver medals and in 2015, I won a bronze medal in the Mombasa open international tournament.
In addition to playing the sport, I served as an official in the Mombasa International open tournament in 2014.
How are you able to balance work and sports?
This requires a lot of discipline and proper planning on my part. I am a full-time employee, I work from 8am-5pm. I make time to train atleast 4 days a week at my local fitness club. I train from 7pm-9pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; then on Saturdays, I train from 7am-9am. The sport calls for dedication and regular excercise.
What are some of your future plans?
I am passionate about teaching people the techniques of this great sport and also about general fitness. Last year i started training a group of people (both staff and students) at the College, but due to other commitments I was not able to continue training the group. I am planning to resume the training sessions mid this month (March 2016).
My dream is to start a Tong-IL- Moo- Do club at Kikuyu Campus that will target both staff and students. I would mainly train them on self defense and general fitness.
What is your message to the students and staff at the college?
I encourage them to pick up the sport not only as a hobby but also as a way to learn self defence techniques. The techniques are necessary because we live in an increasingly violent society. I will -in due course- comunicate when the classes will start, i hope many will sign up for the class.
Quick facts about Tong-IL- Moo- Do:
This is Korean sport, it simply means Mixed Martial arts. It has many components like Tae Kwo ndo, karate and Judo.
The sport is unique in that it is a unified martial arts, people who have mastered the sport learn diffrent fighting techniques.
The sport has several gradings. These are the levels that a player has to train in to become a master.
- Beginner- White Belt (takes 3 month of training)
- Yellow Belt (takes 3 month of training)
- Green Belt (takes 3 month of training)
- Blue Belt
- Brown Belt
- Black Belt
Dismas can be reached on 0732 340 632/ 0728 476 324
Email: agutudismas@gmail.com
Facebook: Dismas Agutu
Twitter: @rasdisy
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Dismas 0728 476 324
