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Recommendations and Student Letters
Thank you very much to all those people who have allowed us to use their letters for this page, and thank you for your kind comments.
Over the last couple of years, City of Ely Community College has introduced Taekwondo, through Mark Farnham, into its PE curriculum which has been a huge success! Students in Key Stage 3 have been introduced to Taekwondo and gained a great understanding of what Martial Arts really is all about. It has been good to see the enjoyment on the students’ faces and enthusiasm while learning. Students in Key Stage 4 have had Taekwondo introduced as an option, which many students have opted to take on a half term basis. We hope to continue our great Partnership with Mark over the coming years.
Stuart Patman
PE Department
City of Ely Community College
I am just writing to thank you for running the New Opportunities Funded Tae Kwon Do classes at The Park High School for the past three years. I can’t believe how quickly the time went.
I would also like to say congratulations on your huge success at the World champs, your students did fantastic! and I’m sure you are very proud of them.
Thanks again for all your support and I hope that you will be back at The Park High School in the not too distant future.
Yours sincerely
Mrs.Andrea Glover
School Sport Co-ordinator
The Park High School, Kings Lynn.
“Thomas Clarkson Community College is proud to work alongside the Mark Farnham School of Tae Kwon-do. We have successfully introduced the sport into the curriculum and now offer an after-school club. We will continue to work with Mark as he offers a great personal touch to his service.
Matthew Garrod
Head of P.E.
THOMAS CLARKSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Wisbech.
My eight year old son suffers with asthma, he takes an inhaler twice a day, and peak flow, which checks his lung capacity.
My eight year old son suffers with asthma, he takes an inhaler twice a day, and peak flow, which checks his lung capacity.Three years ago he took up Tae Kwon-Do, training twice weekly. His breathing has drastically improved over this time.
My eight year old son suffers with asthma, he takes an inhaler twice a day, and peak flow, which checks his lung capacity.Three years ago he took up Tae Kwon-Do, training twice weekly. His breathing has drastically improved over this time.On his last six monthly doctors check-up, he registered 350 on his peak flow, a boy of his height, age and weight according to the doctor should register 220.
The doctor informed me this was down to his training.
Mr S - Kings Lynn
Mark,
Just a quick note to say thank you. I've just got my dream job working with disabled kids. I'd never had the confidence in my phsical abilities to apply without the Tae Kwon-Do.
Anyway thanks for your time and patience. I may not make the world championships but at least I'll be doing a job I've always wanted !
Mrs R - Ely
Dear Mark
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your help to date, I think your classes are fantastic and the associated schools that I have been attending have maintained that high standard, which is a reflection of your commitment to Tae Kwon-do and all your students. It is not often that one finds something to fire the interest and keep one motivated, I have and I just want to express my appreciation for all your and your fellow instructors hard work in helping not just me but others to achieve their goals.
Mr D...
Mark
Just a quick note to say that Chloe started learning last week and I was really pleased with her class. She came to your class today (I was the pushy mother who wanted to stay! - sorry!) and I was amazed. She absolutlely loved it- all she talked about was obtaining her belts and getting better and better. You talking to her and saying "well done" to her has increased her confidence and concentration 10 fold and she tells everyone that you said this when it was only her second lesson. She has told me that I cannot come to future lessons as I might be a distraction!. I am totally amazed and take my hat off to you!
Many thanks and we look forward to futhure classes.
G............
 TAE-KWON DO
I enjoy TAE-KWON DO because it’s energetic. There’s fun moves. Every grade you learn a new pattern and new floor work and new step sparing. Step sparing is defensive and attacks. Floor work is moves that you know already and moves that you have just learnt. I have been going for 2 years and haven’t quit, now I am a blue stripe.
Adam Everett – Age 7 – Ely Class
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Martial start left me in pain
LIKE many young lads, I always wanted to give karate a go when I was growing up.
I dabbled in the world of sports karate in Wado-Ryu, but always fancied trying my hand and foot at Taekwondo.
However, the older I got the more I put off giving it a try, having heard of its strict nature and rigorous training regime at a time when I was more bothered about going down the pub with my friends.
So with a mixture of intrigue and nervousness, I rang Mark Farnham, who runs schools around Mid-Anglia, to see if he could help me out with a training session to get an insight into the Olympic martial art, not only for this report but to satisfy my own curiosity.
Mr Farnham, as I choose to call him, is a fifth Dan black belt. He suggested I go to Newmarket to train under Second Dan, Lucy Frost.
I stood out like a sore thumb in my civvies, surrounded by immaculate white gis of people of all ages and a wide variety of gradings at the St Felix School in Newmarket.
Lucy promised to go easy on me, although it probably helped that I neglected to mention I had trained before and got a black belt in Wado-Ryu.
To be fair, that was nearly 15 years ago, so I thought it best to don the mantle of beginner for the purposes of the exercise so I did not get worked too hard.
And I have to say it was nothing like I imagined. The teacher controlled the class while taking extra time to give me some pointers on front kicks and jabs - the Korean names of which escape me now which would have earned me 10 push-ups if I had forgotten in class.
There is a real sense of community among the group, who all help each other, and you can feel the honour in the sport.
I was taken through the three disciplines of forms, sparring and self-defence with help not only from the leader but all the students I worked with - before luckily being told I couldn’t actually spar myself for insurance reasons.
I must admit I was more than rusty and by the 30-minute mark I really did feel like a beginner and was feeling it by the end when the pain kicked in.
It may not sound much when written down, but all we had to do as the warm-down was stand in a kicking position while the class were quizzed on their Korean.
For every question wrong, yet more press-ups were handed out and by the two-minute mark, my leg was dead.
But I loved the experience and even took forms to maybe one day come back as a legitimate student and work my way through the belts again but not for a few weeks or months................at least.
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And now, for some poetry......
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20 years must have gone so fast
And I’m sure it’s been a blast
This school has come so far you know,
And still this school will continue to grow.
You’ve known us since our white belt days,
We have come familiar with your ways
The grin on your face for a job well done
All of these days have been so fun!
24 hours of non-stop sweat
It was something we’ll never forget
How we done it I don’t know,
It was for a good cause so we did not go
All the knowledge we have learned
And for some of these we are concerned
With fun and humour and ‘OK’
We have one thing we want to say...
THANKYOU MR.FARNHAM!!!!!!!!
By Abbie Reeve,Swaffham
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Thank you Mark
Thank you mark,
For our time in this class,
Your teaching of course,
Was sure to help us pass
Your jokes and stories,
Always make us smile,
Even if we hear them twice,
Well, you've been doing this for a while
Remember that Christmas party,
Where you dressed up as Danny from grease,
You're the best instructor,
Never stop this please
We'll never forget you mark,
You've helped us through these years,
You've helped us get this far,
You've helped us face our fears
Tae Kwon Do is the best,
The best thing we'll ever do,
So we'll end this on a final note,
Mark the best instructor is YOU!!!!!!!!!
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