Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences student and Tae Kwon Do club member Tomas Fernandez-Alfonso watches Dr. Carrie Bromleigh practice an inside swing kick.
The Tae Kwon Do club, sponsored by Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences Student Executive Counsel (GSEC), holds free classes that are opened to faculty, students and staff of the Weill Cornell, Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) tri-institutional community.
Established in 1991 by a Cornell student, the club, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., and Sundays at 6 p.m. in Olin Hall Gym, is organized in a way that the highest ranking student or club member takes responsibility for teaching the class, which is now led by Dr. Carrie Bromleigh, an alumna of the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a recent black belt. Dr. Bromleigh is now a postdoctoral fellow at New York University's Skirball Institute, where she is studying early patterning and development in the mouse brain.
Dr. Bromleigh, who has been teaching Tae Kwon Do at Weill Cornell for the past two years, completed her graduate work with Dr. Leonard Freedman, a professor of cell biology and genetics at MSKCC, in the fall of 2000. She stresses physical fitness, physical and mental discipline, and the art of focusing in her classes.
Tae Kwon Do is often referred to as an Olympic sport, because of its introduction to the 1988 Olympics in Korea. This artistic discipline, with its graceful and powerful kicks and punches, teaches self-discipline and self-defense skills, along with developing posture and coordination skills. The basic tenets of Tae Kwon Do are to practice courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and to pursue an indomitable spirit as a way of life. Additionally, Dr. Bromleigh tells club participants to "expect a rigorous workout, including calisthenics and stretching, as well as martial-arts techniques. The class is designed for all levels, so that as you improve and get faster, you'll be doing more and more work. We welcome people of all skill levels and experiences." Also, when participants first arrive, they are asked to wear comfortable workout attire and no shoes.
For those interested, the classes use a belt-ranking system, with tests held approximately every six months, depending on what Dr. Bromleigh believes is "readiness and commitment." The group also practices International Tae Kwon Do Federation style, for those familiar with the form. And while there are outside tournaments in which club members can participate, personal growth, not competitive tournaments, are a focus of the group, according to Dr. Bromleigh.
For more information on Weill Cornell's Tae Kwon Do club, contact Dr. Carrie Bromleigh at bromleig@saturn.med.nyu.edu.