New year of competitions, New decade of competitions and this one was a huge success. West Midlands Tae Kwon-Do took their regular squad down to compete at the first event of the year – and they were all hoping on coming home with the gold!
West Midlands TAGB Tae Kwon-Do squad had the support of instructors World Master Vince Farquharson, Katie Billingham and Georgia Elwell during this regional competition – and our squad certainly did not disappoint.
First up of the day came the Patterns Division which saw our competitors compete in the technical routine of patterns. Special recognition goes to Miss Amelia Myers, of Dudley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do, who competed in the patterns division for the first ever time only to miss out on a medal by 1 point.
Tore Lamont, Dudley TAGB Black Belt and assistant instructor also competed in Black Belt Patterns, narrowly missing out on a medal. This was an eye-opening experience for Tore, who achieved his 1st Degree Black Belt less than 6 months ago, as he competed against 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Degree Black Belts, some with over 18 years experience in the martial art.
Amy Perks managed to steal a medal in the patterns division, obtaining a Bronze Medal with a fantastic technical and powerful pattern.
Following patterns, came the individual sparring division – the event that most of our competitors are excited for.
West Midlands TAGB Tae Kwon-Do achieved 4 medals in the individual sparring category and each medal is just as impressive as each other.
Firstly, 18 year old Jessica Giles managed to win SILVER in Ladies Heavyweight Red Belt category. Little Jess fights in heavyweight with competitors twice her height, and Jess always gives it her best. Missing out on medals before did not discourage Jess and her perseverance shined through in this competition, with Jess fighting herself all the way to the finals.
Next, Reece Howard from Dudley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do managed to achieve a 3rd place, bronze medal. Reece has been training hard under the guidance of World Master Vince Farquharson and it seemed this training paid off with Reece managing to get all the way to the semi finals to obtain his medal.
Finally Jodie Cooper from Kingswinford TAGB and Arran Campbell from Tipton Tae Kwon-Do managed to achieve Bronze and Silver medal respectively.
Last events of the day included the Ultimate Striker power test, Team Patterns and Tag Team Sparring – all which resulted in medals for the West Midlands TAGB Tae Kwon-Do squad.
A full list of our competitors and the medals they achieved are below:
Amelia Myers from Dudley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Tore Lamont from Dudley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Hasan Daliman from West Bromwich TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Molly-Mae Clarke from Cradley Heath TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Emiliana Clarke from Cradley Heath TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Natasha Weston from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Jo Perks from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Richard Perks from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Roma Garcha from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Darcey Mander from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do
Jack Yarnold from Hagley TAGB Tae Kwon-Do – with Jack deserving special recognition for showing outstanding perseverance and courage for his first ever competition at such a young age.
Reece Howard: Bronze in individual sparring, Silver in Tag Team sparring
Jess Giles: Silver in individual sparring
Helen Giles: Silver in Tag Team sparring
Amy Perks: Bronze in patterns
Charlie Collyer: Bronze in Ultimate Striker / Power Test
Finley Evans: Bronze and Silver in Ultimate Striker / Power Test
Arran Campbell: Silver in individual sparring
David Cooper: Bronze in Team Patterns
Jodie Cooper: Gold in Team Patterns, Bronze in Tag Team and Bronze in individual sparring.
Instructor Katie Billingham said: “It takes courage to enter but they are all so much better students for having tested their own skills under pressure. The lessons they take away will greatly help them to improve. Its fantastic to see them grow so much.”
Senior instructor World Master Vince Farquharson added “This was our first competition of the year and the turn out was amazing. Win or lose; our students showed great courage, integrity and perseverance under the pressure. It is now time for our student to go back to their instructor, train and re-balance the mind, ready for the next one. We are hoping to bring an even bigger squad to the next event and bring home more titles. It is going to be a very exciting year for West Midlands TAGB Squad”
