STKatherines Taekwondo

Tom had the most fights. He fought 3 people. The first guy her fought was a very good green belt, very fast. The score was pretty much even but the guy injured himself and had to pull out. His second and third fights were won with ease. Both his opponents were black tips but tom didnt have an issue with any of them. He beat them very convincingly. He won gold.

Jay fought 2 people. He won his first fight quite easily with no problems. His second fight was against someone good, i think he may have been the number 1 or 2 in Scotland. It was a tough fight. The first round was even. Jay seemed to be tired from the second round onwards. He still fought well but wasnt as fast and aggressive as he usually is. His opponent got him round the head a few times because of Jay's tiredness. The guy from Scotland won in the end. Jay got silver. It was a very good match though.

Wayne had 2 opponents he was meant to fight. Both of them pulled out for some reason. I dont think any of them wanted to fight him. He had to fight Julian in the end. The match was just like in training. They were both just practising their techniques. Julian did a lovely climb hook kick on Wayne which hit him on his nose. At one point I think Julian was doing a hook kick and Wayne threw a turning kick, it looked like they both scraped each other on the head. It was a calm fight, but good to watch. A lot of techniques were being thrown and it looked good. Wayne was doing good with the stamina until about half way through the second round where he started doing his usual lying in the floor. He did it a few times but after encouragment from us and julian he carried on. Wayne got silver.

Julian fought 2 people as well as wayne. The first person he fought was a yellow belt. At first Julian threw a turning kick hook kick which scraped the guys head. He was asked to take it easy which he then did. In the second round he forgot himself again and threw an accidental head shot which bruised up the guys eye badly. It was quite a relaxed fight, julian was getting his points and taking it easy. His second fight was with a guy from the scottish national team. In the first round his opponent was always on the floor from julians checking and push kicks. The first round went to julian. In the second round, both were throwing turning kicks, doubles, back kicks. The score became even. Julian wasnt getting a lot of his points from the doubles he was doing on the guy. In the third round the guy hit julian with a head shot. Julian hit him back in the head with a turning kick. Again both were throwing everything they could. It was a very good match, very close. The crowd was getting excited because it could have gone to anyone. In the end the Scottish guy won. Julian got silver.

I fought Laura Sweeney from the Scottish National team. The first round I was winning 5 - 1. I got one head shot with a leg chop. I got her in the head another time with a chop but it wasnt counted. Got her with a few back kicks and countering turning kicks. She was throwing turning kicks mainly. The fight had to be stopped a few times because I wasnt getting the points. They eventually gave me the obvious head shot. In the second round she did a back kick that was by my neck but didnt touch me. They gave her the head shot. I threw two back kicks that didnt score as well as turning kicks that were not scoring. Half way through the second round my knee felt like it dislocated. It happened before about 6 months ago. Its the knee injury ive had for years. I carried on until the end of the second round, it was a struggle as i was in alot of pain. The score after the second round was 6-5 to her. I couldnt carry on so the towel was thrown in.

The little ones did very well. Two of them won gold convincingly. One of them won silver because he had to fight one of our guys. It was st kaths versus st kaths.

St katherines/chung yung won the 2nd place trophy. Julian won fighter of the day.

Overall it was a very good tournament. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was very nice. Master Jim Kennedy was lovely, very friendly and warming. Definately one we will do next year.

The Chungdokwan black belt grading was held in Kingston on the 6th of June 2010 by Grandmaster Lindsay Lawrence. A few of our St. Katherine's students took part in the grading and performed at a very high standard both in the physical and mental aspect of the grading. Elfred Carr received his 3rd Dan. Grace Smith, Aisha Monopoli, Yasmin Ali and Tasneem Tawil all received Black Belt, 1st Dan. They all worked extremely hard in preparation for the grading and thoughrally deserve their success. We are all very proud of them and we will continue to guide and support them in their continuation of the sport.