Warwick Taekwondo bring home gold

Warwick Taekwondo claimed victory in the Student Nationals tournament after a ten-year absence from the competition.

The club overcame second-placed Swansea 55-33 in the International Taekwondo Federation tournament (ITF), an adaptation of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) tournament propelled onto the world stage at the London Olympics.

It was the first ITF tournament held by The British Student Taekwondo Federation (BSTF) in many years, so our club was eager to compete and display the outstanding proficiency of our members.

The day started off with the squad performing in a patterns competition, where the objective is to perform a set sequence of techniques in the most aesthetically pleasing way as possible in front of a panel of judges.

Our black belts managed to display remarkable finesse and technique, with Chris Norman being awarded silver in the male category and Kathryn Thompson and Robyn Wootton bringing back gold and silver respectively in the female category.

Our success didn’t stop there though. Peter Davies claimed gold, while Liz Weale also clinched a silver medal, despite having only joined the club in October: an outstanding effort from tbe second-year English Literature student.

Next came the event that everyone had been looking forward to: sparring. Matches consisted of two two-minute rounds, with a 30-second breather in between to discuss tactics with your coach.

In addition to the standard event where competitors are split into groups based on levels of experience, the BSTF introduced a challenge cup where the competitors were instead grouped by weight. This gave everybody an extra chance to earn medals, and we were determined not to waste it.
Once again, our female black belts performed exceptionally with Leigh Collier and Kathryn taking gold and silver respectively, after taking part in an all-Warwick final. The duo also claimed silver and bronze later on in the day in the Challenge Cup. Robyn Wootton also attained gold in her category.

Not to be outdone, black belt and Team Captain Jonny May dominated his opponents to take two gold medals. He also provided most of the coaching for our less experienced members, boosting team morale.

However, there were also unexpected stars from within the team. Ben De Ivey surprised us all when he launched an astonishing comeback in the last ten seconds of his match to score 12 quick points, leading to a 15-14 win; he eventually secured two silvers. After dominating his first opponent, finalist Matthew Lythgoe achieved silver as well.

Our beginners also did us proud in sparring. David Kersh and Liz Weale earned the club gold medals, while Alex Shaw and Priscillia Mudiaki received silvers.

In total, Warwick got a massive 29 medals, including eight gold medals, giving us a total score of 55. This was more than 20 clear of second-placed Swansea, much to our delight. After accepting the richly-deserved club shield, our team then set off for a celebratory meal at the Dirty Duck, with a vow to return next year to retain our title.