Warwick Tae Kwon Do tired but triumphant after marathon session

Every year Warwick Tae Kwon Do challenge themselves to a physically demanding task to raise money for charity. Last year, the event we organised consisted of braving 100 rounds of sparring with each other for the charity Medicins Sans Frontiers. However, this year the club decided to step their game up a notch – attempting a 12 hour training session to raise as much money as possible for Mind, the mental health charity. This event took place on the 30 April from 9am to 9pm.

Image: Warwick Tae Kwon Do

This mammoth event consisted of a conglomeration of twelve single-hour sessions, each held by a different club member and each focusing on a different aspect of the martial art. Themes included self defence techniques, flying kicks, intense fitness work and a comparison between Tae Kwon Do and Karate, all of which tested the bodies of the club members to the limit. There were also less ‘official’ sessions taking place, where the students substituted Tae Kwon Do for dodgeball or football.

Incoming president Thomas Hart attended throughout the day. “The big charity event is one of the highlights of the Warwick Tae Kwon Do calendar”, Hart stated. “This year we did a 12 hour Session to raise money for Mind. It was a really enjoyable experience and the photos from start to end make for entertaining viewing, as people get more and more tired! Personally, my favourite session was the grappling one, because it was something I’d wanted to try but I’d never done before, so that was a really good end to the day. We were all so tired; we could barely keep awake for the celebratory meal in the Dirty Duck afterwards!”

Themes included self defence techniques, flying kicks, intense fitness work and a comparison between Tae Kwon Do and Karate.

“It was an incredible yet exhausting event – congratulations to Tom for organising the event and to everyone who took a session”, said new Charity Officer Jack Berry, who was also there for the full 12 hours. “The huge variety in the sessions kept the whole thing interesting for the entire twelve hours; it was wonderful to have the opportunity to try out these different activities.”

Through their Just Giving web page (still open for donations), the club raised around £800 to send directly to charity – a great result for a relatively small event! Next year, Warwick Tae Kwon Do intends to aim even higher and try to break the £1000 barrier.

After one hour… Image: Warwick Tae Kwon Do

…after 12 hours! Image: Warwick Tae Kwon Do