West Midlands Tae Kwon Do

The Midlands Championship 2010 Results

This years Midland Championships was held at the Kettering Leisure Village on Sunday 27th June 2010. Pupils from across the West Midlands Tae Kwon Do clubs entered the tournament in a number of various categories, one again displaying accurate techniques and giving 110% effort on the day. The tournament also gave our qualified umpires and referees a chance to practice officiating a number of different divisions across the day.

Dudley

Jivean Clair	Boys - Team Sparring - Black Belt - Middleweight	1st Place
Chelsey James	Girls - Sparring - Red Belt - Pee Wee	2nd Place
Laim Lewis	Boys - Sparring - Blue Belt - Heavyweight	3rd Place

Bewdley

Ashlee Whale

Girls - Sparring - Blue Belt - Heavyweight

1st Place

Competitors were:

• Chelsey James (Dudley): Patterns/Sparring girls red belt pee wee

• Jivean Clair (Dudley): Sparring/Team Sparring boys black belt middleweight

• Liam Lewis (Dudley/Bloxwich): Sparring boys blue belt heavyweight

• Brandon Gamble (Willenhall): Sparring boys blue belt lightweight

• Simon Whale (Bewdley): Sparring mens blue belt heavyweight

• Ashlee Whale (Bewdley): Sparring girls blue belt heavyweight

Officials were:

• Mr Vince Farquharson: senior referee (red shirt): in control of ensuring tournament divisions run smoothly and the rules of the tournament are adhered to.

• Miss Katie Billingham: referee: able to referee matches, carried out administrative duties, ordering results, and sorting categories.

• Miss Emily Haslam: umpire: Carried out administrative tasks, ensured all squares were given different divisions and results were recorded.

• Miss Claire Southall: umpire: Helped run Area 13, recorded results, umpired announced medal winners and gave out trophies, runner, kept score in the Mens Heavyweight Black Belt Sparring, Boys Green Belt Patterns, Boys Blue Belt Team sparring and acted as press officer for West Midlands Tae Kwon Do.

• Mr Michael Meese: umpire: Umpired various categories across the day, working on area 10, recorded results, acted as official timekeeper, and runner.

First to compete was 8 year old Chelsey James from Dudley. Miss James was confident when performing her chosen pattern Hwa Rang to the panel of judges and showed accurate stances and techniques in the hotly contested girls red belt pee wee division. Chelsea came fourth in this category after displaying good power and enthusiasm. She has gained a lot of experience from this event which will be to her advantage when perfecting patterns for future competitions.

Chelsea also entered the sparring division in the Midlands Championships making it through to the final round of the difficult competition! After performing a measured high turning kick and attacking her final opponent with a number of punches, Chelsea narrowly missed out on first place after taking a fatal side kick to the stomach from her opponent. Chelsea defended well, and gave 110% effort in the competition earning her a silver medal to add to her collection. Not a bad achievement for someone in the early stages of their sparring career; Chelsea has the potential to gain further success in future competitions by working on her technique.

Next to compete in the boys black belt middleweight division was Mr Jivean Clair, an experienced tournament fighter from the Dudley Club. In his first fight, Mr Clair showed his skill, scoring three well-earned points from a reverse hook kick and further points for accurately timed side and turning kicks knocking his opponent out of the area. Jivean attacked well with his hands disorientating his opponent with a brilliant hooking punch to the head. The match was temporarily stopped which gave Jivean a chance to consult with Coach Vince Farquharson and take advice from club member Claire Southall. After this encouragement had finished the match continued; although he was penalised for excessive contact (losing him one point), Mr Clair fought spectacularly well in this large category of over fifteen competitors!

In his second fight Mr Clair came up against a much more experienced fighter, Jivean defended himself well and gave a great head kick followed by a number of powerful punches. After scoring well using his signature move- the hooking punch, Jivean took an early lead. However, his competitor fought back and with piercing side kicks earned his place in the semi-finals.

Also sparring on the day was Brandon Gamble, from the Willenhall club, who fought in the boys blue belt lightweight division. Brandon executed a middle side kick leading with his left leg and defended well against his opponent who attacked with his hands. Brandon blocked well despite being caught by a side kick and followed by attacking with a high jumping turning kick followed by a punch to the head. As the tension mounted, Brandon fought hard moving vigorously to try and confuse his opponent however after giving his best effort; Brandon was unfortunately knocked out by his competitor. He is now training hard for his next fight and is gaining experience by practicing sparring techniques in the dojang.

Meanwhile, on Area 10, Liam Lewis was fighting in the competitive boys blue belt heavyweight division. Attacking well, Liam executed an array of punches followed by a number of accurate kicks in his side on stance. His attacker was stunned by the power of Mr Lewis’s reverse high hooking kick which connected well and earned him three points! He poached points and continued to block his opponent’s attacks including side kicks and uppercuts. After making it to the semi-finals Liam fought well to take third place in his division. Considering this was only his second competition, Mr Lewis’s third place trophy was a huge accomplishment.

Competing from the Bewdley club were father/ daughter duo Simon and Ashlee Whale. Both fought in their respective blue belt sparring categories gaining a lot of experience from competing against opponents from across the country. Simon fought well attacking vigorously in the Men’s Heavyweight division. Using his legs effectively and targeting his opponents head and stomach with a flurry of punches. Simon battled to the end of the first round only to be outscored narrowly by his competitor. Meanwhile daughter Ashlee was competing well in the Girls division and fought her way through the first round, the second to the semi-finals and eventually reached the finals. With sparring experience under her belt, and after practicing for the event relentlessly beforehand, Ashlee was well-prepared for the physical endurance of sparring many opponents. Defending well Ashlee scored points from varied attacks and throwing accurate scoring techniques. Miss Whale was victorious winning gold in her division. Well done Ashlee!

The last event of the day was the team sparring category. Jivean Clair was determined to take home a medal from the Midlands Championships and never one to disappoint, he teamed up with fellow first Dans Cameron Web and Kamil Wocian. The boys fought under the team name the Black Assassins and truly assassinated their competition. After The Three Lions were knocked out in the first round, The Black Assassins came head to head with the Three Blacks for a tough final.

First in the area was Kamil who fought with accurately timed side kicks and powerful hand techniques. After scoring points for his team, he then swopped with Jivean allowing him tom fight another opponent from the three Blacks. Jivean defended well against his competitor never allowing him to score a point and attacking with a hooking punch he scored again for the Black Assassins. From this point in the tournament the points just kept mounting up, the Black Assassins were in the lead whilst the Three Blacks tried to claw their way back by continually attacking. However, they were no match for The Assassins who used brilliant communication and teamwork to lead them to victory. Jivean tagged team member Cameron who is an experienced fighter to come up against the final member of The All Blacks. Cameron attacked tremendously with his hands scoring two points from a combination of techniques; then quickly swapping with Kamil; who threw a high punch making the score 8/4 to The Black Assassins.

With seconds to go, Jivean entered the ring for a final time, scoring a further point for the Black Assassins and although the Three Blacks also scored with a hand technique they truly had been assassinated. The final score was 9/5 and the boys walked away with gold making The Black Assassins Midlands Champions in the boys black belt team division!

The Three Blacks took second place and The Three Lions took Third, the number three was certainly unlucky in this division! After forming on the day, the boys displayed brilliant team effort and were confident scoring points they all earned to beat the stiff competition. This goes to prove that with tactful sparring, by working together, success can be achieved and lasting friendships formed. Well done boys; it’s a shame the England Football Team couldn’t display such excellent teamwork in the World Cup!

Once again, West Midlands Tae Kwon Do Group had tremendous success in the Midlands Tournament. Congratulations to all those who took part and took home a medal and well done to all who competed on the day. Now let’s get training for the next competition!