9th Open World Championships 11th-12th September 2010 Results
(Updated 24th September 2010)
9th Open World Championships
With competitors, coaches and officials arriving from across the world, the Ninth Open World Championships proved to be a memorable weekend on the tae kwon do calendar. Whether competing in a sparring, destruction or a pattern event, the enthusiasm and effort on the day was evident in all of the West Midlands competitors.
The optimistic atmosphere within the Telford International Arena was infectious, and with the support from spectators, it seemed that many competitors began to experience what is known as the pop bottle sensation, (the pop bottle sensation is experienced when competitors step onto the square to face their opponent, nerves and adrenalin then fizz up like the liquid inside, until the cap flies off the bottle and the drink explodes everywhere).
This sensation was what I felt on the day (and I wasn't even competing!), along with Miss Katie Billingham, Miss Emily Haslam, Miss Lisa Brown and Mr Farquharson I was officiating. I have taken my umpires course and had umpired at the previous world championships, but each tournament is challenging when you step into the arena. On the square you are the organiser, timekeeper, judge, point giver and ultimately responsible in giving a fair result. This was a huge responsibility, but to umpire at this event was also an honour. The tournament was organised effectively with all twenty eight areas running like clockwork, all officials put a lot of time and effort into the event to ensure the World Championships was a truly memorable occasion.
Members from the West Midlands group prepared to compete with international practitioners of the Tae Kwon Do art, all observed by The Masters of the TAGB and Grand Master CK Choi who flew over especially for the event. Meeting Grand Master CK Choi (ninth degree) was the highlight of my tae kwon do journey (so far), he is a pioneer, spreading the practice of tae kwon do from Korea across the world. Grand Master Choi is somebody I respect, a man who performs with passion and vigour, with his in-depth knowledge, he is truly a tae kwon do idol. Attention over the weekend was focussed on Grand Master C.K. Choi as West Midlands TAGB competitors posed for photographs, whilst C.K. was delighted to give autographs, taking the time to speak to TAGB students and present awards. For this event, the TAGB family had gathered together to fight, (as families do), share, give advice, and perform. With Grand Master C.K. Choi as the figurehead of our family, aspirations were high and England was ready to compete.
Each competitor entered the room filled with anticipation, and the nervous tension mounted as competitors from across the world descended upon Telford's International Centre. International competitors arrived from Poland, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, USA, Korea, Ireland, Wales, Australia, Canada and Scotland (naming just a few); to represent their countries in the tournament to end all tournaments.
The opening ceremony was spectacular; each country entered waving flags, carrying mascots, cheering and some even danced! One parent said 'I really liked the beginning of the tournament when all the competitors paraded around the arena, the experience of taking part in this for the students was a once in a lifetime opportunity.' It was a parade that showed the spirit of the TAGB at it's best, as members from the West Midlands clubs marched in with the England team, the excitement which I felt was hard to contain.
The 9th Open Tae Kwon Do World Championships kicked off in style on Saturday 11th September 2010 with a technically brilliant inspiring demonstration from the black belt demo team. The Edmund sisters from Devon truly kicked things off in style working with black belt boys to create a mock martial arts fight reminiscent of a Bruce Lee film. Performing to music, the team demonstrated knife hand strikes, jumping side kicks, turning kicks, throws and punches in a spectacular showcase of the beauty of tae kwon do. A spectator stated that she thought: 'the layout wasn't brilliant as we were sitting on the side where we couldn't see the presentations or demonstrations at the beginning of the tournament, [and that] it would have been better if there was a raised stage.'
After, months of preparation spent training to perfect every single movement, tirelessly practicing fitness regimes, and improving their fighting technique, competitors were going to be put to the test. For many it was a game of nerves and endurance, with those who competed from the West Midlands group practicing the tenant: perseverance; which was put to the limit as many entered both the patterns and sparring category, with some even conserving their energy to fight in the team events!
Competitors on the day included:
Fighting Saturday 11th September 2010
Emily Rotherham - Girls Greenbelt Middleweight Sparring and Patterns - Willenhall /Dudley (Vince Farquharson) BRONZE in Sparring, 4th in patterns.
Chelsey James - Girls Red belt Sparring, Patterns and Team Sparring - Dudley (Vince Farquharson) 10th individual sparring, coming joint 3rd in the team event.
Jivean Clair - Boys Black belt Middleweight Sparring. Dudley (Vince Farquharson)
Ashlee Whale- Girls Blue belt Heavyweight - Bewdley (Katie Billingham) SILVER in Sparring
Brandon Gamble - Boys Blue belt lightweight - Willenhall (Vince Farquharson)
Georgia Doohan-Smith - Girls Greenbelt Pee Wee Sparring and Patterns - Bewdley (Katie Billingham)
George Mason - Boys Blue belt Middleweight Sparring and Patterns - Bloxwich (Michael Meese)
Pippa Lock - Girls Greenbelt Middleweight - Bewdley (Katie Billingham)
Hannah McCreedy - Girls Blue Belt Middleweight - Hagley (Katie Billingham)
Fighting Sunday 12th September 2010:
Alex Page - Men's Yellow Belt Heavyweight - Bewdley (Katie Billingham) BRONZE
Tom Smith - Men's Green Belt Heavyweight - Hagley (Katie Billingham)
Will Brown - Men's Green Belt Welterweight - Hagley (Katie Billingham)
Simon Whale - Men's Blue Belt Bewdley (Katie Billingham)
Officials:
Mr Vince Farquharson- Senior referee
Miss Katie Billingham- referee
Miss Lisa Brown- referee
Miss Emily Haslam- referee/ administrator
Miss Claire Southall- umpire
Miss Claire Southall - Miss Katie Billingham
First to compete was Chelsey James who had trained extremely hard in lessons for the tournament by sparring competitors from across the West Midlands group in preparation for the big event. Chelsey started well, performing her pattern Hwa Rang Tul on area 25 with power and focus. The pattern was completed confidently as Chelsey gave her best effort, throwing aesthetically brilliant side kicks and showing precise hand techniques. Chelsey ensured that her stances were correct throughout, and everything fell into place. Miss James failed to place missing out on the title as she was out pointed by more experienced technicians. However, Chelsey did not give up and went on to compete in the individual and team sparring events. She gained a lot of experience fighting international competitors in the sparring category, throwing an abundance of punches, strikes and focussed kicks she gave them a good fight. The round was difficult when Chelsey suffered a fatal turning kick to the head, but although dazed she recovered her composure to fight no in the second round. However, Chelsey met her match missing out on a medal with the round ending 11- 4 in her competitors favour.
Mr Vince Farquharson - Chelsey James
Chelsey James - CK Choi 9th Dan Grand Master
Miss James was relentless in her effort to compete once again, so teamed up with Welsh sisters Annie (8) and Abby (10) Davies from the Hope and Wrexham TAGB School in Wales. The girls fought under the name: Red Rockets and worked tremendously together to fight off the numerous opponents they faced throughout the rounds. The girls had to go up a division as one of the team members Abby competed in lightweight, this meant fellow rockets Chelsey and Annie had to move from pee wee to lightweight as there were not enough pee wee girls to make a team.
Chelsea competed first, fighting with her usual fast paced hand combinations and strikes to the middle section, scoring the Rockets decided to switch competitors, a tactical move which ensured all girls fought but did not get tired. Miss James swapped with Abby, who scored by looking for targets, and after throwing well-placed side kicks she scored 4 points. Next up on the change was sister Annie who fought with precisely aimed punches, while confusingly changing her stance Annie ensured that her opponent became disorientated. However, the girls efforts were in vain as time was against them, when the final bell rang, the opposite team had scored more points. Even though the rockets did not win, their fighting style, commitment and ability to work well as a team in a highly contested division saw them come joint third! This was a great achievement considering Chelsey had never competed at an international level before.
Next up on the square was Mr Jivean Clair who entered the black belt boys middleweight sparring division. Jivean has experience fighting at a
national level but competed mainly at coloured belt, gaining his black belt earlier in the year, he has not got much experience fighting at First Dan level. Mr Clair used his usual attacking style to adjust his sparring techniques, closing down the space between himself and his taller rival he ensured it was difficult for his opponent to score points.
Mr Vince Farquharson - Jivean Clair
Jivean fought well with his hands as he coaxed the competition to come towards him, and by dodging his techniques, Jivean scored well by poaching points and striking when his competitor least expected it. Mr Claire threw some magnificent side and turning kicks, leading off his right leg, he threw powerful kicks, but failed to score as his rival blocked, stepping forward to stop him with a middle section front kick (which was off target). Jivean, clearly in pain during the second half received some much needed advice from umpire and coach Claire Southall and entered the second half with determination and renewed confidence.
Mr Clair dominated the second half with his fast techniques and evident technical focus. However, as the round ended, the scores were close, and unable to outpoint his competitor, the boys drew which meant they had to enter an extension round. Jivean was tired at this point, and made fatal mistakes by turning his head to avoid fatal blows from his opponent. After receiving a warning from the referee for travelling and moving outside the arena, Jivean seemed to become disheartened. He endured the extension round fighting relentlessly with powerful strikes, however, in the end as the round concluded, he was outpointed by the stronger black belt.
Jivean's father Nick said of the event: 'I thought the venue was not as suitable as, for example, the Nottingham arena. At Nottingham you could see all of the squares from the seating. However, in Telford it was difficult to view each tournament event. This meant we as parents were sometimes struggling to see all of the competitors from the West Midlands group and missed out on some of the action.
I think Jivean lost his first fight because his defence was not as tight as in previous tournaments where his opponents had to work extremely hard to break his guarding position. I also believe he had run out of ideas to score points after the draw was announced and they entered an extension round. His lack of international experience showed as Jivean kept stopping as though he was still in a point stop competition.'
Another member of the group competing was Brandon Gamble who trains with Vince at the Willenhall Club. Mr Gamble fought with speed, throwing accurate middle section kicks he knocked his opponent to the floor in the first half of the competition! Brandon kept a fast pace throughout the rounds, giving his best effort he charged forward with combinations of various hand techniques. His opponent responded by throwing turning kicks and hitting Brandon in his stomach, although Brandon was powerful, his rival was more technically astute, spotting targets he planned where he would score points which ensured he led in the scoring. Brandon's stamina and energy was not enough to win the tournament. Inexperience was his downfall, but |Brandon performed extremely well by leading the attack, by charging forward, his rival had to back off which gave him the upper hand, the round was close and ended in his opponents favour. Even though he was outpointed, participating in the World Championships gave Brandon an insight into the vast competition world of Tae Kwon Do at an International level, and I am sure that he shall remember the event for years to come.
Brandon Gamble
West Midlands Tae Kwon Do students all put 100% effort into this competition but one student from Dudley and Willenhall decided to give the world 120%. Miss Emily Rotherham had been training for this event for months and her hard work certainly gave her the upper hand on the square. The girls greenbelt division was hotly contested with roughly 15-20 girls competing! With experienced fighters including the three Walker sisters, Emily faced some tough competition but made it to the quarter finals. Her technique was to look for open target areas and throw techniques that would score highly. Emily used numerous combinations of hand and foot techniques to score against Emily Walker (one of her opponents), England came first with Wales achieving the silver medal and Miss Rotherham took Bronze for West Midlands Tae Kwon Do and England.
Miss Rotherham's mother stated that 'The atmosphere and experience for the children involved was really good. Emily competed in patterns first where she came fourth only missing out on third by one point. She needs to slow down when doing her pattern as she forgets to show the techniques, and speeds up half way through. However, this was only her fourth competition so I'm sure she will gain more experience as she enters future tournaments.'
Mr Vince Farquharson - Emily Rotherham
Emily also entered the sparring competition where she made it to the last four! She was very nervous about sparring, and said herself that she was unsure what to expect as she has not had much experience in international competitions. Her first fight was very good and she won comfortably, but her second match was a lot harder and Emily found it much more difficult to score points against her opponent. She was very happy to come away with a bronze medal; a huge achievement for a competitor in the early stages of her TAGB sparring career! Emily's family added: 'It was very nice to have Grand Master Choi presenting the medals, however the presentation area wasn't set out very well as it was a bit of a free for all, and we couldn't get near to the front to get a decent photograph.' We did however manage to get a nice group photograph of Vince's students with Grand Master Choi before the tournament started (which can be viewed on the World Champs page). In conclusion it is fair to say that it was a good day out for the Rotherham family!'
Competing in the pee wee division was Miss Georgia Doohan-Smith from Bewdley who entered both the pattern and sparring division. Georgia is a perfectionist so worked hard with instructor Katie Billingham to ensure that her chosen pattern was of the highest standard and although only young she performed with confidence and power reminiscent of someone at a much higher grade. In the sparring category, Georgia gave her best effort but was beaten by students with lots of point stop sparring experience who were able to outpoint her with fast movements. However, although not winning a medal, it is Georgia's participation in the World Championships that is the biggest achievement. Georgia has gained lots of experience from this event and will no doubt put what she has learnt from the competition into practice at future tournaments.
Pippa Lock was another of Miss Billigham's students competing in the world championship division. A hard working student, she entered the sparring category fighting against other juniors for a chance to win 'the world'. Pippa attacked and defended with her usual sharp eye but was outpointed by her opponents. However, for one so young to enter the Championships and put up a fight against the best Tae Kwon Do students in the world, Georgia has achieved what many would not dare to do and will improve her technique with time and practice. To conclude, she gave a superb effort and tried her best- this is all we can ask of our students.
Hannah McCreedy
Representing the Hagley Club was Miss Hannah McCreedy, who competed in the blue belt category. Hannah has not got much international competition experience so entering the World gave her a new challenge. Hannah did extremely well on the day showing both good technique and sportsmanship. She was a great ambassador for our club and at only fourteen years old looks sure to have a bright future in the TAGB tournament world.
After recently taking over the Bloxwich club, Mr Meese worked extra hard training his student George Mason to prepare for the fight by showing him various combinations to use on the square. George competed in the boys middleweight blue belt division, putting a lot of effort into his fight. This was his first international fight and although he lacked experience, George threw accurate kicks and punches, fighting with great speed. George did not score highly as he threw mostly punches being outpointed by stronger competitors in his division. However, Mr Mason can learn from this event and use the experience to strengthen his tactics for the next tournament. The World Championships was certainly a learning curve for George.
Perhaps the greatest achievement at this world championships was earned by Ashlee Whale, a regular tournament competitor, she decided to enter the World Championships and represent her country. Ashlee competed in the Girls Blue Belt division, and had to fight numerous opponents which saw her reach the final in the division!
Ashlee Whale - CK Choi 9th Dan Grand Master
To get anywhere near winning a medal is difficult for anybody in an international competition, but to actually win one is near impossible. Ashlee took home silver in her category, and with her left leg side kicks and brilliantly timed punches, she scored well against her rivals. Ashlee made her name in world Tae Kwon Do Championships history this weekend by sparring with great speed, focus and power, she put a lot of effort into her rounds going the distance to represent her club. Instructor, Miss Billingham said of Ashlee: 'she is a good student, always giving everything 1 million percent. Ashlee is a hard working pupil who is dedicated to her club, she has made us all proud winning silver. Miss Whale trained hard for this event and thoroughly deserved to place second!' Ashlee commented that she found the competition 'hard but really enjoyable' ,she went on to say that 'the atmosphere on the day was great' This was a brilliant achievement for Ashlee who is a great sparring technician, and with many more tournaments to come, Miss Whale looks set for greatness in her TAGB sparring career.
On day two of the tournament, adult competitors from across the West Midlands group competed in their respective weight divisions in the Men's category. Competitors including: Alex Page, Tom Smith, Will Brown and Simon Whale all trained extensively for the fight, having been trained and coached by Miss Katie Billingham. Fighting to grade, the West Midlands Men faced tough competition in their categories as there were numerous opponents from across the world who all wanted the world championship title and were not going to let it slip away easily to English competitors.
Blue belt Simon Whale represented the country as he fought in the heavy weight men's division. Simon attacked his competitor by throwing powerful techniques along with kicks that hit his opponent hard. Utilising his hands and feet whilst putting up a brilliant guarding position, Simon fought well in the category but with little international experience, his competitors beat him to the world title. Although strong in spirit, the West Midlands men failed to score enough points in their individual divisions which comprised of numerous competitors from different countries who all had their own individual fighting style and method of employing techniques.
Alex Page - Simon Whale - Tom Smith - Will Brown
Fellow club members Alex Page, and Tom Smith also competed in the Heavyweight Men's category for Yellow and Green Belt respectively. Both students train with Katie Billingham who ensured they were put through their paces during class sessions so as their level of fitness and sparring ability improved. They were joined by Hagley student Will Brown who fought in the Men's Green Belt Welterweight category. All men gave the tournament a superb level of effort and persevered throughout their rounds.
Alex competed in the Men's Yellow belt Heavyweight division putting in the usual 120% effort to take Bronze in his category! Alex threw powerful hand strikes, and side/ turning kicks at his opponent and fought well to reach the quarter finals. In this competitive division Alex proved that he is world championship standard and along with his fellow West Midlands competitors made TAGB Tae Kwon Do proud!
Mr Farquharson was given the hard task of refereeing the final rounds of the Men's Black Belt Heavyweight division. An experienced international referee, Vince ensured that all TAGB rules were obeyed by all competitors. In the Quarter Finals, Polish entrant 'Vishna' came up against Australia's Jack Hasckitt. On area three, the tournament arena became crowded with spectators all supporting their countries as the experienced fighters battled for the coveted World Belt. Cheers from the Polish and Australians bellowed throughout the stadium as both men fought relentlessly with accuracy and control to score as many points possible in the continuous division as referee Vince kept contact at a minimum. Mr Farquharson gave an official warning to one competitor for excessive contact and ensured both fighters were penalised for travelling outside the area.
Vince reffed an efficient fight and as both fighters were equally matched the scores were close as kicks flew in every direction, and powerful hand combinations were tactically employed by both fighters. Jack pushed his Polish competitor to the limit as Tony Curtis coached him through the rounds. However Polish 'Vishna' was a strong contender for the world title, and by charging at his opponent with powerful moves, Jack was outpointed in the final round. The fight was a challenge for both men as they fought the world's best competitors to reach the quarter finals. However, with an experienced referee on side, as Mr Farquharson yelled : 'hechyo' and the judges chose Vishna as the winner, the sportsmanship between both teams was phenomenal, with no hard feelings, the Australian shook hands with the winner, as both teams clapped and cheered for each other. There was mutual respect for both the runner-up and the winner; a feature which defined these men as Tae Kwon Do Champions.
Mr Farquharson commented: 'It was a fantastic tournament, organised and run effectively, there is nothing that compares to a TAGB World Championship event! We are so proud of all the West Midlands students who entered. Congratulations everyone.' Miss Billingham added 'The competitors are all champions in my eyes'
Members from West Midlands Tae Kwon Do are now in training for The British Championships in November where they will compete in sparring and pattern competitions. For more information about the clubs, or if you would like to join please visit: www.westmidstkd.co.uk
Contact Mr Vince Farquharson 5TH Degree Black Belt (Instructor): 07971003079
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