​We have had a very busy few weeks of Tae Kon Do with grading and competitions with lots of success.
On Saturday 21st September we had our colour belt grading in Newcastle with Grand Master Sergiew. There were 15 students grading and we achieved a 100% successful pass rate.

On Saturday 5th October was the North Midlands Area Championships in Nottingham. There was over 250 people participating at the competition and we had 7 students competing in a variety of events. For many of our members this was their first ever Tae Kwon Do competition. We were extremely successful and every one of our students came home with a medal and we had a total medal haul of 16. Gold x 8, Silver x 2, Bronze x 6.
Thomas -  2 Gold & 1 Bronze
Henry - Gold & Silver
Dexter – 3 Golds
Isobel – 2 Golds & 1 Bronze
Ryan – Bronze
Sam –  Bronze
Ashton – 1 Silver & 2 Bronze 

Congratulations to all of you that competed and for all the dedication, hard work and skill shown. 

The past few weeks have been full of Tae Kwon Do action and will continue in the next few weeks too. 
We started at the end of May with the Welsh Championships in Cardiff, where we had five students competing, Chris, Emma, Dexter, Carl and Amelia. I would like to say a big well done to all of them for competing. It was a day of new experiences for a lot of them. It was Dexter and Amelia's first competition, Carl's first time sparring in the continuous sparring format and Chris's first time sparring in the Men's black belt heavy weight category.  
Congratulations to Emma who came away with third place in the woman's red belt sparring .
There are lots of positives to take from their performances and areas for improvement we can work on. 

​After the Welsh Championships all attention was focused on the up coming colour belt grading at Whitchurch.
This was a very special grading for me in many different ways, but the most significant, it was our last club grading with World Mater Brian Towndrow and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all he has done for me personally, our clubs, the North Midlands Area and the TAGB. He will be missed greatly and I wish him all the best in the future.
I feel those grading gave a  strong performance, with many getting an Advanced pass so well done to all of you and it was a nice send off for Master Towndrow. 
Photos of the belt presentations can be found on our Facebook group. www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10155608199595905&type=3

I would also like to thank all of the black bets that gave up their free time to help with the grading, without their help the grading would not run ass smoothly as it did so thank you!

Up and coming events​
Coming up next is the World Master Minott Semiar at Whitchurch on Saturday 23rd June. I cannot recommend this seminar enough. Master Minott is a fantastic coach and a great guy. Whatever your experience you will gain something from this seminar.  
This event is open to all TAGB licensed, if you'd like to attend please speak to your instructor or contact me to book your place.

TI World Championships 
On the 21st and 22nd July the TAGB are hosting the Tae Kwon Do International World Championships in Birmingham Arena. 
​All information along with entry forms can be found on the World Championships website
 www.worlds.tkdi.biz

We have a busy weekend of Tae Kwon Do ahead of us, starting with the colour belt in Newcastle and then the English championships in Worcester.

The colour belt grading is being held at Newcastle College the address is: Gordon Banks Sports Centre, Newcastle-under-Lyme College, Knutton Lane, Staffordshire, ST5 2GB.
​The grading will start at 11am and all grades need to be there ready to start at this time please.
Because of the grading there is no training at Whitchurch on Saturday (24th March,) training at Whitchurch will resume on Saturday 31st March.

On Sunday 25th March we are heading to the university of Worcester for the 2018 English Championships where we have students competing and officiating. The running order is below, so you can see which area you will be competing on.
​​All competitors to arrive by 9.00 am.

​Reports are coming in about long delays in Worcester city center.
To make sure you arrive on time and are ready to compete in your event.
Please see the map below which shows a route in blue which comes in from the west to miss the city centre road works. 

Good luck to all our students that are grading and competing this weekend, enjoy your weekend of Tae Kwon Do.

​This weekend see’s the start of the April 2018 black belt grading process with the mock grading in Belper, Derbyshire. We have two students taking part and I would like to wish them the best of luck.
The details of the mock grading are below.

Start time: 13.00
Please make sure you arrive there in plenty of time.
​
Venue: Belper Leisure Centre, John O'Gaunts Way, Belper DE56 0DA.