 It’s amazing how quickly this time of year comes round again, the start of the new school year, Halloween, Bonfire night and of course, the British Championships at the end of November. It will be a long, all day affair with nearly twenty rings running simultaneously and over two thousand competitors taking part; an event which must be one of the largest martial arts events in the UK. The venue will again be the Skydome Arena in Coventry, with the competition area being the main ice rink which we all hope will be sufficiently covered so as no one suffers from frost bite in their toes!
This event looks set to be the precursor to next year’s World Championships, due to take place on the weekend of the 30th June 2007 at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. Therefore, we can look forward to seeing some exciting performances from all of our favourite regular competitors, who will be gearing themselves up for what will be one of the biggest martial arts events in the world.
There will be a few changes to this year’s programme, the main one being the addition of tag team sparring, something I’ve never seen at a TAGB national event before. This will be in preparation for the World’s next year, where tag team sparring will be open to all competitors, as opposed to the selected national team event which is by invitation only. I can’t wait to get stuck into this at Coventry as tag team sparring is fast, exciting and loads of fun to watch and take part in. Now all you have to do is decide on a name for your team.
One thing we will all notice is the absence of Warren Vice, who regularly thrills his audience with his formidable sparring. Who can forget his performance last year when he won the Men’s heavyweight title, even though Warren is actually a middleweight fighter. I remember seeing him finish off his opponent in the final with a flying back kick and my friend next to me yelling, “ ‘ave a bit of that then!” Warren is currently on holiday in Australia but never fear, he will be back for the World Championships and there are plenty of other performances to look forward to this year.
Personally, I can’t wait to see Alan Jackson regain his title in the light heavyweight division. Seeing him finally clinch a national title last year was one of the sweetest victories I saw. Alan has followed this success in 2006 by winning two European titles in Switzerland and Germany and is currently reaping all of the hard work he has shown in his dedication to training. His fighting style is elegant yet powerful and he is one of the most intelligent fighters I’ve seen. We can be sure to see Alan step right up and match anything that is dished out to him with cool aplomb, so make a point of seeing him perform, it is definitely worth it.
Equally though, the ladies events also look to have some thrilling battles, the one I am looking forward to is the light heavyweight event with Lynsay Williams set to take on the challenge. Winner of the TAGB black belt of the year in 2005, I’ve seen this young woman consistently train and improve over the past twelve months. She has taken several places in the black belt division which is quite a feat for someone who only gained their 1st Dan last year. Lynsay is already Welsh champion, where I saw her beat competitors with much more experience and she doubled the gold by winning the patterns event as well. Lynsay says, “I’m looking to improve on last year’s sparring and hopefully I have improved and can show this next month.” Lynsay is also the current British and English 1st Dan Patterns title holder and is hoping to regain this title but she describes her challenges as being, “the new black belts who are coming into the division for the first time, as they have all the heart and determination to do well. Hopefully I have more though!” Modest words from someone who has a great national and international career in Taekwondo ahead of her.
Be sure to check out the ladies lightweight division as well, where we will see Charlotte Simpson compete at the British for the first time in the adult division. Charlotte has had considerable success in the cadet ranks and also gained a third place in the adult ladies division in the World Championships last year in Cardiff so her performance will be one to anticipate. Another person’s performance I’m waiting for is that of Claire Sharples from Oldham. She has had considerable success in the colour belt divisions and is a regular at squad training sessions and by the time the British comes around, will have gained her 1st Dan. Her progress in the black belt divisions will be one to follow as we can be sure there will be international success for Claire on the horizon. Of course, we will also see our regular performances from Andrew Deer (winner of last year’s International Fighter of the Year title), Sean Rogers and Tamsin Clark, all of whom are guaranteed to provide exciting and high class Taekwondo for us to look forward to.
In the boys division, I’m also hoping to see another clash between lightweight boys Shane Lucas and Christopher Welsh. Their final at the World’s last year in terms of speed and performance was on a par with the adult divisions, with the boys providing a tense and exciting match that had us all enthralled. Another performance to look forward to is that of Todd Growns, Men’s British and English 1st Dan patterns holder, whose patterns are a prime example of precision and concise power. Since recently gaining his 2nd Dan, he will be moving up into the more testing division but there is no doubt he will be taking the challenge on and working his way to another gold in the near future.
Oh yes, I’ll be taking part as well! I will be looking to convert last year’s second place into a first place this year; so if you happen to be watching the ladies red belt lightweight division, be sure to give your deputy editor a little shout! Overall, this year’s TAGB British championships is set to be even bigger and better than before so make your way to Coventry on the 26th November, you won’t be disappointed.
|
(0 vote)
