Coloured Belt Grading, Sunday 10 December 2023
On Sunday 10th December 2023, we had our last coloured belt grading test of the year, and we were very privileged to again welcome T-UK President, Master John Archer (VII Dan) to Chester as our guest examiner. As usual, Master Archer tested our members very thoroughly, in all aspects of Taekwon-do, including technical movements, patterns, set and free sparring, breaking and theory. Our members did us proud again, prompting Master Archer to make numerous comments about the high technical standards at the club. Really well done to all of our members again, especially to our three young female members, Eleanor Emm, Rebekah Shuler and Eve Morgetroyd, who reached 1st kup (black stripe), meaning that their next grading will be for their black belts!
T-UK British Championships and Grandmaster Training, 14 - 15 October 2023
14-15 October was a brilliant weekend for our club, starting with the T-UK British championships tournament in Coventry. Our team of competitors did brilliantly, winning many medals and impressing all the judges and instructors. Even those who did not win medals this time gave impressive performances, which they will learn from and which they should be proud of!
Our medals winners were:
Abigail Shuler, gold in sparring and bronze in patterns
Ksenia Mangan, gold in patterns
Poppy Thomson, gold in sparring
Grace Millington, silver in patterns and bronze in sparring
Ben Etchell, bronze in sparring
Rebekah Shuler, bronze in sparring
Really well done to you all!
T-UK was very proud to have to special guests at our tournament; ITF legend, Grandmaster Willem Bos and his World Champion son Mr Timothy Bos! It was a privilege for our members to meet these two and on Sunday 15 October, several of our members attended and enjoyed a brilliant training seminar with them both. GM and Mr Bos taught our members some fantastic exercises, which they enjoyed showing to the rest of our club the following week!
Our medals winners were:
Abigail Shuler, gold in sparring and bronze in patterns
Ksenia Mangan, gold in patterns
Poppy Thomson, gold in sparring
Grace Millington, silver in patterns and bronze in sparring
Ben Etchell, bronze in sparring
Rebekah Shuler, bronze in sparring
Really well done to you all!
T-UK was very proud to have to special guests at our tournament; ITF legend, Grandmaster Willem Bos and his World Champion son Mr Timothy Bos! It was a privilege for our members to meet these two and on Sunday 15 October, several of our members attended and enjoyed a brilliant training seminar with them both. GM and Mr Bos taught our members some fantastic exercises, which they enjoyed showing to the rest of our club the following week!
Coloured Belt Grading, Sat 9 July 2023
On Sunday 9th July 2023, we were very privileged to welcome T-UK President, Master John Archer (VII Dan) to Chester for our summer coloured belt grading. The venue was the gymnasium at Queen's Park High School and we had a busy couple of hours, with 24 of our members being tested on their skills, knowledge and stamina, from beginners up to red belts. Master Archer was delighted with our members' technical standards and enthusiasm and our instructors were very proud of the performances. We are really pleased to announce that everyone was successful in their test and Master Archer also awarded a record number of A grade passes, for the following members:
Safina Dagnall - 7th kup
Ash Beneroso del Valle - 7th kup
Florence Pritchard - 6th kup
Evie Darke - 5th kup
Carina DeSouza - 5th kup
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari - 4th kup
Grace Millington - 3rd kup
Special congratulations to these members, but really well done to everyone who took part!
Safina Dagnall - 7th kup
Ash Beneroso del Valle - 7th kup
Florence Pritchard - 6th kup
Evie Darke - 5th kup
Carina DeSouza - 5th kup
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari - 4th kup
Grace Millington - 3rd kup
Special congratulations to these members, but really well done to everyone who took part!
Black Belt Gradings at Trident TKD Academy, Sun 14 May 2023
It was a very exciting day for our club on Sun 14 May 2023, as we had four members being tested for their black belt gradings at the Trident Taekwon-do Academy in Sale. The examiners were T-UK masters Archer, Ridley and Miley (all VII Dan) and as always, all of the candidates were tested to their limits, both physically and mentally. Our members were brilliant again and we are very proud to announce the following promotions:
1st degree black belt: Mr Ben Etchell, Miss Victoria Pearson, Miss Ella Shaw
2nd degree black belt: Miss Ksenia Mangan
1st degree black belt: Mr Ben Etchell, Miss Victoria Pearson, Miss Ella Shaw
2nd degree black belt: Miss Ksenia Mangan
Coloured Belt Gradings at Trident TKD Academy, Sale, Sat 25 March 2023
On Saturday 25th March 2022, several of our coloured belt members travelled to Sale for their grading tests under T-UK President, Master John Archer. As usual, the gradings at the Trident academy also included members form the academy itself, under Master James Miley, as well as some from our partner clubs around Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Our members performed brilliantly as usual and they made our instructors very proud!
OMA Regional Championships Tournament, Sunday 26 February 2023
On Sunday 26th February 2023, we attended our second tournament in quick succession, hosted by a group of neighboring clubs at Deeside Leisure Centre. This tournament gave our members the chance to compete against some clubs from different associations and organisations and as a result, there was some variation in styles and technique. It was also nice to have a local tournament so close to Chester! Needless to say, our members that attended did great again and once again, we managed to claim quite a few medals. Very well done to all of our members that attended, especially to our medal winners, listed below:
Ben Etchell, gold, patterns
Poppy Thomson, silver, sparring
Grace Millington, silver, patterns
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari, silver, patterns
Carina DeSouza, silver, sparring
Ksenia Mangan, bronze, sparring
Ben Etchell, gold, patterns
Poppy Thomson, silver, sparring
Grace Millington, silver, patterns
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari, silver, patterns
Carina DeSouza, silver, sparring
Ksenia Mangan, bronze, sparring
T-UK English Championships Tournament, Sunday 5 February 2023
On Sunday 5th February 2023, Master James Miley hosted T-UK's first tournament in the north of England for a few years and Chester sent a string team to take part. For many of our competitors, it was their first ever tournament, and for a few others their first in a long time, so we were hopeful, but not certain of our medal prospects at the start of the day. In the end, we had a brilliant day, winning a clutch of medals, a couple of impressive, but frustrating fourth places and even those that didn't win medals really impressed with their efforts and skills! Of course, Mr Emm, Mrs Shuler and Miss Ksenia Mangan also did us proud with their efforts as umpires and referees.
Our full list of medals was as follows:
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari: bronze, patterns
Matthew Shuler: silver, sparring
Grace Millington: gold, patterns
Carina DeSouza: 2 x gold, patterns and sparring
Evie Darke: 2 x silver, patterns and sparring
Ella Shaw, gold, patterns
Ben Etchell, gold patterns and bronze sparring
Ksenia Mangan, silver, patterns
Our full list of medals was as follows:
Julia Kuehlewind-Budavari: bronze, patterns
Matthew Shuler: silver, sparring
Grace Millington: gold, patterns
Carina DeSouza: 2 x gold, patterns and sparring
Evie Darke: 2 x silver, patterns and sparring
Ella Shaw, gold, patterns
Ben Etchell, gold patterns and bronze sparring
Ksenia Mangan, silver, patterns
T-UK Instructors' Training, 21-22 January 2023
Our first significant events of 2023 involved instructor training, firstly for Mr Emm and Mrs Shuler on Saturday 21 January, who joined the T-UK masters and VI dan instructor Mr Martin Noddings for a 4-hour physical training course covering the entire coloured belt syllabus, with a focus on how to teach the patterns and techniques well, whilst also covering important parts of a Taekwon-do class, such as correct ways to warm up and how to develop attributes such as mobility and flexibility. This excellent class was followed by a very enjoyable dinner and social evening in Stratford-upon-Avon for some of T-UK's masters and senior instructors (including both Mr Emm and Mrs Shuler).
On Sunday 22 January, Mr Emm and Mrs Shuler were joined by a few of Chester's apprentice instructors: Mr Kris Dawson, Ben Etchell and Victoria Pearson. Along with many other instructors and red/black belts from around T-UK, they spent Sunday learning about how to run a club, the finances of doing so, the legal requirements, including safeguarding and data protection, as well as some excellent guidance on how to run and structure a Taekwon-do class. The vast majority of this course was presented by Mr Noddings, whose depth of knowledge and enthusiasm was very clear for all to see. It bodes well for Chester to have a team of excellent and developing young instructors, both for our current members and to (hopefully) grow the club in the coming years!
On Sunday 22 January, Mr Emm and Mrs Shuler were joined by a few of Chester's apprentice instructors: Mr Kris Dawson, Ben Etchell and Victoria Pearson. Along with many other instructors and red/black belts from around T-UK, they spent Sunday learning about how to run a club, the finances of doing so, the legal requirements, including safeguarding and data protection, as well as some excellent guidance on how to run and structure a Taekwon-do class. The vast majority of this course was presented by Mr Noddings, whose depth of knowledge and enthusiasm was very clear for all to see. It bodes well for Chester to have a team of excellent and developing young instructors, both for our current members and to (hopefully) grow the club in the coming years!
