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return to top | Scottish Open - Saturday 21st June, Kelvin Halls Glasgow |
| In patterns u13 we had Lewis Brooks up first who made it to the second round of a large group but was narrowly beaten there. Next up in the veteran kup group Leighton Prosser made easy work of the qualifying rounds and eased his way into the final where he once again face Valerie Barrett of Fairwater and upped his performance to take a gold. In the 13-17 green belt group Sarah Jones uncharacteristically went out in the 1/4 final and Ryan Davis kept up his recent performances and took gold in the red belt group making easy work of the rounds to the final. In the female I dan patterns Lanny James worked solidly to get to the final and despite a sharp and technical round saw the decision go the other way and had to settle for silver. In the males Gareth Francis and Conah Prosser along with three Fairwater black belts all worked well but eventually came up against each other with Gareth losing in the early rounds Conah made it to the final to face Lee Crews and was able to up his tempo for the final to win gold. Finally in the 18+ male I dan patterns both Tom Harris and Wayne Brooks competed well through the early rounds and entered the final against each other where Tom came out on top to take gold - a good morning of pattern work with 4 gold and 2 silver. After a lunch break and a destruction display the afternoon moved into the sparring events. In the veterans Leighton Prosser had a good semi final picking up enough points to go through to the final where he moved well and tried to pick out shots - the result went against him but he had a silver to compensate for a bruised nose and what felt like a broken toe to boot ;) Lewis Brooks in the u13 green -135 made easy work of all the rounds and picked up a very well deserved gold. In the 13-17 Sarah Jones went straight to a final giving away over 25kg as she was paired up with the only other female yellow/green and after hard and frenetic round she came out with a 2-0 win and won gold to make up for patterns disappointment. In the male blue/red -58kg Ryan Davis worked tirelessly through the rounds and demolished his opponents to pick up his second gold of the day. In the junior male black belts -63kg Conah Prosser fought well but was narrowly beaten in the semi final and had to settle for a bronze. Gareth Francis in the -69kg put in a great display in the semi final to win and seemed to do more than enough to win his final but saw the decision go the other way and only take home silver. In the female -52kg Lanny James determined to make up for the patterns final went for gold from the off and it saw her beat her Scottish opponent in the semi and then face Kirsty Miller of England in the the final for the fourth time in a row and she upped her work rate to ensure she won and took gold. In the 18+ male -57kg Tom Harris worked well if cautiously due to his nose but did enough to win his second gold. Finally Wayne Brooks fought a good semi final to win his way into the final where he seemed to do enough in the second round to win but the result left him with silver. Lewis, Gareth, Conah and Lanny all attempted special technique with Lanny being successful picking up a bronze for her group. |
return to top | English Open - Saturday 15th March, K2 Crawley |
| The first up for Ely were Thomas and Daniel Jenkins in the u13 green belt patterns, Daniel unfortunately had to bow out in the 2nd round but Thomas went from strength to strength and was rewarded with a gold for all his hard work. In the u13 red belts Ethan Davis performed well but was pipped to the win in the semi final by fellow welsh competitor and had to settle for a bronze. In the 13-17 patterns groups more success came as Sarah Jones and Ben Hull both dominated the green and red belt groups to both take gold. In the female I dan patterns Lanny James and Lauren Robson put in good performances, Lanny made the final but Lauren had the decision go against her and had to settle for bronze. in the final Lanny upped her tempo and took the gold. In the male I dan patterns Conah Prosser and Gareth Francis both did very well moving through the rounds eventually meeting in the final where Conah edged Gareth out for gold leaving him more than happy with the silver. IN the male II & III dan patterns Luke Wakely overcame a momentary lapse of concentration in his first round to put on a good second pattern but it wasn't enough to advance further than the semi final so had to settle for bronze. In the 18+ division first up was a Daniel Neale in the blue belts who despite putting in a good solid pattern saw the decision go against him. In female I dan patterns Cassie Lund went from strength to strength to win gold, in the male I dan patterns Tom Harris made it to the semi final but was unable to overcome his opponent and had to settle for bronze. In the female II dan patterns Victoria Phillips was unfortunate to go out in the quarter final after a solid performance, Jenna Wakely put in a good patterns also but lost in the semi final picking up bronze. Our final pattern competitor for the day was in the Veteran division where Leighton Presser won silver in the all in colour group. After a break for lunch the sparring commenced, in the u13's green belts -145 brothers Daniel and Thomas Jenkins easily moved through their rounds to face each other in the final where Daniels quicker reactions and more attacking profile won the day and he picked up gold. In the blue/red -135's Ethan Davis controlled al his fights and moved through the rounds to the final where he upped his game once more to win gold. Up in the 13-17 division Sarah Jones won her yellow/green -48kg semi final but was pounded out of the final by a very physical opponent who left her with silver and what was probably the best bruise of the day on her arm. In the male blue/red -69kg Ben Hull competed in a frantic and physical fight edging his opponent out to pick up gold. In black belt female -51kg Lanny James dominated her final to lift gold and Lauren Robson in +70kg over came a cautious first round to totally dominate the second round and also lift gold. In male -63kg Conah Prosser had a round robin event winning both of his fights to take the gold, Gareth Francis in the -69kg was outscored by his opponent in the semi final and had to settle for a bronze and Luke Wakely in the +75kg slowly raised his game through the rounds to win a well deserved gold. In the 18+ division Daniel Neale in the blue/red -75kg was unable to find his form and bowed out in the quarter final. The female -57kg black belt group saw a cautious bought between Victoria Phillips and Cassie Lund allow Cassie to advance to the final whilst Victoria took a well earned bronze, in the other semi final Jenna Wakely fought English team member Leanne Taylor, having a good first round she was then unable to overcome Leanne's experience in the second and had to settle for bronze. In the final Cassie went for the longest fight of the day as the result was a draw then a draw in overtime and they around 4 minutes of sudden death before the decision went Leanne's Way for the point needed to win leaving Cassie with silver. The last bought of the day for us was Leighton Prosser in the veteran light weight group where despite giving away over 10kg he moved well and scored point to win both his fights and pick up gold. In the special technique the school saw Ethan Davis take gold and Daniel Jenkins silver in the colour belt category and Luke Wakely a gold in the 13-17 black belt event. This meant the school finished on 16 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze which amounted to 69 points and meant Ely finished winning school on the day - a great achievement with just 16 students there and means we are English Champions two years running which is no small achievement. Well done to you all for all your hard work. |
 | 30th Anniversary meal - Riverside Restaurant Cardiff 29th February 2008 |
| Some 45 people turned up at the Riverside Chinese restaurant to help celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Senior Master John Taylor VIII as an instructor in Taekwon-Do. IT was back in 1977 that he received his promotion to black belt and the following year in 1978 he opened his first school in Penarth and has been instructing since. A very enjoyable evening was had with a presentation made to Master Taylor - pictures are on the link to the left. |
 | Grand Prix VI stage I - Sunday 24th February, Eastern Leisure Centre |
| 17 Ely students entered the first Grand Prix of 2008 and all did very well performing brilliantly and coming away with 8 gold, 5 silver and 13 bronze between them all. |
 | Ely Skittles Night - Saturday 16th February 18:00 |
| A great night was had with some skittling (well sort of) going on as well. Thank you to everyone for supporting the night and you helped raise over £170 for Ely school well done to you all and thank you to Sharon Matthews for organising the event and Dave Lund for hosting it. Check out the pictures for the night by clicking on Brandon Brooks winner of the kids league on the night. |
 | ITF Wales Umpire course - Sunday 10th February 10:00-12:00 |
| This weekend saw the first ITF Wales Umpire course run to train up all black belts that officiate in the Grand Prix series so that there is a good level of judging going on. Luke Wakely III, Jenna Wakely II, Cassie Lund I, Tom Harris I, Lauren Robson I, Gareth Francis I, Conah Prosser I and Lanny James I all attended the course run by Senior Master Prewett VIII and are now certified to be ITF Wales officials - congratulations to you all. |
