New national champions for Lytham Tae Kwon-Do

Dianne Russell (right) with members of the Lytham Tae Kwon-Do team which did so well at the English Championships in Worcester

Lytham Tae Kwon-Do has two new English champions.

Over 1,000 martial artists contested the TAGB English Tae Kwon-Do Championships at the University of Worcester and the Lytham team of 12 did the Fylde coast proud.

The biggest and best surprise result was provided by nine-year-old Oliver Swindells, who gave a solid performance in boys’ blue belt patterns before competing in the Strike Pad Power competition for the first time and being crowned flyweight English champion with his expert backfist strike.

The largest medal haul on the day was achieved by nine-year-old Ruby Russell, who scored a personal best in the blue and red belt patterns but missed out on the play-offs by a single point.

She refocused to gain bronze in the individual sparring, then won silver in the blue belt pee wee tag competition with her team ‘The Tooth Fairies’. Then in the Strike Pad Power flyweight competition, Ruby won silver for hand technique with her strong backfist strike, and gold for foot technique with a powerful back leg turning kick!

Ruby was also third in the Grand Champion Power competition, though only first place was awarded a medal, but she was more than happy with her final tally of one national title, two silvers and a bronze.

Ten-year-olds Max Wilson and Sofia Urwin, and brother and sister Jake (12) and Georgia (11) Prosser all gave solid performances in junior patterns for very high scores but were just outside the medals. Georgia and Sofia teamed up to win bronze in the girls’ lightweight green belt tag team sparring.

Brother and sister Dylan (11) and Maisie (9) Newburn were first time competitors and performed very well. Kirsty Ingleby (12) also shone in her first competition, narrowly missing the play-offs after a superb pattern.

Lytham Tae Kwon-Do owner and chief instructor Dianne Russell, 2nd Dan, took part in the Strike Pad Power competition and just missed out on the medals.

Dianne said “The English Championships were really tough this year. Everyone has upped their game as many are training hard for the World Championships in Birmingham in July. All our students gave solid performances and it’s great to see our newcomers really enjoying themselves in a competition of this magnitude.”

Lytham Tae Kwon-Do is offering places for new students with a free taster session. Contact Dianne Russell on 07970 579968. A list of class times and venues can be found at www.lythamtkd.co.uk.