New Barnet competitors:
Ilja Titov, Alfie Huggard, Drilon Bajrami, Stephen Titov.

Docklands competitors:
Sebastian Mahsoudi, Zane Ahmad

The ETA had several members competing at this junior event hosted by GTI association. New Barnet had 4 competitors and Docklands sent 3. Master Denis 7th degree and David Charlton 4th degree were in attendance along with myself.

Master Denis also spotted that the legendary sparring champion Tony Sewell was also in attendance as a senior official.

The tournament was a local event and attendees numbered approximately 50. There were 3 rings in operation and the spectators were able to get very close to the action.




Patterns were run with one person up at a time with a point scoring system rather than the head-to-head format and New Barnet’s Drilon Bajrami 5th kup and Ilja Titov 3rd kup performed very well, taking Gold and Silver respectively in the blue belt patterns.

Young Sebastian Mahsoudi 5th kup 8 years old from Docklands, won an excellent  Silver against much older opponents. Also from Docklands, Zane Ahmad 8th kup 8 years old, did very well winning Silver in the Yellow belt division.

In the sparring events, Ilja shone by winning gold in both the blue/red belt point-stop and continuous sparring divisions. Alfie Huggard 4th kup won two Silver medals and Drilon won Silver in point-stop and Bronze in continuous sparring.


Drilon Bajrami, Alfie huggard and Ilja Titov with hardware

All trophies were awarded in a ceremony at the end of the competition rather than after each event. Unfortunately, the Gold medals were not availabe to give out on the day and instead, the tournament host Mr Sean Onipede, was gracious enough to deliver them to the New Barnet club when they became available.

All in all, it was a nice local event for the ETA students to attend and hopefully, the GTI will attend ETA competitions in the near future.

Official results on the NLTKD website here.


Ilja Titov 3rd kup, with his 2 Golds and a Silver

Results!

New Barnet competitors:
Ilja Titov, Sam Daee, Drilon Bajrami, George Leffman.

New Barnet results!

A phenomenal performance from Drilon Bajrami earned him 3 Gold medals, a first for a New Barnet student! Also, excellent sparring from George in only his second competition and from Ilja facing up to 2 England team blackbelts in a round-robin.

New Barnet competitors:
Drilon Bajrami

New Barnet results!

Once again, Drilon Bajrami shows his high level of ability as a competitor! Look for even more impressive results from him in future, as he moves up the ranks.

England Taekwon-Do Association

With great pleasure ETA are able to confirm that on Sunday 27 September 2009 Master Willy van de Mortel from Holland will be conducting a Sparring seminar for all grades.

Master van de Mortel has an incredible record of producing elite level athletes, his most notable student being Tomaz Barada (6 time European Champion and world Champion).  During Master van de Mortel’s career his services have been requested by National Teams such as Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia and  New Zealand where he has gone on to give invaluable advice and produce excellent results.

Cost is £20.for ETA Students

England Taekwon-Do Association and ITF Wales

ETA and ITF Wales are pleased to announce the joint venture between them that has enabled world renowned competitor Katya Solovey and her coach and husband Oleg, who is one of the coaches of the Ukrainian Team, to conduct a seminar in Highgate Wood School, Montenotte Road, N8 8RN, on 26th July from 10am-1pm.

It is a fantastic opportunity to train with one of the premier coaches as well as being able to train with someone who has won many titles in the -52kg category.

Katya Solovey History:
6x ITF European champion
2x ITF World Cup champion
ITF World champion 2007
WAKO Euro cup champion
WKA European champion
WAKO World championship bronze medal

To book your place please phone Master Thomas Denis 07727 044 921 or email Neil Ernest on neil_ernest@hotmail.com
Cost is £20.

Six days of World class tuition from a Polish national team coach Master J. Jedut 7th degree as well as various European and World champion competitors. Not to be missed by the serious Taekwon-Do student!

Costs.

Monday,Wednesday and Friday - £20 each day
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday - £30 each day

To train all 7 sessions the cost will be £100
To train for any 5 sessions the cost will be £70
To train for any 3 sessions the cost will be £50

Please confirm your booking, via e-mail, to juliefagg@bulldoghome.com or tomtkd@bulldoghome.com so that location and time details can be sent to you.

NOTE: Monday to Friday sessions will be run in the evening and not during the day.

The presentation for these Awards took place on Friday 17 December 2010, at the Lyonsdown Hall dojang.

The Student of the Year for 2010 is Drilon Bajrami , 4th Kup. He receives a certificate and engraved trophy.

Drilon has had an excellent year with fantastic tournament results and very fast progression up the ranks to blue belt. His enthusiasm for Taekwon-Do is obvious and he is a top performer in the class. If he maintains his current progress, he will be going for black belt sometime in 2012.

Congratulations to Drilon!

Student of the Year 2010 - Drilon Bajrami (left) with 2009 winner, Sam Daee

Other Awards for 2010 - Most Promising Student (TinyTKD) & Commitment Awards

Due to the number of students in the Tiny Taekwon-Do classes that had completed 1+ years of training , it has become possible to give awards for exceptional students in this group. This year, two awards were given.

Most Prominsing Students (TinyTKD) went to Mekhi Bernard (Red T-shirt) and Kyan Simpson (Green T-shirt). They both received a certificate and Mekhi also received an engraved trophy.

Both of these students have excellent attendance and show very good ability and behaviour in classes to which newer members can aspire. Mekhi in particular has maintained his enthusiasm and continues to improve.

Well done to them!

Finally, there was 1 award this year for Commitment and Dedication. This award went to Sam Daee (5th kup) for completing 5 years of regular training at the club

The presentation for these Awards took place on Tuesday 16 December 2008, at the Lyonsdown Hall dojang.

The Student of the Year for 2009 is Sam Daee, 5th Kup. He receives a certificate and engraved trophy.

Sam has set an excellent example to other students with his dedication and strong training ethic.

The Most Promising Student for 2008 is Stephen Titov , 9th Kup. He receives a certificate and engraved trophy.

Stephen has had an excellent year winning 2 Gold's and silver tournaments

Other Awards for 2009 - Most Promising Student (TinyTKD) & Commitment Awards

Most Prominsing Students (TinyTKD) went to Max Bhatia (Red T-shirt) and Samuel Hurst (Blue T-shirt). They received a certificate and engraved trophy.

Both of these students have excellent attendance and show very good ability and behaviour in classes to which newer members can aspire.

Well done to them!

Finally, there was 1 award this year for Commitment and Dedication. This went to Ilja Titov (4th kup) for completing 5 years of regular training at the club!

For the first time since the school opened in 2004, we have decided to close for August. We hope that all students enjoy the time off and all classes will be back to normal from September.

Last lesson before summer break: Friday 24th July

First lesson back : Tuesday 1st September

The presentation for these Awards took place on Tuesday 16 December 2008, at the Lyonsdown Hall dojang.

As with last year, this last class of 2008 had several members form the Tiny Taekwon-Do classes joining in. It was very impressive that they managed to keep up with the older students and they had as much fun as in their usual class!

The Student of the Year for 2008 is Ilja Titov , 5th Kup. He receives a certificate and engraved trophy.

Ilja has been a consistently high performer in regular training, in competitions and in gradings for many years. He sets a good example to junior students and his ability in Taekwon-Do is developing all the time.

At the most recent competition, Ilja won Gold in patterns for the first time and this shows how his patterns perfomance has steadily increased over the last year and is beginning to match his sparring ability.

Congratulations to Ilja!

Student of the Year 2008 - Ilja Titov (second from right)
Most Promising Student 2008 - George Leffman (second from left)
Commitment Awards: Jonathan Quinzo (left) - Alfie Huggard (right)
Most Promising Student (TinyTKD) - Isaac Backhouse (centre)

Most Promising Student (TinyTKD) - Cameron Welch

The Most Promising Student for 2008 is George Leffman , 9th Kup. He receives a certificate and engraved trophy.

Since he started training a year ago, George has been very enthusiastic and has learned a great deal. He has been an example of good behaviour and hard work. He has a lot of natural ability in Teakwon-Do especially balance and speed

His attendance has been second-to-none for the last year and he continues to impress with his patterns performance and understanding of acceleration and power in techniques.

Very well done to him!

Other Awards for 2008 - Most Promising Student (TinyTKD) & Commitment Awards

Due to the number of students in the Tiny Taekwon-Do classes that had completed 1+ years of training , it has become possible to give awards for exceptional students in this group. This year, two awards were given.

Most Prominsing Students (TinyTKD) went to Cameron Welch (Blue T-shirt) and Isaac Backhouse (Red T-shirt). They received a certificate and engraved trophy.

Both of these students have excellent attendance and show very good ability and behaviour in classes to which newer members can aspire.

Well done to them!

Finally, there were 2 new awards this year for Commitment and Dedication. These awards went to Alfie Huggard (7th kup) and Jonathan Quinzo (5th kup) for completing 5 years of regular training at the club!

For such young students this is exceptional and they deserve recognition for this achievement.

Well done to them both!

After nearly 5 years of running unchanged lessons, the New Barnet class now needs to change schedule.

Saturday 11-12pm will move to Friday 5-6pm

The primary reason for the change is to prevent lesson cancellations due to various TKD events held on Saturdays.

Classes start on Fridays from 26th September. The last Saturday class will be on 20th September.

TKD Excel launches a fourth session of Tiny Taekwon-Do™ (a young childrens class) from September 2008 in New Barnet .

This class runs on a Monday at 4pm and is in addition to the Tuesday and Friday classes running at New Barnet. More info here.

TKD Excel launches a third session of Tiny Taekwon-Do™ (a young childrens class) from January 2008 at the West Finchley venue.

This class runs on a Thursday at 4pm and is in addition to the Tuesday and Friday classes running at New Barnet. More info here.

New Barnet competitors:
Ilja Titov, Alfie Huggard, Sam Daee, Drilon Bajrami, George Leffman, Stephen Titov.

New Barnet results!

Congratulations to the following students for passing their kup grading:

New Barnet competitors:
Ilja Titov, Alfie Huggard, Drilon Bajrami, Stephen Titov.

Students from New Barnet performed phenomenally well at this large and important competition, each winning a Gold medal !

I was very impressed with Drilon and Stephen in particular due to their inexperience in competition. They showed lots of talent and skill as if they'd been competing for years!

Top perfomer of the day was Drilon Bajrami who won 3 medals - 1 Gold and 2 Bronze - at only his second competition! Winning medals in 3 seperate events shows the breadth of his abilities in Taekwon-Do - Drilon has a great deal of talent. The Gold was for Special Technique which he had barely practiced in training, yet he easily performed 3 jumping high kicks to claim the victory against taller opponents. In sparring, he reached the semi-finals with very good sparring technique and a brave performance. His patterns are getting better every time he does them and he did well on the day.

Ilja Titov was back to his winning ways, and took a very well-deserved Gold in his difficult sparring division. His performance in the final was especially accomplished as he dominated his extremely aggressive opponent by using very accurate turning kicks and punches. He has proven that he is one of the best fighters at his level in the UK and he will soon need to seek challenges in the blue belt division and up to take him to the next level of performance.

Alfie Huggard, who has won the sparring event at the London Open the previous 2 years, also won this event to make it 3 years running as Champion! I don't think any other junior has accomplished this and it shows just how good a fighter he is. His fight in the final showed how much he has learned over the years as he dominated the round against a bigger oppenent by out-thinking him and using superior movement. In patterns, he started off very well but was then, very strangely, told by the judges to do a pattern he hadn't practiced for. This is unheard of except in the case of a draw and I don't understand why it happened. He still did well but I have no doubt he would have won a medal with Won-Hyo if he had been allowed to perform it.

Stephen Titov was an absolute star in the sparring event! At only his second competition he completely annihilated his opponents with his high turning kicks, his rapid punches and his forward movement. All his opponents were much more experienced than him but his exceptional talent and confidence meant that he easily won Gold. I am very impressed with how well Stephen has taken to competition with no fear and with the sparring ability of someone much more experienced.

All in all, a fantastic day for the New Barnet school !!

Official Tournament results here

The Fantastic Four! Ilja Titov - Stephen Titov - Alfie Huggard - Drilon Bajrami

New Barnet results!

New Barnet competitors:
Ilja Titov, Alfie Huggard, Drilon Bajrami, George Leffman, Stephen Titov.

Students from New Barnet did extremely well at this well-attended and well organised competition.

In particular, Drilon Bajrami, 7th Kup, won 2 Gold medals at his very first competion! He showed a great deal of confidence in his sparring, breezing through his opponents. He also performed his pattern very well despite only having a few weeks to learn it after his recent grading.

Seasoned competitor Alfie Huggard won 2 Bronze medals after facing stiff oppostion in his green belt category.

Stephen Titov, a graduate of the Tiny TKD class, did fantastically well at his first competition winning Silver in the sparring event. He showed a great deal of natural ability and confidence in his sparring just like his older brother Ilja. He is one to watch for the future.

Ilja had a tough sparring division and an equally difficult patterns group. He did very well in most respects and particularly his patterns performance is always improving - no medals this time, which is unusual for him, but lots of things have been learned.

George Leffman was entered for the patterns competion only and performed Chon-Ji very well, with good power and sine wave in particular. It was a good introduction to competition for George and he should be happy with his performance on the day.

Drilon Bajrami		Alfie Huggard
Stephen Titov

New Barnet results!

Congratulations to Mr Thomas Denis on his recent promotion from 6th degree to 7th degree Master of Taekwon-Do! He passed his grading at the most recent International Instructors Course held in New York in March.

Master Thomas Denis 7th degree (second from left)

Master Denis has been training in Taekwon-Do since the early 1980s and has been committed to the teaching and promotion of Taekwon-Do in England.

Master Denis is a popular and well-known figure both in the UK and abroad. He is the National Team Senior Coach and is also Vice-President of the England Taekwon-Do Association. He maintains successful schools in Docklands and Pimlico with many European and World champions as students.

His experience in Taekwon-Do and his dedication are exceptional and includes a busy international schedule, travelling throughout Europe and elsewhere to teach and collaborate with other senior instructors on new teaching methodolgies. Without a doubt, the extensive knowledge that Master Denis has attained has been instrumental in the great success enjoyed by the England Team in recent years.

TKD Excel students have benefitted enormously from his guidance during their kup gradings and will continue to do so in the future.

On a personal note, the tuition of Master Denis has been responsible for my own progress and commitment in Taekwon-Do over many years and I am very grateful to him for his support and guidance.

Congratulations to the following students for passing their kup grading:

New Barnet results!

Medallists Amy Staniford and Alfie Huggard

TKD Excel New Barnet Competitors:
Under 13's Yellow Belt: Alfie Huggard & Kamil Clarke
Under 13's Green Belt: Ilja Titov
13-17 Green Belt: Chris McCarthy

The New Barnet students put in an excellent performance at this year's London Open! This tournament is a favourite annual event for the club.

Ilja, Alfie, Chris and Kamil with hardware !

Alfie Huggard was head-and-shoulders above the rest in his enormous U13 Yellow belt division. He won Gold in sparring and Silver in patterns. In sparring, he breezed his way to the final where he had to work extremely hard to outpoint his opponent. His defence is getting better all the time and his work rate is impressive. He performed a consistently excellent Dan-Gun all through the patterns rounds including the final. In a very close final match up, I thought that he should have got the decision because his sine wave and continuous motion was superior to his opponent's. However, the decision went the other way but this was, thankfully, not something to be too concerned about as it was extremely close.

Ilja Titov was impressive in the U13 Green belt division. He won Silver in sparring and Silver in patterns. His pattern has improved a lot as he has learned over time to better pace his movements. The opponent got the decision in the final mainly due to more consistency overall rather than superiority of techniques and this shows that it is in Ilja’s hands to make the adjustments to his patterns performance to start winning Golds. In sparring, he blitzed through the rounds with ease, scoring many more points than necessary  to secure his victories. In the final, Ilja met a taller and very competent fighter who put him under pressure right from the start by scoring with head kicks. It was a tough fight and Ilja demonstrated fantastic heart, fitness and superior sparring technique that had his larger opponent on the back foot for the rest of the round. However, the early scores against him made it impossible to catch up in the time available. Ilja continues to be one to watch for the future.

Chris McCarthy took Silver in sparring with his usual excellent movement and intelligence in the ring. In the final, he met a very talented fighter with accomplished ring control and sharp attacking techniques. Chris had to work hard to neutralise him and score on the retreat and also by coming forward unexpectedly. He did this with lots of skill and very good timing but was somehow denied the win. I think that this decision was extremely unfortunate (I would rather not use the word "disgraceful" in writing) because it means that the bout could only have been judged on the appearance of effectiveness instead of actual scoring achieved. Chris clearly scored more and should have got the decision, even though his opponent appeared to be controlling the bout and came forward more. Sparring is about scoring with good techniques, not just performing good techniques – this salient point was missed on this occasion. As Chris has experienced before, these things happen and he should be happy with his performance.

Kamil Clarke won Silver in sparring. His semi-final fight went into overtime and he really had to work hard to ensure victory - his fitness and commitment winning him through. In the final, he came up against an enormous opponent – this is how it can be in the tallest U13 division! There was no real way for Kamil to get the win with the height and reach advantage of his opponent but he gave it everything and was not fazed by the challenge. He used good movement and speed to score well and do the best possible. The opponent – from Hogan’s TKD – sparred well and with good control. Kamil can take heart that in the 13-17 division next year, opponents should be more fairly sized as divisions then go by weight! Kamil’s sparring has definitely improved since the last tournament and he has the ability to continue to get better.

The medal table is below with New Barnet once again showing that no matter how few of them attend a competition, they will always leave with truckloads of precious metal!

First competition appearance by baby Adelagun - future Champion !