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On 10-11th March 2018, University of Birmingham Taekwondo University of Birmingham Taekwondo Club competed at the 32nd Student National Taekwondo Championships at University of Worcester Arena, in both sparring and patterns.

The team was coached by Hamid Ghayoorzadeh, Lee Bryan and Tom Hughes, and consisted of Ismael Coulibaly, Osanne Gbayere, Mark Elliot, Tom O’Sullivan, Joshua Munday, Antony Duff, Taran Chahal and Miles Dabbs. They all fought extremely well to earn four medals:
– Ismael Coulibaly – Gold
– Osanne Gbayere – Gold
– Mark Elliot – Silver
– Tom O’Sullivan – Bronze

After an intense first fight ending in a sudden death round, Ismael Coulibaly then sailed through his remaining fights to win gold. Mark Elliot won an impressive two fights despite sustaining an early back injury, which eventually cost him his last fight to leave him with a hard-earned silver medal. Osanne Gbayere proved his skill by earning his second gold medal this term, having tasted his first victory one month ago at Lion’s Cup. Joshua Munday, pictured above in blue, won the first round of his first ever Taekwondo tournament fight with a magnificent headshot.

[Ann Lu, Social Media Officer]

Seven club members – Antony Duff, Dan Wallace, Tom O’Sullivan, Henry Yao, Hettie Martin, Osanne Gbayere and Justin Tan – fought in the World Taekwondo style sparring tournament, coached by Hamid Ghayoorzadeh and Tom Hughes. With their skill, hard work and determination, they achieved 1 gold (Osanne), 4 silver (Antony, Dan, Tom, Henry) and 1 bronze (Hettie).

Highlights include a dramatic sudden death round for Dan Wallace. After a good start, fatigue lost Dan his 7 point lead, and the third round ended with a 14 point draw. Hettie Martin, who has recently participated in Army Taekwondo trials, also completed in poomse (patterns) as well as sparring. Osanne sailed through his fight to win gold with plenty of energy to spare.

For many of our fighters, this was their first Taekwondo tournament after their first grading, and we are looking forward to seeing them achieve even more at Nationals next month.

The club enjoyed some well-earned Thai food at Zaap after the competition, followed by some intense Uno, Battleships, Connect 4 and Chess at board game cafe Ludorati.

Many thanks to Hamid G and Tom H for coaching; and to Mahisa, Tom H and Youssef for driving.

[Ann Lu, Social Media Officer]

On Sunday 3rd December, University of Birmingham Taekwondo Club competed at the British Student Taekwondo Federation Challenge Cup, held at Aston University.

All five of our competitors achieved Silver or Bronze medals, with their determination and spirit as well as the expert coaching of Hamid Ghayoorzadeh, Lee Bryan and Tom Hughes.

Mark Elliot and Hao Guo both earned Silver medals. Despite being ITF-style fighters, they chose to compete in the WT division in line with the club’s training style, which makes their achievement especially impressive.

Sarah Akponasa showed beautiful technique in her fights but lost to an old adversary to leave with a Bronze medal. Justin Tan and Usman Ali also achieved Bronze medals, Usman fighting his way into a staggering 20 point lead in his first fight.

Taekwondo club look forward to taking members who have just started Taekwondo to their first competitions, as on Saturday 9th December we were proud to see a staggering 23 people take their first ever grading, to make them eligible for competitions.

Participation in training, competitions and social events has been outstanding in this crucial first term and the club is excited for a busy 2018 with both new and old members.

[Ann Lu, Social Media Officer]