Sleaford Korean martial arts tournament - going for gold!
On Saturday 1 June 2024, Sleaford Korean Martial Arts (SKMA) club ran its first ever Sleaford-based tournament. There were 34 competitors, across 11 different divisions, over 5 hours of competition. Some had been training for 7 years, others just over 7 weeks. Yet they were all well-prepared and approached the day with much enthusiasm, a great attitude and a competitive spirit.
Each competitor taking part in the tournament showed great determination to do their best and to show sincere respect for their fellow competitors. Adults, teenagers and young children alike took part in a wide range of events, including: joint lock techniques to throw and take down their partner; choreographed routines to demonstrate kicking, hand striking, balance and coordination; wood breaking to show courage and proficiency to hit the right spot with power; and sparring against a fellow competitor to defend themselves and score as many points as possible.
In addition to this the competitors demonstrated flare in a number of advanced divisions including choreographed routines with staffs, swords and nunchucks. Others competed to show staff spinning and sword cutting skills. Finally, a number of competitors worked in teams to demonstrate staff sparring against one another.
This requires speed, skill and accuracy. It was amazing to see how hard everybody had prepared for the event and to see them rewarded for their efforts.
There were a total of 47 gold, 47 silver and 47 bronze medals up for grabs. Stand out performers winning multiple gold medals and earning grand champion trophies included: Rachel McConnell for white to blue belt; Henry Buyers for red and brown belt; Sebastian Evans for junior brown/black belt; Neil Towers for adult brown/black belt; Grace Johnson for first degree black belt; and, finally, Isabela Hewitt for best attitude and etiquette. The day finished with a dazzling demonstration from the black belt display team.
SKMA is a well-founded and thriving club in Sleaford that teaches a diverse range of Korean martial arts. The club has been running adult and children’s classes since 2017 and now has over 50 active members.
It is a values-based organisation with Courage, Family and Respect at the heart of all they do. They aim to teach, develop and support people in a range of important life skills, over and above self-defence.