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NORWICH WTF 2007 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Norwich WTF held its 2007 club competition at Norwich Sportspark.

This fantastic venue, within the grounds The University of East Anglia, has excellent facilities and has become a welcomed home for the group since their previous venue in lakenham closed down earlier in the year.

Club members battled it out through the various categories in Poomsae (technical) and Kyorugi (fighting) determined to gain medals in what turned out to be a very exciting evening.

In the final of the 8th (yellow belt) to 4th (blue belt) Kup Poomsae category, Lenore Seaman came up against Gary Askham. Despite Gary performing his techniques with speed and power, Lenore put in a superb performance showing excellent execution of technique to take top spot and the first of the evening to secure a gold medal.

In the 3rd to 1st Kup final and just as expected, Marvin Slaytor found himself up Andy Connolly.

Marvin had been training hard in preparation for his upcoming BTCB black belt grading so was the odds on favourite to win gold but unfortunately for him he lost his focus mid way through Taegeuk O Jang seriously effecting his marks, putting Andy well ahead.

Andy came out for his second Poomsae of the final, Taegeuk Yuk Jang, and played it safe with a steady performance gaining good marks. Marvin put on a fine display for his final Poomsae but just had too many marks to make up and had to settle for second place with Andy taking gold.

The black belt Poomsae category was well contested with numbers almost reaching double figures.

Everyone performed Poomsae Koryo and despite some fine performances Andy Crysafi and Matt Fever’s really stood out securing good enough marks to see them go to the final where they both performed Poomsae Keumgang.

It was very difficult to differentiate between these two very talented competitors who both displayed Keumgang with precision and power but ultimately Matt did just enough to take top spot and the final Poomsae gold medal.

Master Con Halpin, a 6th Dan Black belt from the Brotherhood Taekwondo club in London had made the trip to Norwich to act as senior Poomsae judge for the evening.

Master Halpin has been BTCB National Poomsae champion for many years and has represented Great Britain at many international events at one time being ranked number 5 in Europe.

As the Poomsae competition was held prior to the Kyorugi, Master Halpin then kindly agreed to put on a Poomsae display during the break.

Master Halpin hadn’t been training particularly hard in recent weeks due to other commitments but nevertheless he then displayed Poomsae Chonkwon with amazing form much to the delight of everyone present who could then see first hand the type of standard that would be required to become an international competitor.

The Kyorugi competition then kicked off in dynamic style with really spirited performances in the Kup grade semi final from Tom Adams who went up against Felix Tang from Hong Kong and Gary Askham who virtually went head to head with Andy Connolly.

However, Felix and Andy kept their cool in both semi finals and managed to outpoint their opponents to secure a place in the final which Felix went on to win. He did this in style by picking Andy off with a variety of techniques using good footwork and timing although it was not all plain sailing as Andy managed to score some points with several well placed kicks.

Shaun Banham then out pointed Lenore Seaman in a mixed bout showing much promise for the future.

The Dan grade fighters then took to the floor with everyone fighting their hearts out.

Paul Charlish had one of the most difficult draws of the evening coming up against Ken Reeve in the quarter finals. This was one of the toughest fights of the evening. Both fighters are well over 6 feet tall, are strong and are very capable kickers.

Paul managed to do enough to win the match but no doubt battling it out with Ken took its toll and he was unable to repeat the performance in the semi final against Matt Fever.

Fitness played a big part in this result with Matt, a fitness instructor from Bannatyne’s gym, coming out on top.

Adam Want, Marvin Slaytor and Walt Barker all scored well against their opponents in the semi and quarter finals but as in the final of the Poomsae competition, Andy Crysafi and Matt Fever both had strong performances throughout the competition resulting in them meeting up again in the final.

With Andy having to settle for second place against Matt in the Poomsae he was now determined to take gold in this Kyorugi final.

The match turned out to be everything you would hope to see in a final with both fighters going all out for a win. Kicks and punches were exchanged at a terrific pace and there was little to distinguish between them. However, Matt’s fitness yet again was to be to his advantage as Andy began to tire, allowing Matt to just edge it by out pointing him and taking his second gold of the day.

At the end of the evening, Norwich WTF Chief Instructor, master Kevin Jervis praised everyone present for the commitment and determination shown throughout the evening and thanked Master Halpin and Tony Cherrington for their assistance at the event.

An awards ceremony then took place with Master Halpin presenting the medals to all first and second placed competitors in each category.