I’ve been doing Taekwondo since 2019 and I am now a blue belt with a red stripe. I go to Cambridge Taekwondo, which is a great club that takes part in lots of seminars and tournaments. A tournament consists of multiple categories: sparring, patterns, power test (board breaking), and flying high kick. Patterns are a set sequence of moves, each with its own name and meaning. Sparring is a semi-contact fight with protective equipment. The winner is the one with the most points scored; three points for a kick to the head, two for a kick to body, and one for any punch.

In October, my dad, stepmom, sister and I, drove down to Haywards Heath near London, where the next day, we would all be competing in the All England Open Taekwondo Tournament.

On Saturday morning the under 11’s competed, which included my sister, Heloisa (Year 7). She won a silver medal in sparring.

The afternoon was for 12 to 14 year olds, which included me. I competed first in patterns. My category was 12-14 year blue belts and red tags. I won a bronze medal. I was very proud of this, however I had to get my gear on quickly and warm up as my sparring was scheduled for almost directly afterwards. I won all my rounds and got gold.

Adults competed the next day - my Dad also won gold in sparring! At the end of the weekend, it turned out that Cambridge Taekwondo had won first place as a club with 28 gold, 17 silvers and 16 bronzes! There were teams from France, Cyprus, Ukraine, Ireland, as well as lots of clubs from all around England!