A Port Erin Taekwon-Do club has secured 15 medals, including seven golds, at the British Championships.
Manx Taekwon-Do, based at the Royal British Legion Hall, finished third in the overall country standings behind England and Wales and ahead of Ireland, Scotland and guest nation Lithuania.
The club placed sixth in the school rankings out of approximately 35 competing schools, despite fielding a fraction of the squad size of many rivals.
Michael Galloway (13), Ronan McGeown (16), Keanu Cassidy (9), Luca Ciappelli (32), Freddie Brown (9) and Patrick McGeown (17) won seven gold, five silver and three bronze medals across patterns, sparring and special technique.
Keanu Cassidy became the club’s first student to win a sparring gold at the British Championships, while Patrick McGeown secured bronze after being placed with far more experienced near-black-belt competitors when his scheduled opponents withdrew.
Pride
Head Instructor and 5th Dan Black Belt Richard Cassidy said: “I have been coaching for a long time, and Saturday was one of those days where you stop being an instructor for a moment, take it all in and have nothing but pride for every competitor, for showing up and giving it their all.
:The medals are a bonus, the character shown by all was far more important.”
Co-instructor Catherine Stead, 4th Dan Black Belt, added: “Every one of these students made a choice to compete, to train hard through the months and months beforehand, so that they could give everything on the day.
“That kind of commitment is what produces results like these and it’s what makes this club special.”
The club, affiliated with the International Taekwon-Do Federation Union, is offering new members a free two-week trial. More information is available at www.manxtkd.com.