Bridgnorth junior teens at the double again

Jake Round and Luke Richardson beat off stiff competition with some impressive moves to land a silver and bronze medal respectively at the Swindon event.

It continued the impressive opening to 2016 for the two junior members, who are continuing to make waves from Budapest to the South West.

The pair picked up bronze medals in Hungary for patterns and sparring in the over-15 black belt category.

Instructor Anna Bradford said: "They did brilliant at the end of January and to be honest they are both absolutely storming at the moment.

"They landed some real top moves and came up against some regular competition. To be coming out on top against those is a marker of how far they've come.

"You can see by the images that Jake landed an impressive kick to the head and those kinds of moves show their ability.

"Luke has been fighting for three-and-a-half years now and is fighting consistently well. Whereas, Jake has only been fighting competitively for a year and he's done absolutely amazing.

"The people he's been going against have done it for years and he's just starting that competitive element.

"To get a silver straight away at an event like this is amazing."

The good news continued for the Innage Lane-based club as 13 of their students were promoted to new grades following a recent grading by 7th Degree Master George Cockburn.

The group, consisting of both adults and children of mixed ability, were marked on their ability to demonstrate the Korean martial art, which is based on kicks, punches and self defence.

They had been taught by Bradford and head instructor Gary Plant. She added: "The students all worked hard, and we were especially proud of the children who are developing their confidence.

"Adult student Oliver Hilton passed with an overall A grade, which is a strong reflection of his effort and performance.

"The grading is an important time for the students as they're able to learn new patterns and practice new movements.

"For their development, it is like another piece to the jigsaw. It was a very high number (of student's grading) for a club like ours.

#"We have quite a few black belts with us but it was good to see young students grading across all of the coloured belts."

The club, who boast between 25-30 regular members, now turn their attentions to North West Open competition in Liverpool, where nine students will compete for more success.

Round and Richardson will both fight, alongside Hilton and the Lewis family trio of Dean, Tammy and Harry.

Rob Hall, Dylan Parkes and Chloe Toms will also be turning out for Bridgnorth.

For more information on the club, visit www.bridgnorthtaekwondo.com