Manchester Taekwondo Schools

A year ago, the thought of taking part in an online Poomsae competition would have sounded rather puzzling and most definitely unfeasible. However, in February 2021 this is exactly what 17 of our club members did! William The Marshall Cup offered our students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and progress over the past year by submitting a video clip of their favourite pattern.

The results could not have made our club’s Chief Instructor, GM Mark Richardson, prouder:

“So proud of everyone! Considering the year we have had!” he said as he announced the results which saw Manchester Sport Taekwondo rank 3rd.

Ann Cooney (A class Vet F 45+) – Gold

Safiya Florence Ascoli-Ball (A class Vet F 45+) – Silver

Zaneb Ali (A Class Vet F 35+) – Gold

Sundus Mohamed (B Class SF) – Gold

Michelle Galliani (A Class SF) – Silver

Ridwan Ball (C Class SM) – Gold

Genevieve Galliani (A Class JF) – Silver

Asalah Zakir (B Class – JF) – Gold

Aliyah Ball (A Class JF) – Bronze

Neil Manoj (A Class CM) – Gold

Mu’adh Zakir (C Class CM) – Bronze

Maximilian Vernon (C Class CM) – Bronze

2020 will probably come down as being the oddest year in living memory the whole world over. When we, at Manchester Taekwondo Schools, started training online five times a week, we thought that at the most we would limit the loss of the gains we accumulated over the years of nearly daily training on-site. Little did we anticipate that we would not only achieve this, but improve so much more too! Being online in a limited space, in our lounges, kitchens, cellars, attics, gardens… and without training partners, we were forced to focus exclusively on very specific individual but essential skills, stripping everything back down to the traditional techniques of basic blocks, strikes and kicks, strengthening those techniques that we can then transfer onto more complex ones, making these techniques sharper, stronger and more precise. Fitness, footwork, sparring drills were not forgotten of course, and were an integral part of all training sessions.

The hard work of all our dedicated students, coupled with the immense energy and innovative approaches of world-class chief instructor GM Mark Richardson – without whose expertise and creativity none of this would have been possible – meant that a series of junior and senior grading tests could take place online in October and November, including, for the first time ever, several black belt 1st, 2nd and 3rd Dan tests.

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Senior grade promotions:

Grading test date and place: 21 November 2020 – Online

Examiner: GM Mark Richardson, 8th Dan

Observers: GM Ewan Briscoe (President, SMK England), Master Susan Sadler, Master Jaki Richardson

Promoted to 3rd Dan: Howard Kwan

Promoted to 2nd Dan: Zaneb Ali, Safiya Ascoli-Ball, Geneviève Galliani, Adam Scholes, Millie Scholes

Promoted to 1st Dan: Aliyah Ball, Michelle Galliani, Neil Manoj, Christian Moss, Jeannette Pope

Congratulations to all, well done, your hard work, perseverance and indomitable spirit paid off!

GM Mark Richardson presents the certificates and belts to some of the local students, respecting the social distancing rules in place in Greater Manchester, November 2020. The official presentation ceremony will take place when training resumes on-site in Spring 2021.

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It’s not just a martial art

To teach a student to focus

To respect

To concentrate

To prepare

A coachable youngster will go further

It teaches honour humility elation dejection

To be humble in victory Honourable in defeat

It shows when you attain your blackbelt

On application jobs interview college university applications YOU NEVER QUIT

The tenets teach you

Courtesy self control perseverance indomitable spirit etiquette

The oath teaches you

To observe the tenets

To respect your instructors and seniors

To never misuse your art

To champion freedoms and fairness

TO BUILD A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD

It’s not just about medals they tarnish

It’s not just about fighting It’s not just about patterns

It’s about all of The art

It’s certainly not just about YOU, it’s about what YOU make of yourself

It can only HELP.

GM Mark Richardson

The whole country in full lockdown for five weeks now, we had to quickly re-think how to continue our training. For the first two weeks, students were set challenges by GM Mark Richardson, like planking record (girls’ winner Grace with 6.27mins! – Boy’s winner Noah: 8.02 mins! Well done!!), Marvin Agler’s crunches for 2 minutes, press-ups etc. Dozens of videos were sent to GM Mark every week and a winner declared on the Sunday.

On week three, GM Mark took the plunge with live Zoom classes for all existing students of Manchester Sport Taekwondo Club, focusing on technique for forthcoming gradings and for both Poomsae and Kyorugi competitions, which we hope will resume in the Autumn. Parents are also encouraged to join in the stretching, so they also keep active and get to feel a bit what their children go through!

Below are a few pictures to keep this very unusual time in our memory. We are physically separated from each other but very close in spirit and dedication, in our individual dojangs, in our lounges, bedrooms, gardens, kitchens, conservatories,… thanks to our shared love  for this martial art. The whole club is very grateful to our inspiring and legend instructor GM Mark Richardson, gamsa Hamnida and respect Sir, for keeping our training going whatever the circumstances.

On Saturday 29th February 2020 and Sunday 1st March, GM Mark Richardson, SMK UK President, and GM Guy Jones, SMK Europe President, lead two full days of technical seminars in Tangiers and Rabat, organised by Master Abdelilah Khoudali, of SMK Taekwondo North Africa, and attended by many enthusiastic martial artists from Morocco. SMK certificates were also handed out by both Grand Masters. It was a great weekend of friendship and learning; everyone showed great dedication and spirit. Well done to all!

Manchester Sport Taekwondo has been hosting this prestigious tournament for 31 consecutive years and has grown larger and more successful with more than 600 participants from 11 countries.

Many among you are regular participants of this family-oriented tournament usually held in one of the two Urmston Sport Centres. This year, however, it will take place at the University of Salford Sports Centre, still in the Western part of Greater Manchester, and still close to one of UK’s biggest shopping centres, the Trafford Centre, and Trafford City, with their wide choice of restaurants, cinemas and hotels.

Spanning over two days, Saturday will see the great technical skills of Poomsae competitors of all ages from Pee Wee all the way to Masters and a dedicated Para section who always wow the public, judged by Grand Masters from all over the world; and Sunday will provide its usual share of excitement and screams of supporters with the Kyorugi competition, over 6 rings – 3 for A-class using the Daedo system and 3 for B and C classes using KPnP.

We are looking forward to welcoming you and your team to our tournament and great city for another weekend of sportsmanship and friendship! Do enter your players very soon as the places get filled up very quickly. Click here to head over to our page dedicated to the tournament for all the details you need and to download your entry forms.

2020 started on high notes! On 26th January, a small contingent led by GM Mark Richardson, was in Naples in Italy, to take part in the “Terra delle Sirene” competition held in Sorrento. The team came back with 7 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze, as well as the second team trophy and a special award for head instructor GM Mark! Well done everyone!

In February 2019, Manchester Sport Taekwondo was honoured to welcome Supreme Grand Master Hee Ro, son of Song Moo Kwan’s founder SGM Biyung Jick Ro, for a week end of worskhops forcusing on the traditional aspects of the martial art and as a self-defence tool, assisted by GM Guy Jones, Song Moo Kwan Europe President. It was a weekend thoroughly enjoyed by all and much was learnt.

Early February 2018, a very big contingent from the whole of Manchester Taekwondo Schools flew to Milan for the first ever Song Moo Kwan European Championships, held in Busto Arsizio. Everyone did very well and came back with medals, resulting in the club winning the 1st team trophy not once but twice, for both Poomsae and Kyorugi events. Well done everyone, great result!

Hi All,

Only 10 weeks away and we will be hosting our Spring event of the year on the 29th and 30th April 2017.

Please click on the link here TKD April 2017 for more information.

Keep Stretching!

In a few days, we will be leaving to compete in the Jordan International Tae Kwondo competition in Barcelona.

Last year there were 5 people from the club, Coach Sir, P Mattis (Team Mgr), Competitors: Daley Richardson (Bronze, +80kg), Adam Mattis (Gold, -80kg) and Tom Gore (Qtr-Finals, -56kg).

This year a team of over 15 people will be going. It is going to be a very exciting competition and we wish everyone the best of luck.

Keep Stretching!