Dear students and parents
Firstly, thank you for your continued support this year! Watching students improve, develop and flourish – not just technically but in mindset too as you overcome each new challenge – is what makes my role as instructor so rewarding.
Sometimes it can be hard to see the progress; sometimes we hit plateaus with learning, but I would encourage each of you to look back at where you were 12 months ago and see the changes that you have made possible!
As we approach the end of 2024, I wanted to share our club’s achievements this year, which all of you have been a part of.
UKITF National Competition
In February, we saw our first two competitors enter the UK ITF National Competition in Hertfordshire. Aisha and Beenal both came away with bronze medals for their efforts, but more than that, they returned with renewed ambition to compete again and experiences to share with the club.
Club Welfare Officer
This year saw the appointment of our new club welfare officer, Beenal Rajyaguru, who had to undertake a day of training for the role. I am so proud of her for taking on this position, and know that the club will benefit hugely from having a designated person to approach with any safeguarding concerns.
Beenal also provides invaluable support in our children’s classes as an assistant instructor, meaning our sessions can be more effectively targeted towards each belt level and thus deliver a higher quality of teaching to our students.
STOMP Competition
In November, we saw six of our youngest students compete at the regional STOMP, a fun and friendly children’s competition that provides a great introduction to the larger national competitions. The students conducted themselves with maturity beyond their years, and all returned with medals and new experiences to boost their confidence.
Pink Belt Project Scholarship
The benefits of martial arts extend well beyond just the physical – it can improve confidence, self-esteem and promote better mental health. With this in mind, the Pink Belt Project inspires martial arts clubs across the world to offer free training to a woman on her recovery journey from trauma.
This is the first year we have had a student complete the entire year – which is an incredible feat in itself – and I am so very honoured to witness the help it has provided our scholarship recipient.
In the words of our student herself, “I can’t believe how much my life has changed since joining Taekwondo4All and learning an art that makes me feel safe. It’s helping me see the world in a better way and making me stronger within myself.”
Gradings
Gradings are an integral part of taekwondo training – they act as a marker of progress, provide a target to aim for and a formal demonstration of a student’s knowledge, and they offer inspiration to keep moving forwards, even when the training gets tough.
This year alone we have seen an astonishing 87 students take their junior belt gradings (white to green belt), and a further 14 students take and pass their senior belt exams (blue belt up).
This shows how much the club is growing - bringing new members into our community and inspiring them to work their way up the belts - but it also demonstrates the perseverance and commitment of the senior students in continuing to train, even as the syllabus gets more complex and takes longer between gradings. Very excitingly, we now have five students that are looking to take their black belts in 2025!
Senior belts
Finally, I want to say thank you to all those senior belts who have helped out in class either by teaching junior belt patterns, demonstrating techniques or simply providing a warm welcome to our newcomers – you may not realise it but you are inspiring the next cohort of students!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/ end of year, and look forward to your continuing taekwondo successes next year!
Warm wishes,
Tamsin
Instructor – Taekwondo4All
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