A Lanarkshire martial arts team took an incredible 23 medals from the Open European Championships in Dublin last month.
Thirteen members of the national team at Kirkwood’s Martial Arts and Fitness Centre (KMAA) in Blantyre won 12 gold, eight silver and three bronze medals, with many battles in continuous sparring, individual patterns (kata) and team patterns (kata).
The team are members of the Taekwondo Alliance and ITF HQ Korea.
European champions were Louise Lennon, Emily Peers, Liam Miller, Aiden Miller, Ciro Belvedere, Kelly Meighan, Daniel Sockalingam, Rhys Hamilton and Charlie Hamilton, some of whom are double gold winners.
The youngest competitors taking part were brothers Daniel and Matthew Sockalingam, Daniel being the smallest at only seven years old, who won two gold and a silver.
His brother Matthew brought home a silver in his team pattern division.
Aiden Miller won gold, watched by his older brother Liam, who trains in taekwon-do and crosstrains in kickboxing and boxing.
Liam is also a 3rd Dan black belt instructor at KMAA and won gold in sparring and in patterns.
Ladies within the team were Cat Dey, Kelly Meighan, Michelle Dean, Louise Lennon, Lisa Hamilton and Emily Peers.
Family members also competed for the first time, including Michelle Dean and her son Rhys Hamilton, and partners Ciro Belvedere and Kelly Meighan.
Within the masters divisions, which are for those over 35, the club had Charlie Hamilton, Cat Dey and Michael Dean competing and winning medals.
Hamilton won gold, along with team partners Ciro Belvedere and Kelly Meighan.
Instructor, Master Jim Kirkwood, said: “I’m super proud of everyone who took part, as are the many accompanying parents and partners, who were there to support them all.
“Many of the team had not competed before, and for the few who had competed before, they had not done so for nearly three years, due to the Covid lockdown.
“The KMAA team had a strong female presence within it, with many ladies stepping onto the mats for the first time in sparring and pattern divisions.
“With a large team group, their synchronisation, precision and timing was flawless to watch.”
The team are now training hard and preparing for the next event this month.
Any child, adult or family who would like to go along to KMAA for a free week’s trial to learn and take part in classes is welcome to do so this month.
They offer taekwondo, Hapkido self defence and kickboxing, as well as several types of fitness classes.
Contact the club by texting to 07460868317, or visit the KMAA page on Facebook.
You can also email them at academy@kmaa.uk.
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