Charlotte is World Taekwon-Do Champion!

Congratulations to Charlotte (Yr9), who made a trip to Finland over Easter, to compete in the Black Eagle Open in Tampere. Over 200 competitors were involved, from a wide variety of countries.

Charlotte competed in the 13-17 year old first Dan category. She won three of her five round matches, and was knocked out of the pattern competition in the quarter finals, narrowly missing out on a medal. The experience she gained was excellent, as she was competing against much older girls. In sparring at the same event, she fought well until she caught a side kick to the nose (not a recommended blocking technique!). There was fortunately no lasting damage, and she learned a good lesson on the importance of keeping your guard up.

Charlotte also had the opportunity to train, one-on-one, with Master Meyour, who is a worldleading coach, as well as spending time with his star pupil, the amazing Mira Svojall (a European and World Champion in both patterns and sparring). Charlotte's highlight from the trip was to be complimented on her patterns by Ariella Figueroa, who is an outstanding competitor and World Champion in the senior ladies division.

Charlotte also had the opportunity to compete in the World ITF Taekwon-Do Council's World Championships. This competition was run