THE Birmingham Arena was filled with Taekwondo practitioners last weekend with dreams of earning the title of TAGB British Champion.

The Taekwondo Association of Great Britain (TAGB) hosts a selection of regional, national and international tournaments each year which are attended by members of the 600 plus TAGB schools across the UK. From this region, several local TAGB schools sent forward competitors to compete on this national stage.

Wyre Forest Taekwondo’s Arti Shah, Ladies Gold Medal winner in the Ultimate Striker event, a test of sheer power of the hands. Also successful in this event was Finley Evans (Stourbridge TAGB) taking bronze in the boys division.

Amy Perks fought her way to a bronze trophy for a valiant sparring effort. Charlie Collyer was sixth out of over 40 boys in his patterns event and took home a bronze medal for the team sparring event.

Arran Nathan Campbell, Lauren Pope, Jodie Cooper, and Stuart Stanway all put in fantastic performances to come away with medals against tough opponents.

There was also impressive pattern performances from senior instructors Chris Lee (Stourbridge TAGB) and Keith Box (Kingswinford TAGB) as they compete alongside some of the best in the country.

Instructor Katie Billingham said: “The competition was extremely high and while not everyone has come away with medals, they have all learned valuable lessons that will help them to be better martial artists. I’m very proud of everyone.”

The next event for the group of schools is KEMP Comp, their first inter-club charity tournament where they hope to raise money for a cause close to their hearts. For more information contact Katie on 07885 293088.