Tiny Tigers Show their claws and bring home a bag full of medals

Sunday 1st June saw a selected team of sleepy Welsh Tiny Tigers embarking on their trip out of Wales at 5.30am traversing along the M4 to reach Bournemouth by 8.30am.  

The Dorset annual championships are held twice a year and attract clubs from all areas of the Country and this year saw over 300 players attending.  

The day started off well with all players correctly weighing in, with only Jacob Stone needed to strip down to his underwear in order to make his allocated weigh division … he was not impressed!

First to take to the mat and fly the Welsh flag was red belt Joseph Whitty (8), who started his first round well matching point for point with his opponent. 

By the end of the first round the points were still matched but he really didn’t show his true explosive potential and by the end of the second and final round he was sadly overwhelmed by the occasion and was too nervous to really let his true skill shine through.

Next up was red belt/black tag Jacob “Stoney Jnr” Stone (9) who made it all look a little to easy by beating his opponent 7-0. 

His next opponent was a bit more of a challenge and he took a low kick to the groin but even that didn’t slow him down and only seemed to awaken his focus, he came away with a 4-0 victory.  After a bit of a rest it was time for fight number 3 which he won 4-0 and was then on his way to the final. 

The final fight was the hardest of the day for Jacob as his opponent was just as determined to take the gold medal.  The scene was set to be a very explosive and entertaining showdown. 

Although Jacob’s opponent was a bit of a scrapper, this didn’t faze him and with almost adult like in his focus and determination he went on to win the final 7-0 and earned himself a shiny gold medal coupled with making Master Stone a very proud Dad.

Next up was Ethan Shellem-Prince (6), green belt/blue tag, and boy did he fight!  With more kicks being thrown than a barn full of demented line dancers, he battled forward continually, unfortunately his kicks weren’t quite just hard enough to score but he didn’t give up and battled on right to the end.

Baaqi Abdul (9), green belt/blue tag, took a laid back approach and was as cool as a cucumber as his fight approached, he went out onto the mat and fought very well playing a more defensive game with his opponent but unfortunately his opponent was a little stronger and faster scoring an extra couple of points towards the end.

Kane Harris (7), yellow belt, fought very well in his first fight with Taekwondo Cymru’s Tiny Tigers and he suddenly realised that every time he kicked his opponent hard, the score went up on the monitor. 

He clearly liked this idea, so true to form he just kept kicking and looking, kicking and looking until he won the fight 7-3 and was on his way to the final. 

His next fight was a bit tougher but he made it to the end of both rounds and came away with a shiny silver medal.

Joseph “Joey” Llewellyn (11), red belt, got ready for his first fight and sat in the coach’s chair ready and waiting for his fight to start. 

His opponent didn’t turn up to the ring, rumour has it that he was just too scared, so Joey went straight through to the final where he was up against a small problem in the shape of an International junior black belt and National team member, although out gunned he stood his ground and came home with a silver medal.

Debut fighter Taqrim Ahmed (7), yellow belt, went out onto the mat full of confidence and eager to play, his fight lasted approximately 1 min!  Taqrim pulled out his best footwork and his fanciest moves and won 7-0, he made it look as though he was born to compete.  Taqrim went home with his gold medal firmly placed around his neck.

James Llewellyn (12), red belt, came up again a black belt who was full of life and head shots.  James defended himself extremely well and even though his opponent threw kick after kick after kick, he only lost 2-0.  Well done James!