On the 26th of February a local group from ITF England staged a fundraising tournament in south-east England to raise money for the victims of the Asian Tsunami Appeal. It was organised by Mr Philip Lear 4th degree, the instructor of Vision Taekwon-Do (Members of Taekwon-Do Impact), and was held at Goldsmith’s Leisure Centre in Crowborough, East Sussex.

The competition was open to colour-belts of all ages from the local area (East and West Sussex, Kent and Surrey) and attracted 82 competitors. With all the money raised going to the charity there were no medals, and the competitors instead competed in patterns and sparring just for the honour of winning. Those taking part were all in good spirits, giving the competition a very friendly atmosphere. With three rings set up the event ran to schedule, starting at 10am and finishing by 1pm.

 

The day also saw two spectacular demonstrations of breaking, with both raising significant amounts of money from sponsorship:

• Lisa Walker (4th degree), the 2001 World Power Test silver medallist and 2003 European Champion, broke 100 roofing tiles (in stacks of ten) in 10 seconds using her forefist;
• Garry Denman (1st degree) broke 31 pine boards in 37 seconds using his elbow.

 

Following this was an auction of several TKD books. First to be auctioned was a copy of General Choi’s autobiography, which was kindly donated by TKD Impact. The bidding started at 50 pounds, and went up gradually until it was won with a bid of 100 pounds. Next to be auctioned was a copy of the 1999 edition Taekwon-Do Condensed Encyclopaedia, which was kindly donated by Justin Marchant from Vision TKD. The bidding started at 100 pounds and was eventually won with a bid of 120 pounds. The best, however, was saved for last: a copy of the Taekwon-Do Condensed Encyclopaedia that had been signed by General Choi Hong Hi himself, and was kindly donated by Mr Lear. The bidding started at 200 pounds and an exciting bidding war followed, with bids from the spectators, competitors, umpires, and even telephone bids (some people really wanted that signed book). The book went for an astonishing 450 pounds in the end!

Also raising money was the sale of some T-shirts, which had been kindly donated by Taekwon-Do Impact.

The final amounts raised were as follows:

• The competitors’ entry fees for the tournament - 820.00 pounds (1190 Euros)
• The sale of the T-shirts and donations - 382.28 pounds (555 Euros)
• The sponsored breaking demonstrations - 500.00 pounds (726 Euros)
• The auction - 670.00 pounds (972 Euros)
• GRAND TOTAL - 2372.28 pounds (3443 Euros)

Yours in Taekwon-Do
Philip Lear