CMA Champs 2019 – a perspective

I have been training at Cardiff Martial Arts for over 10 years. Since joining I have learnt many new skills for Taekwon-do and I have also learnt to develop life-skills such as maturity and discipline. I see these traits in others across all Cardiff Martial Arts classes… especially at the annual CMA Interclub Championships.

At the beginning of the competition, the atmosphere with supporting parents and friends was pleasant and calm, however, from the first word “go”, you could hear crowds cheering for both competitors!  It was especially nice to see at the end of a patterns or sparring bout, both competitors were applauded for their efforts.

As I am a black belt, part of our roles and responsibilities for the competition were to help umpire.  It was my first time centre referring for sparring and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more! I noticed that no competitor was too aggressive and also that both competitors were very disciplined and mature.  In this, the 8th year of the event, I notice that more students are participating and as a result, the standard is going up!

Seeing the event from the umpire’s point of view for the first time, I think that this is a well organised event; tournament draws are dealt with by the host, Mr McCabe, and through the smooth running of each ring by umpires and event volunteers, the day ran really well.

By Mr Weir 1st degree (17 years)

Mr Weir has been training for over 10 years and his efforts as a centre referee were commended by several of the visiting clubs and instructors. There are 2 opportunities to learn about umpiring coming up soon: (a) a taster course 18th May, 2pm-5pm (Newport) for red belts aged 12 and over. (b) a UK ITF National Course, 6th July, 9am-6pm (Hatfield) for 1st degrees and above, minimum age is 16 years. If you’re interested, speak to your instructor.