29/10/2007 | ITF Hong Kong Cyberport Cup
Cambridge Instructors Mr Crisp and Miss Ross recently attended the second ITF Hong Kong Cyberport Open Tournament. As members of the England squad we began training in earnest in July. Between Mr Ridley, the team coach and Mr Crisp in his role of captain, we were put through our paces in patterns, fitness and sparring, with an additional focus on mental preparation for an international event. The male and female teams made huge strides and a great spirit built between us all.
After a long journey we finally arrived in Hong Kong in the early evening of Friday 12th October, and just had time to find a bite to eat before trying to get some sleep ready of an early start for day one of the tournament the next day. Jet lag was another battle we had to try and win!
Day one of the tournament involved the opening ceremony in the presence of our own Master Oldham (VIII degree) and Master Chew Teck Seong (VII degree) from Malaysia, plus the junior coloured belt competition and the all-important weigh-in. This is always a nervously awaited process and great relief is felt by all when we confirm that the diets have paid off and we have made the categories we registered for a month previously. (To be over the limit means an instant disqualification!) The rest of the day was spent enjoying the juniors' performances in-between practicing team patterns and checking out the competition!
After a quiet evening and an early night, day two was the big one for us. Having tried to get some breakfast down into stomachs full of butterflies, we headed to the venue. The adult coloured belts were to compete before the black belts, so we had some time to 'relax' and tried to do this, though everyone was jittery all morning.
As the afternoon progressed, our sections were called to the squares and the nerves fell away, replaced by pure adrenaline. The ladies patterns came first and the English performed well, with Miss Harrison taking a bronze. Once this was complete the light-weight sparring began, in which Miss Pearson put in gutsy performance against the eventual winner, and Miss Pritchard taking the bronze.
The heavy-weight sparring was a nail-biting event as the English ladies came up against eachother as the rounds progressed, with an outstanding one-two-three: Miss Harrison: gold, Miss Ross: silver and Miss Powell: bronze.
Riding high, we moved onto the team event, in which the Asian team would only enter the patterns. This meant that we had to beat them to ensure we all came away with some silverware. Their pattern was impressive - incredibly uniform techniques between the five representatives, but our hard work paid off and we got a 3-2 decision from the referees to take the Team Gold. This was more important to any of us than our individual competitions - it was such a proud moment!
While all the excitement was going on for the ladies, the men's competition had started with Mr Miller gaining a silver in the individual patterns. The sparring events ensued, with more English medals in all weight categories, including a silver for Mr Crisp. The men's team events were fantastic - the crowd nearly brought the roof off with their cheering - and though the English men were unlucky in the sparring, taking the bronze, they were magnificent in the team patterns, taking a deserved gold.
With both teams achieving fantastic results, it brought the tournament to a tremendous finale. The medal ceremony was a proud moment, and ended in three cheers for our outstanding coach, Mr Ridley.
The evening was spent eating an enormous Chinese banquet and relaxing with a few beers. Mr Darren Holmes (IV) ran a charity raffle and the Masters toured the tables to drink a toast with each group. A wonderful trip was finally rounded off with a couple of days of sight-seeing and sleep! Without a doubt, this was the trip of a life-time and an experience we will never forget. The GTUK showed that we are up there with the best of them, and while the medals we achieved are great, the main thing we will remember this trip for was the wonderful team spirit amongst the England squad. Tae Kwon!
