Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill Taekwondo Club students strike gold in national competiton

Students from Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill Taekwondo club recently attended the 37th Traditional Taekwondo Association’s (TTA) British Individual Championships 2019 held in Glasgow, Scotland.
By Chantal Lew Kum Hoi
Published 12th Nov 2019, 13:59 BST
Updated 12th Nov 2019, 14:26 BST

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The Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill Taekwondo Students celebrating their successes at the 2019 TTA British Individual Championships. Picture courtesy of Chantal Lew Kum HoiThe Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill Taekwondo Students celebrating their successes at the 2019 TTA British Individual Championships. Picture courtesy of Chantal Lew Kum Hoi
The Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill Taekwondo Students celebrating their successes at the 2019 TTA British Individual Championships. Picture courtesy of Chantal Lew Kum Hoi

The local Taekwondo club (‘TTA Sussex’ - a branch of Chief Instructor Grandmaster T.K. Loh’s (ninth dan) Traditional Taekwondo Association) led by club instructor Dr. Chantal Lew (fourth dan) brought up a team to compete in both poomsae (form) and kyorugi (sparring).

The team was represented by Andreia Scurtu-Visan (age 34, first Dan), Ching Ying Lee (31, first kup – black tag), Teodor Scurtu-Visan (10; 2nd kup – red belt), Nidhi Raj (20, 1st Poom), Kaiel Gargarita (10, 7th kup – green tag) and Rex Gargarita (7, 7th kup).

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The team came back with an impressive three gold medals (Scurtu-Visan – kyorugi ; Kaiel Gargarita – poomsae ; Rex Gargarita – poomsae) as well as two silver and one bronze medal.

First time attenders and competitors Kaiel and Rex were both able to produce focused performances on the day despite the challenge of having many eyes watching them when it was their turn to go out onto the competition mats.

Club Instructor Dr. Lew commented: “Recognition also needs to be given to parents for their support and classmates that train hard together with all of these students, helping them to develop and reach new levels - both are invaluable.

“The brothers had worked hard to prepare in the lead up to competition and their efforts were rewarded with well-deserved gold medal trophies at the end of the day”.

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When asked what they had learned from their experiences, Kaiel said: “I’ve learned that hard work and determination are important in achieving goals”.

Rex said: “It was scary and people were watching but I just had to be brave”.

Mrs. Gargarita, Rex’s and Kaiel’s mother, said “It was a great learning experience for them about overcoming fears, teamwork and perseverance”.

Dr. Lew said: “The TTA focuses on ‘traditional-style’ taekwondo.

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“In class students are educated about anatomy as well as focusing their minds.

“At the same time they learn to face and understand their fears and challenges in life’s journey.

“Our aim is to imbue a persevering attitude towards challenges as well as developing the tenacity to overcome these challenges.

“Our younger students are also guided in their social interactions and development.”

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The club is family-friendly and great for relieving stress and keeping healthy.

It welcomes students from the ages of four years old through to adults.

Free trial sessions are available on request periodically through the year.

The club’s next available sessions will be: Thursday 5th December (6-6:45pm) and Saturday 7th December (11-11:45am).

Anyone interested can contact Dr. Lew directly via the club’s website to arrange attending:

https://www.taekwondo-sussex.com or the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ttasussex

Related topics:StudentsHaywards HeathGlasgowScotland