Taekwondo - the Art of Hand and Foot
East Leeds Magazine, September 2010
Taekwondo is a modernised form of Korean self-defence. Translated, TAE literally means to jump or kick or smash with the foot. KWON denotes a fist - chiefly to punch or destroy with the hand. DO means an art, or way with discipline.
Eight-year-old Alexandra Turner is from Scholes and attends Scholes (Elmet) Primary School. She also attends Taekwondo classes twice a week with The Leeds Lions Taekwondo club in Beeston. She first started doing the martial art of Taekwondo at the age of four. By the time she was seven she had progressed to becoming one of the youngest, if not the youngest girl in the UK, to reach the status of a 1st Degree Black Belt.
To date, Alexandra has appeared in the local press, on the local news programme Calendar and on the Graham Liver Radio Show. In November last year, she appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show where she demonstrated her Black Belt Pattern on stage in front of a live studio audience. It was here on the show that Sarah Stevenson, the Olympic Bronze Medallist (And Alex's hero), jump kicked out of a screen to surprise Alexandra and invited her along to The British Taekwondo Nationals in January 2010.
Because of Alexandra's dedication and passion for Taekwondo and coupled with her determination for competition and sparring, she now trains with the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) which would enable her to compete in one to one contact sparring competitions.
Due to her Taekwondo club change from the ICTF to the WTF - or Sarah's type of Taekwondo as Alexandra calls it, she started her grading again from a white belt and learnt new sparring and self-defence techniques. Because of her experience in this martial art, at her first WTF grading in April of this year she was awarded "A triple grade" making her a Green Belt and Alexandra is now on course to achieve Two Black Belts in the two different styles of this martial art. She was graded by the Olympic coach Master Gary Sykes, Sarah Stevenson's coach and mentor.
In May of this year, through her instructor, Mr Colin Shoesmith and her club, The Leeds Lions, Alexandra was invited to compete at the Doncaster Dome. This was her very first Taekwondo fight competing with all the other Taekwondo clubs from all around the UK. Master Gary Sykes was in attendance as was Mr Tom Potts, another of Alexandra's instructors from The Leeds Lions who was there to referee and mentor her.
Alexandra showed true grit and as ever her determination "to win" shone through when the final score came to 10 - 14 to herself.
Alexandra continues with her love of this sport and she is going from strength to strength with it, and learning all the time. She inspires to be an Olympic champion one day and win a medal for England, because that's her dream.
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