It’s nice to hear about all the different things going on in the world of Taekwondo, and hearing about club and athlete achievements is brilliant to celebrate.
In this feature we find out more about Taekwondo Machine and their activities and awards in 2022. Taekwondo Machine is a community Taekwondo sports club operating at the National Taekwondo Centre in North Manchester. The club was established over 10 years ago by the very experienced Danyal Mirzaie and Lucy Walton, both having been successful Taekwondo athletes earlier in their lives and Danyal having been ex-Development Pathway Coach for GB Taekwondo.
Like most sports clubs, the pandemic had a significant impact on Taekwondo Machine where they lost a huge number of members. They have worked diligently over the past 12 months to build their club back up and they are now seeing the fruits of their labour with over 190 members. To facilitate these new members, they have also grown their teaching team with Courtney, Elias, and Molly as new assistant coaches and Vivienne as an additional coach.
2022 has been a fantastic year for Taekwondo Machine with many highlights, but here are just a few.
Taekwondo Machine’s Year in Review: 2022 Manchester Sports Awards
Taekwondo Machine’s hard work was recognised in the Manchester Sports Awards and after nominations to several categories, the club and committee had been short-listed for two of the most impressive categories.
Sports Club of the Year
Taekwondo Machine was shortlisted for the final award of the night: Sports Club of the Year – a brilliant achievement of which they were rightly very proud. They were one of three clubs shortlisted and beat out clubs from all over the sporting landscape, from football and rugby to swimming and athletics.
People’s Champion Award
Committee member and Fundraising officer Elaine Mann was shortlisted down to the final five for the 2022 Manchester Sports Awards, People’s Champion Award.
This was incredibly well deserved and a fitting recognition of all of the hard work she has put into Taekwondo Machine over the past 12 months. This award was sponsored by the Manchester Evening News with the winner being chosen by public vote. Out of the final five, Elaine secured the most public votes becoming the 2022 People’s Champion in recognition of all the hard work she does behind the scenes for Taekwondo Machine, not only as a volunteer but also training 2-3 nights a week and recently passing her Kup grading to green belt.
This was a fantastic night for Taekwondo Machine, coming away with two trophies, the Peoples Champion and Sports Club of the Year Finalist.
Taekwondo Machine’s Year in Review: Coaching future generations
The coaching team at Taekwondo Machine have played a key part in the Manchester schools development work of British Taekwondo, with coaches and volunteers from the club delivering sessions at two of the biggest events in the international Taekwondo calendar.
In May the Lucy Walton, Vivienne Wong, Jay Joyce, Yvonne Williams, and Elaine Mann took to the mats at the European Taekwondo Championships & European Para-Taekwondo Championships to introduce the sport to approximately 1,000 children from schools from across Greater Manchester.
This was followed up at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix III in October with the team once again providing coaching and introduction to Taekwondo sessions to schoolchildren.
These events not only got children trying out Taekwondo, but also introduced them to live world-class action in the arena – the kids, their teachers and the Taekwondo Machine coaches were certainly some of the loudest supporters in the crowd!
Taekwondo Machine’s Year in Review: British Taekwondo National Championships
In late September, several Taekwondo Machines advanced athletes travelled to Sheffield to compete in the British Taekwondo National Sport Championships. This resulted in the following achievements:
- Courtney – Gold
- Ali – Gold
- Anthony – Gold
- Molly – Silver
- Sienna – Bronze
- Isabella – Bronze
- Elias and Naz – Quarter finalists.
Taekwondo Machine’s Year in Review: Kup Grading Examination
On the 11th of November, 65 club members of all ages passed their Kup grading examinations and secured the next belt in their Taekwondo journey. This was done by demonstrating their knowledge of kicks and patterns. The evening was hugely successful for all those who took part, especially those where it was their first Kup grading.
Joining Taekwondo Machine
Taekwondo Machine prides itself on being an inclusive club offering training classes for anyone aged 5+ regardless of gender, age, religion, background, or sexuality.
From British Champions to absolute beginners, ages 5 to 65, everyone is welcome and classes have something for everyone including pad training, sparring, and patterns bringing all members together so they can get to know each other in pairs or groups. The best thing is every session is different.
You can find out more on the Taekwondo Machine website.
Taekwondo Machine has gone from strength to strength during 2022 and they are ending the year on a high. They would like to extend a heartfelt Thank You for all of the support and commitment they have received from all of their team members, parents, carers, volunteers throughout 2022 and cannot wait to see what we can achieve in 2023.
If you would like to share your story with us, please contact Anna Warburton-ball, our insights and communications officer at insight@britishtaekwondo.org.
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