Rumble in the Jungle at The Lions Den:

Master Harry attended and offered support to the L.T.S.I., which was a real confidence boost for them - there were also many 6^th, 5^th and 4^th Degrees who showed willing and gave full support. Once again, up for grabs was a three foot regional title for the best school – the members would have to work hard to de-seed the 2007 winners, Rayners Lane Tae Kwon Do. This years’ event was a major milestone, as the L.T.S.I. had kitted out four rings with mats for sparring and one ring for destruction - this move showed how serious the group are with regard to making events possibly the best and safest they personally can within the U.K.

At 7am, Chris and many of his members were on site - the big van was parked outside the loading area and all 150 mats and tournament items were being passed through the doors like a well oiled production line. Various jobs were assigned to all members and family members who were there to help where possible.

At 8am, the entourage had laid all rings out and set up every area within the arena, including the upstairs canteen. What a task to undertake, but if anyone can do it, the L.T.S.I. can, as everything is fine tuned by Chris.

By 8.45am, most of the visiting schools were on site – a few were not though, due to the M10 closure that weekend. All officials that were there were called to the canteen area, where both Chris and Stuart Smith, 3^rd Degree, would highlight the L.T.S.I. ‘rules of play’ for the day. The new rules, which are 95% I.T.F. but tweaked to ensure A.M.A. students can understand them, meant all had to browse the Umpires book sent out by Head Office that week. After confirmation that all had read them, it was time to get the show on the road. Teams were quickly put together, ensuring all rings were run by totally independent umpires all day (as always). The tournament commenced and standards were somewhat varied (never the less, standards were high). In the pattern sections, scores were put forward and, as normal, some parents complained (Chris asked why some parents seem to think they have a 9^th Degree Black Belt built into them!) The umpires were fair with judging, but, at times, even Chris said “What were they looking at?” On a few occasions, Stuart (who was overall ring supervisor) asked why some judges had given really low scores, but this could be the new system we are using (i.e. others are not sure how it works) - also, many outsiders have different interpretations of how patterns should look and what has to be scored in such events. This will be sorted at the next umpires course.

The proceedings moved forward well, as the kids tournament exploded into sparring - schools such as Aldershot T.K.D., Rayners Lane and Hemel L.T.S.I. battled to get to the top of the leader board, but all knew that St. Albans were lurking in the background, waiting to stamp their authority in the afternoon event. Never the less St. Albans ‘A’ were doing fine at this time, despite four students being unable to compete, placing the team at risk and giving a bad knock to the latter scores.

At 12 noon, the kids’ event was nearly over - Aldershot T.K.D. and Rayners Lane were still fighting to be top dogs, with Hemel L.T.S.I. snapping at their heels. As the 13 years plus tournament started, over 35 1^st and 2^nd Dans took to the floor to execute some fabulous patterns. The L.T.S.I. taking both silver and bronze medals in this division was a great achievement, proving that the L.T.S.I. is taking the patterns more seriously than ever - the gold was taken by Aldershot.  Over in ring three, the 3^rd Dans and above were doing battle. Aldershot Instructor Paul Adams and tournament host Chris Snow had drawn for a fight off for gold - many were shocked to see the pair receive a very unfair 5 amongst two 8’s given by the panel, which consisted of two 5^th Degrees and a 6^th Degree. However, it has to be said the judges score was consistent across the board. Up again, both made a valiant attempt to impress the judges - rather than give the score though, shockingly the three judges spoke for about five minutes and then announced the winner! Many could see Chris was fuming, as the rules state NO conferring and give a score immediately, but this was not to be. Chris was placed into silver position.

Next up was the sparring and, boy, did we see fireworks in the under 12’s Black Belts section! St. Albans member Ahmed Abdelkafi and Longeaton member Ben Dale had beaten other rivals to fight off for the Gold. In a clash, the two tore lumps out of each other but Ben was victorious, placing Ahmed into a well deserved silver position.

In the under 55kg 13’s to 15’s section, St. Albans member Adam Aliousalah fought hard, placing himself into gold position - his final was hard but fun to watch. Next came the 56kg 13’s to 15’s section where, again, the lethal weapon Stephen Townshend would decimate the section, placing club mate Elliott Moulster and Matthew Sproston, Northants G.T.U.K. into bronze positions. Andrew Smith, Hemel L.T.S.I., fought a good fight against Stephen, but height and power was against him from the start – never the less, he picked up a well deserved silver.

Next up came the over 16’s Black Belts under 74kg section and was this to be a slobber knocker! Ben Pethick (I.U.T.F.) made his way to gold, placing David Lewis (G.T.U.K.) into silver position and Michael Janes (Luton L.T.S.I.) and James Bradshaw (Aldershot) into bronze.

Onto the over 75kgs Black Belts, Yordan Krastev (Hay T.K.D.) was a great fighter, beating all rivals to the post and making the gold his. In silver position came Adrian Cush (Aldershot T.K.D.), with both bronze medals going to Colin Avis (Rayners Lane) and Martin Wesolowksi (Hay T.K.D.)

The next event was the ‘Old Timers Division’ (or at least that’s what many were saying) - the over 35’s section. Up first was Chris Snow (St. Albans L.T.S.I.) and Adam Thorne (Braintree G.T.I.). Well, Chris is 6 foot 2 but Adam looked much bigger than him! The bout started and Chris fired off side and turning kicks like a machine gun, but Adam advanced forward, forcing Chris off the mat (and on his butt!). Chris changed strategies and went for the head with a well time axed kick in the face of Adam. Adam returned after a brief time out after getting dizzy and pushed Chris on the back foot – after a tie and a 30 second add on, Chris would find the edge and move forward.

The second bout would see Stuart Anslow and Russell Bellinger in a very hard bout, exchanging blow after blow to outdo the other. Stuart found the edge, meaning he would face Chris in the final – this was a re-run of the Invitationals where Chris beat Stuart! Not this time though, as Stuart used a cunning game plan, making sure he stayed close and forcing Chris to fight on hands. The pair looked like rabbits as blows rained on each other at lightning speeds! The fog horn blew and both competitors cuddled (ah bless, what sportsmanship!) It turned out that the bout was extremely close, but both were happy there would not be extra time as the mats had drained all their energy levels and they have given their best. Chris said “Silver is a good award for me - Stuart deserved the gold”. Onto the adults breaking - this was a tough feat, as two red boards were loaded into the frame. All contenders hit as hard as they could with 360 Degree jump back kicks. Chris fell on his butt (again!) and said “The mat moved!” (Was that just an excuse, Chris?!) The first round had been and gone and all were given a second go. Chris was up and focused - he hit the boards with sheer power and they exploded, but the official gave a foot fault. Drats! After nobody broke again, it was decided by all the winner would be Chris. As Chris smiled, he gave all competitors £50 each and said “Thanks for that!” (Only joking…..)

The adults sections were tough, but bout after bout was run fair and square. The tables had turned and St. Albans was up in the top three - Aldershot held their own and motored ahead, with St. Albans and Rayners Lane trying to take the area title.

The ‘Aldershot Army’ had taken the gold in a few divisions, but were put into silver positions in many sections by arch rivals Rayners Lane and St. Albans. A very valiant effort was made by both Rayners Lane and St. Albans, who held their own throughout the day.

What followed after was a brief presentation of the County title to Mr. Adams, who had fielded three teams into the South East Opens and done a good job in preparing his members, winning it fair and square. Next was a surprise for Mr. Anslow, who was awarded a bronze Japanese figurine by Chris on behalf of the L.T.S.I. for his continued support over the last five years.

There were many hard bouts - so much so, contact levels were even criticised by the event supervisor. The L.T.S.I. are currently looking at ways to clamp down on hard contact - one suggestion is placing their own referees on all rings, as a couple of the other referees allowed contact to go sometimes when it should have been capped from the start. All in all though, a safe event with regards to sparring levels.

As usual, Chris would like to thank all Instructors for their continued support at such a high profile event for the L.T.S.I. He thanks the helpers who give up their time to support the event, especially Paul Townshend who drove the van and helped organise the set up of the event on the day. We must also thank John Moulster and Mandy Tansey who helped with the projection areas and Jeff Stewart for being on the door most of the day. Thanks also go to my mum Mrs. P. Leonard for helping me out in the kitchen all day, either feeding the officials or the competitors / their families. Chris asked for a special mention to go to Stuart Smith (who is as loyal as they come to the L.T.S.I.) – he worked hard on the day, ensuring all rings were running with no problems and breaks were given to all officials when they needed them.

This year saw the new tournament program being used, which meant NO problems with the brackets at all. The program, which was designed for L.T.S.I. events, is being customized so all Tae Kwon Do communities can use it at future events – it will be sold via the company that built it after the L.T.S.I. informed them they had no interest in owning the rights to it, as it was deemed a better idea that all can use it

The L.T.S.I. are now preparing for the first ever ‘Best of the Best’ Black Belt Opens, due to be held in June this year. The event, which will only be open to Black Belts, will be run on I.T.F. rules and looks set to be an event that many will attend to find out who are ‘the best of the best'.

More information on the L.T.S.I. can be found at their national website on www.uk-ltsi.com.  The L.T.S.I. was formed in 2004 and has around 18 classes and about 400 members. They are affiliated members of the I.T.A. and I.T.F., but run their office and schools totally independent to any organization in the U.K. If you would like to take part in their events, please call their Head Office on 01727 822612 or visit the site for further information