After Sherman’s recent success, we invited him to share his story…

Hi all!

I’m Sherman and I practised Tae Kwon-Do for two years as a teen and restarted in late 2022 after finishing university. Around the same time, I joined Storm and trained regularly there along with Tae Kwon-Do.

I enjoy the competitive/sports side the most in martial arts. The Tae Kwon-Do Association of GB (TAGB) runs ITF-style sparring tournaments throughout the year.

The tournament rules are very similar to kickboxing at Storm. In a match, you earn points by landing techniques on your opponent, one for a hand technique, and two and three points for a foot technique to your opponent’s body or head respectively. In the senior colour belt division, the sparring is continuous with minimal stopping from the referee.

The training at Storm was perfect for preparing me for tournaments. We regularly did drills and pad work which helped me gain confidence in sparring. I also had the opportunity to spar with partners of different sizes and approaches in class.

Digger is an excellent coach and provided a lot of advice for my sparring. He encouraged me to use more hand techniques and apply aggression in appropriate situations.

I competed in the Men’s Blue Belt Welterweight division at the TAGB English Championships.

In the tournament, I was able to apply what I’ve learnt from Storm.  I found many situations I could blitz my opponent and drive them out of the area.

I won my gold medal match with a unanimous decision from the four corner umpires which is an excellent result.

Thanks to Digger and the members of Storm for the training!