CLUB'S 1st BIRTHDAY
On Thursday 11th January 2007, Corwen Tae Kwon-Do Club celebrated its first birthday since opening last year. The club celebrated by having a special Corwen Tae Kwon-Do Club cake (which was very yummy!) and a fun session of training.
Since opening in January 2006, the club has grown to have over 25 members and has been represented in Local and National competitions. We have also had good performances at gradings throughout the year. The club's aim for this year is to continue the good performances at gradings and increase the number of students taking part in competitions and hopefully bring some medals and trophies back to the club!
SOUTH MIDLANDS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The first competition of the year was held on the 4th February 2007 at the Hereford Leisure Centre. It was also the first competition that Corwen student Sabrina Lloyd took part in. Sabrina has been a spectator at various competitions throughout 2006 but this would be the first one in which she has competed.
Sabrina took part in the Ladies Middle Weight sparring division for White belts to Blue strips. She was a little nervous before her fight, but with the 
support of fellow student Finn Ribchester-Hodgson and his wife, Andrea, she managed to get down there and have a go. Sabrina enjoyed her first competition and is looking forward to entering the North Wales Invitational Competition held in Deeside the following week. Club Instructor Ian Morton entered the black belt patterns event and performed well. North Wales Squad Coach Mr Ady Jones 5th Dan won the black belt male patterns with his trademark pattern, Moon-Moo.
NORTH WALES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Held at the Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday 11th February. It was a very busy tournament this year with over 340 students taking part from North Wales and the North West of England. The competition was well supported by Corwen students and spectators, for many of them it was their first ever Tae Kwon-Do competiton.
Corwen junior members Sam & Sara Mault and Jessica & Courtney Law took part in the patterns section and all performed well. Sara came very close to getting a medal after going through to the play offs. Sam Mault took part in the junior sparring and performed well. Club instructor Ian Morton was extremely happy to have junior members taking part in this competition and was pleased with all their efforts. The juniors had their mums, dads and uncles there for support!
Senior members Sabrina Lloyd and Finn Ribchester-Hodson also took part in the competition. Finn was called up three times to perform his pattern for the judges and came extemely close to 
getting a medal. Sabrina performed well in both patterns and sparring and came away with 3rd place in the Ladies sparring. Club Instructor Ian Morton was in the play offs with Mr Pritchard (Ruthin & Denbigh) for 3rd place in the Black Belts patterns. Mr Pritchard managed to walk away with 3rd place trophy and Mr Hunt (Saltney) came 1st. Mr Hunt also came 1st in the Light Weight Sparring divison. Well done to everyone who competed, keep checking the 'notice board' page for competitions coming up in the future. There are lots of medals and trophies waiting for you to win!
IAN EVANS SESSION
On Saturday 17th March, Mr Ian Evans, who is a 1st Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon-Do and also a high grade in the Japanese martial art system Aikido came to Corwen to take a special self defence session for adults. Aikido is a martial arts system that uses arms locks and throws which are great for self-defence. Hollywood Actor Steven Segal is a black belt in the art and uses his skills in his films such as Under Siege.
Mr Evans brought along a fellow student, Mr Chris Sage. Both Mr Evans and Mr Sage study Aikido at the Ellesmere Port Aikido club.
The session looked at self-defence drills against an attacker with a knife using routines from Aikido. The session was very useful and new skills were learnt. Just remember though, the best form of self defence is to run away! A big thank you to Mr Evans and Mr Sage for taking the session. Hopefully they will come back in the future to give us a refresher session.
WELSH CLOSED - CARDIFF
Held on Sunday 29th April at the ICI in Cardiff. Club Instructor Ian Morton had reported for duty as an Umpire along with fellow instructors Mr Pritchard (Ruthin & Denbigh) and Mr Hunt (Saltney). Mr Morton also competed in the Mens Black Belt Patterns division along with Mr Pritchard who came third and Mr Hunt who came second. The highlight of the day was the demonstration by the Welsh Junior Squad, which is coached by Mr Schembri. Two young elite performers from North Wales Tae Kwon-Do schools, Jade Jones and Thomas Smith have recently returned from a training camp in Barcelona, with the Welsh squad.
Jade who trains in Flint is one of the top young female competitors in the country and Tom who trains in Rhiwabon is also at the top of the cadet boys division. The pair have regularly been attending squad training in Cardiff, in order to be selected for the training camp, which involved gruelling, twice daily training sessions on almost every day of their 6 day trip. Both young sports stars said that it has been a great experience, which hopefully will stand them in good stead for the development of their sporting careers. Thomas' coach, Ady Jones said "These two have done really well to earn their place on the trip and the environment they’ve been in, in Barcelona will be a great springboard for them to lift their skills to another level". Both Thomas and Jade are now training hard, alongside their fellow students, towards this years World Championships.
WELSH OPEN - CARDIFF
Welsh Open was held at the ICI in Cardiff on Sunday 20th May. This was a good chance for TAGB competitors to get some practice in ready for the upcoming World Championships in Birmingham. Corwen students, Sabrina Lloyd and Finn Ribchester-Hodgson came down to compete and performed well. Finn took part in his very first sparring competition in the Yellow Belt Middle Weight Division and did really well.