Louth dad and daughter keep it in the family with gold and bronze taekwondo medals
FAMILY fighting turns out to be a good thing for one father and daughter from Drogheda, as they both brought home martial arts medals from a recent national competition!
Both members of Drogheda Taekwondo School, David and Alexandra Knowles built upon previous sparring competition performances to bring home gold and bronze respectively from the INTA National Championships earlier this month.
David won gold in the veterans’ black belt sparring, a closely contested bout that saw a countback of judges scorecards to verify the victory for the oldest male competing on the day.
Alexandra, who is just nine years old, came through a preliminary round and a quarter final strongly to establish herself as one of the most improved sparrers in her division.
She lost narrowly in her semi-final to the eventual champion and recovered from her disappointment by passing her green belt exam a few days later.
“We both train with Drogheda Taekwondo School, and had been with Tom Connor until he retired at Christmas,” explains David, whose son Arthur (7) also trains there.
“We’re both now with his son Raymond V Degree, and we train at Holy Family Boxing Club in Ballsgrove on Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm.”
David began his love of martial arts 25 years ago, and first competed 22 years ago with UCD.
“I had taken a break for a while when we moved from Dublin to Drogheda, and when I joined Drogheda Taekwondo Club, Alex had only been born, and I would bring her along and she’d usually sleep in her car seat in the corner,” he says with a laugh. “I got my II Degree Black Belt with them and am on course for my III Degree this Christmas.”
Alex soon woke up and wanted in on the action, and started training three and a half years ago.
“I love training with my two children, and I’m so proud to be competing with Alex and taking home medals, but the club is like a second family to us anyway,” explains David. “It is a really family-friendly atmosphere and at the moment we have about 25 members, and we are very keen on the safety aspect of it, and keeping everyone safe and healthy.”
The club meets twice a week, and they are always on the lookout for new members.
“It is a great way to keep fit, and make new friends, and we are looking for people of all ages; boys and girls, men and women, and you don’t need to have done anything like this before,” says David. “We also have a great mix of nationalities through the door; Serbian, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Croatian, and it is so well regulated.
“Ray Connor is the main instructor, and there are three assistant instructors, which includes myself and we would never place anyone in harm’s way or put them in a situation they feel uncomfortable in”
Ray’s dad Thomas retired from Drogheda Taekwondo School, one of the longest running martial arts clubs in the town, at Christmas.
He had dedicated over 50 years to teaching and spreading the positive message of Taekwondo in Drogheda and across the country. Mr Connor began his journey in Taekwondo in 1973 under Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha in Coventry in the UK. When Tom returned from the UK there were very few Taekwondo clubs in Ireland so he had to train with a club in Dublin, travelling up and down. In 1986 he founded Drogheda Taekwondo School in the Dyer Street and the club moved around before settling in its current home in Holy Family Boxing Club in Ballsgrove.
Anyone interested in joining, come along to a training session any Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm in Holy Family Boxing Club in Ballsgrove, Drogheda.