The GTUK was again invited to the Hong Kong Cyber Port by Mister Nelson Chew of the GCITF. This year a small select few we’re able to attend this event. Mr Darren Twelvetree, Will Dewey and John Bowman-Yard. Their travels are well documented in pictures on Facebook and in the following report.

With great expectations of following the successes in the past few months at the world championships, the excited trio started the long trip in normal fashion of travelling out via Dubai. After 26hrs of travelling the trio were met by Typhoon UTUR 100miles from Hong Kong. Following the normal procedure of hanging on with all of their might and praying that they would get to HONG KONG safely, the pilot landed the plane followed by John running to the toilet.

The reports of the Typhoon at its worst were bad with many residents and visitors not being able to step outside. But luckily it died out fast and did not affect the trip.

After a quick freshen up the Trio checked into the hotel and were met by the welcoming committee. As always, this required a few welcoming drinks at a local bar to help brush out the cobwebs from the long trip.

The following day was free for a trip around the island to get the bearings. The awesome city of Hong Kong has some awe inspiring sites and a trip to the botanical gardens gave the trio an opportunity for some training. The Tai Chi section of the park was an awesome location for this, but with the heat of the mid-day sun it also aided in getting rid of the jet lag.

The evening before the competition, our trio were invited to visit the impressive Cyber port to meet the special guests. Once again the venue looked impressive and welcoming.

Master Un from South Korea

Master Dang Kok Wai from Malaysia

Mr Nelson Chew from Hong Kong

Mr Eric Ho from Hong Kong

There was an umpire meeting followed by an international Grading that we were asked to stay and view. Sadly not all who participated made the required grading, but it was impressive to be allowed to watch.

The following day saw the opening ceremony attend by the above and Mrs Chew from Malaysia. After an opening ceremony the GTUK display team, no prizes for guessing who was in it, then performed an awesome display. This combined demonstrating the GTUK technical ability with one of the main elements of the GTUK being ‘FUN’. There are videos available on Face Book and you tube and this is not to be missed. The conclusion was by Mr Dewey completing the pattern ‘Jook Am’ in front of a GTF Master which was well received.

The rest of the day was spent officiating the junior colour belt section which some some impressive technical abilities. Mr Twelvetree officiated for the day demonstrating the impartiality that the GTUK has always followed. Our trio then retreated for an early night ready for the following days competing.

On Sunday we started with our trio displaying this seasons ‘must have’ squad clothing. This was received with a great applause from the audience. Please contact Mr Dewey to place orders. Mr Bowman was then taken away as everyone wanted a photo with a 2m tall Giant!

Once the tournament was up and running the adult colour belts started the day, leaving our trio with a long a nervous wait. In the normal fashion they spent the morning trying to find out who their competitors were going to be. There were many competitors from Malaysia, Korea, China, India and of course Hong Kong and they were more than happy to demonstrate their technical ability.

After a long wait Mr Bowman was up first for his patterns. He put on a great display but sadly came undone the infamous ‘juche’ but not before he won a silver. Mr Dewey was called up rapidly after to compete in a hard division. He also put on a great display and come away with solid Silver. Mr Twelvetree was ready to go but was then informed that it was time for lunch and would have to wait.

After lunch Mr Dewey was called up for sparring. After some good work he made it into the final against China. This was a very spirited bout with an awesome display of legs from our Mr Dewey and his competitor and Gladly Mr Dewey came away with the well-deserved Gold.

It was then the turn of the 4th and 5th degrees patterns. After Mr Dewey’s sparring the venue was packed and the organisers decided to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate Taekwon-do to the spectators. To add to the tension Mr Twelvetree was selected first to his delight. However, he pulled a solid set of patterns out of the bag. Malaysia was next and it was clear they were the ones to be beaten with some awesome leg skills. Mr Twelvetree came away with a Bronze.

This then gave way to the over 80kg sparring. The final was between the student and the teacher and was eagerly awaited by the spectators. Mr Bowman towered over Mr Twelvetree. The tension was high and during the 2 rounds Mr Bowman stepped up to the international level giving a great display of his long leg technics. However, as always Mr Twelvetree was resilient in these types bouts and his experience came through to win the bout. This gave the GTUK a Gold and Silver.

The conclusion to the day was in the teams. The patterns saw our trio up against Hong Kong and come away with Silver. A team of five was required for the sparring and showing the real ‘United ITF’ parts of Taekwondo, Malaysia teamed up with our boys to compete against Hong Kong and China. The first bouts saw our team against Hong Kong. The awesome display from all five kept the spectators entertained but Hong Kong came out on top. The second round required a win for silver and the team dug in de and beat China in fast fashion to win the silver.

After the day’s events the GTUK trio came away with 11 awesome medals. The following hour was spent taking photos and congratulating the other competitors. As always the love of our sport was shown by all. The only event left was the well-deserved championship banquette.

A local restaurant was the base for the party with good old local food like, lobster, goose feet, boiled fish, chicken head to mention a few. While Mr Dewey did like the fish, the goose feet and chicken heads seemed to be his speciality. With the added toasting with a local wine that resembled white spirit, thankfully, Mr Twelvetree had that covered! Great company and great atmosphere made the night a great experience. Of course the night moved onto a local pub where the entertainment continued.

The trio next few days were for exploring and relaxing after a hard year of training and tournaments. They spent the day’s sightseeing and finding ways to entertain themselves in the evenings. The exploits can be seen on ‘FaceBook’ and ‘You Tube’.

We would like to thank the team in Hong Kong for their warm welcome and hospitality and we hope to see them again very soon. In addition the we would like to congratulate the Trio from the GTUK who spent a lot of time and money in making the visit to Hong Kong this year. The have demonstrated the true values of the GTUK.

Darren Twelvetree, Will Dewey, John Bowman.