Fighters bag a magnificent seven medals
Fighters from a Black Country mixed martial arts club came away with a haul of medals from a national tournament after striking their way to glory.
Walsall Elite Martial Arts bagged three gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the Welsh Taekwondo Championships which were held in Cardiff.
Senior instructor and current taekwondo world champion Emily-Jane Arms, who came away with gold and silver, said she was immensely proud of her club’s achievements.
“Our preparation was good ahead of the tournament and we performed superb on the day,” said the 35-year-old.
“Everybody took it to the next level and this shone in their performances on the day.”
Six fighters, out of the total eight who travelled to the tournament, came away with medals.
Arms struck gold in the ladies’ black belt individual division and then silver in the tag team sparring event.
Meanwhile, chief-instructor Jason Rowley, 32, won bronze in the men’s black belt heavyweight sparring division.
Billy Palmer, aged 18, landed gold in the men’s blackbelt lightweight sparring. His brother Shane, 15, who had stepped up to cadet level, triumphed in the black blue lightweight division and took silver in the boys’ tag team sparring event.
Salma Khanom, 31, won bronze in her first ever championships after competing in the ladies’ yellow belt heavyweight sparring division.
The team are now focusing on the Scottish Championships scheduled to take place in Glasgow on September 9.
Walsall EMA are on the lookout for new students to join their championship-winning club classes for all ages.
The club train in taekwondo and kickboxing. Taekwondo classes take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings, while kickboxing takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and ladies-only class are held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays.
For more information, call Emily-Jane Arms on 07971196676 or visit www.walsallelitemartialarts.co.uk
