On Saturday 25th
February, Grand Master Nicholls visited Wales to conduct a 2 hour sparring
seminar at the Cardiff City House of Sport, assisted by Mr Jamie McAvoy.
Nearly 70 members
were in attendance, mostly from the Cardiff Martial Arts clubs with some
visitors from Devon, Dorset and Bristol areas also travelling in order to take
advantage of GM Nicholls’s vast experience and usual charismatic charm!
The first part of the
seminar was focused on close range combat, the type of situation boxers and
kickboxers may find themselves in - staying close to the opponent and varying
the angles and directions of attack whilst maintaining strong, positive posture
and effective guard.
The second part of
the session changed the scenario, to an ITF Taekwon-do situation, using
footwork and movement to attack the opponent, aiming to drive them out of the
ring where they would then incur a warning.
Mr McAvoy’s
experience and speed was impressive to those watching, especially the juniors
who had come to train. Under GM Nicholls
coaching eye, Mr McAvoy showed the group many ways to take advantage of the
opponent, whether to drive them back out of the ring or by staying close -
throwing punches from different angles and kicking to maximum effect. At the end of the
session, GM Nicholls answered some questions relating to semi-contact and
full-contact fighting; drawing on his 4 decades of experience, he spoke about
the first full-contact event in the UK in the early 1970s and how Taekwon-do
sparring had developed since then.
Parents, students and
friends who had come to support the event have spoken about how inspiring it
was, and we would like to thank GM Nicholls and Mr McAvoy for taking the time
to visit us in Cardiff.
Written by: Kevin McCabe VI degree - 28th February 2017
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