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.