My Tiny Tiger!

Samuel took part in an inter club Competition on Sunday - he is part of the Aspire Martial Arts club and part of the Tiny Tigers group. As he is 5 he could take part in the Form competition which is basically sparring but for points - they get kitted out in protective headgear, hand and feet pads and do their moves! Here are a few photos of Samuel (in the white helmet) doing his stuff against Josh (who is also in his same club) - Josh went on to win the competition.

Special guest was Joe Tierney who was the ref (in the white shirt) and is a 7th Dan (God like status!) The scoring system was explained at the start and it was the first one to score 5 points or the highest score within the allowed time. A point was given each time for contact (either a punch or kick) if seen by both 'spotters' and the ref and two points for a head kick. So basically, you had to block your opponent and still try and make contact. This is where the hand drills come in - they are a series of hand, arm and body movements which form the basis of blocking movements to various parts of the body.

The little ones really don't hit each other too hard although Samuel has a very strong kick when he's concentrating!

It's amazing to watch the little ones doing the sparring and Samuel really enjoyed himself and was awarded two certificates for taking part.