Cresta’s Alchemy Dojang hosts a ‘little dragons’ tournament
CRESTA – Children aged four to seven compete in tang soo do.
They may not have breathed fire but two groups of little dragons showed their mettle at a recent tang soo do tournament.
Alchemy Dojang in Cresta hosted Bluebird Pre-Primary School for a tournament between their four to seven-year-old martial artists, who are called ‘little dragons’.
The Clash of Dragons Junior Tournament saw 15 of these youngsters compete in forms (called kata) and point sparring.
Junior black belts of 12 and 13 years old assisted in running and judging the tournament.
By the end of the day, plenty of gold, silver and bronze medals were won to leave everyone with a smile.
The dojang’s head instructor, master Gregory Hart explained that they start teaching tang soo do to children as young as four years old because it promotes their physical and psychological development.
“They learn balance, coordination, physical strength and flexibility,” he said. “Mental benefits include crossing the midline, using both halves of the brain, self-discipline and confidence. Competition teaches them to work hard towards a goal and to cope with both winning and losing.”
The main winners
Four to five-year-olds
- Forms was won by Xander van Heerden (Alchemy Dojang) and John Botha (Alchemy Dojang) was runner-up,
- Sparring was won by Kaelin Shunmugam (Alchemy Dojang), and silver went to Xander van Heerden (Alchemy Dojang)
Five to six-year-olds
- Forms was won by Ryston Shunmugam (Alchemy Dojang) and silver went to Riordan McClachlan (Alchemy Dojang),
- Sparring was won by Mihlali Mjekevu (Bluebird) and silver went to Ryston Shunmugam (Alchemy Dojang)
Six to seven-year-olds
- Forms was won by Harrison Taggart (Alchemy Dojang) and silver went to Lourens Jacobsz (Alchemy Dojang),
- Sparring was won by Harrison Taggart (Alchemy Dojang) and silver went to Liam Cloete (Alchemy Dojang)
