Get kicking with new taekwondo club
Martial arts enthusiasts can now join the RVMA Taekwondo Club in Polokwane.
POLOKWANE – The RVMA Taekwondo Club in Polokwane was established during the lockdown period by Rohan Vervey Martial Arts and Karate for Kids.
Head coach Carin Verwey explained that taekwondo originated in South Korea and concentrates on kicks and is a way of using hands and feet. “It is a full contact-controlled sport. We wear full protective gear when we fight and are only allowed to kick from the belt, up. Our heads, faces, chests, hands and feet are protected,” she explains.
RVMA Taekwondo is part of the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) Martial Arts. RVMA’s head office is situated in Bloemfontein, while ATA’s head office is in Little Rock, Arkansas. The annual world championship takes place in Phoenix, Arizona.
RVMA Taekwondo meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 17:30 to 18:30 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00 and they welcome participants from the age of three and older. Programmes include the tiger programme (children between the age of three and seven), the karate programme (children between eight and 13 years), the teen programme (children between 14 and 19 years) and their adult programme (18 years and older). Carin says they are also looking to create a programme for special needs people.
“Taekwondo teaches you self defence, respect, confidence and discipline. It is known that those who participate in a sport, do better academically,” Verwey explains.
Weapons are part of the sport and participants learn to do sparring using combat weapons. The club has two instructors; Hilda de Ridder (senior) and Wihan Deyzel (junior).
Although 2021 was a challenging year for competitions, Wihan, Hilda and Carin qualified for their Limpopo Federation colours. They competed in the ATA Top 5 National virtual tournament in October 2021 and they all placed in their respective divisions for Traditional Forms and Traditional Weapon Forms.
Carin also competed at the Free State Provincial tournament in Bloemfontein on February 5 and won four medals, which included a gold medal for combat weapon sparring, a silver medal for traditional forms, traditional weapon forms and sparring.
To join the club contact manager Sonja Deyzel on 082 444 3498, Rohan on 072 398 0098, Carin on 082 461 3631 or Hilda on 073 545 8755.
