NINE taekwondo students from Phoenix Martial Arts entered the Global Taekwondo International British Championships, with two being crowned British Champions.

There were also two silver and two bronze medals to add to the tally, making it an impressive haul for the club.

Nine year old Harry Chase from Stratton fought off a large field of competitors, including his six year old brother Charlie, to be crowned British Patterns Champion.

The brothers have only be training for around nine months, and they both showed great spirit and determination in their first ever competition.

Shortly after joining the club, the brothers’ father Stuart began training with them, with him also entering the competition and claimed a bronze medal in men’s sparring, only narrowly losing out on a place in the final against his Phoenix teammate Richard Lane.

Lane, from Nythe, began training with his 10-year-old daughter Imogen only four months ago, went on to be crowned British champion after beating Chase.

Mother and son, Christine and Cody O’Bey from Covingham, both came away with medals after hard fought battles in their categories.

Twelve-year-old Cody, who is hoping to test for his black belt in April, won bronze medal in the hotly contested junior boys sparring. Not to be outdone by her son, Christine came away with silver medals in both patterns and sparring, fighting off some very stiff competition.

Phoenix Taekwondo’s youngest black belt, 11-year-old Oliver Waite from Stratton, entered his first competition in the black belt division and came extremely close to winning a medal.