Hat-trick of medals for club's fifth birthday
A West Bromwich martial arts group was given an extra reason to celebrate its fifth birthday – as three of its karate aces won medals at a prestigious international tournament.
The trio, from the Moose Martial Arts Academy, showed off their skills while competing for England in the recent Wadokai European Championships, which took place in Hungary.
Youngsters Abbie Mansell and Callum Myatt were joined by Shannon Parsons, their chief instructor at the club, as they took on the continent's best.
The success of her students was of particular pride to Parsons, who claimed a bronze in the individual kata event for fighters aged between 18 and 35.
In a quirk of fate, it coincided almost to the day with the fifth anniversary of the club being set up. Parsons explained: "It was quite incredible, the way it panned out.
"This is the first time I've taken members of the club over to a European championships. It was a new experience for both of them but they did superbly."
Myatt returned with a bronze from the pairs event in the 14-15 years age group while Mansell particularly impressed, claiming two silvers, in the 12-13 years group.
Parsons said: "I'm really proud of them. There were more than 100 who went over in the England team and the competition was fierce.
"It was something new, of course, travelling to a different country and spending five nights away.
"But they coped really well with all of that. It was an exhausting trip in many ways but well worth it."
Parsons hopes their success is just the start for the club, which meets twice a week at the Moose Family Centre in Woodward Street.
More students are set to train with England next year and Parsons, who first took up karate as a youngster, believes the future is bright.
She said: "At the moment we have about 35 to 40 members, our youngest is four and the oldest is 53, so there is quite a big age range.
"We've been going for about five years now and set the club up myself. I wanted youngsters in the community in particular to have the same opportunities I had growing up.
"Martial arts is a fantastic thing to be involved in, you can learn so many skills from it."
For more information on Moose Martial Arts Academy, contact Parsons on 07528 712 692.
