Started from the bottom....

"This is your captain speaking, we have some special guests on our flight to Detroit today; Team Great Britain who will be competing in the 2018 Tang Soo Do World Championships. From myself, the crew and everyone at Delta airways, we wish you all good luck". I always thought getting an announcement on a plane would relate to some sort of scene I'd created.......

I'd love to say my entry into Tang Soo Do was spectacular and that I was destined for great things from day one, but it really wasn't. I knew I loved it from the moment I first met Master Tang in April 1995, but I never really stood out. I always tried my hardest, but of the "Three Musketeers" as Master Tang called me and two of my training partners, I was always the 3rd. Winning bronzes occasionally if I was lucky, competitions included a lot of sitting and watching.

So what changed?

On 26th December 2009, my Grandma passed away after a long battle. Her last month with us was spent in Wheatfields Hospice and for a solid week of it I sat next to her. Grandma always loved that I practised Tang Soo Do and confided in me that it was one of Grandads favourite things. As Grandmas health deteriorated I promised her I would get her a gold medal. From then all other unnecessary distractions went out the window. (I was never the best footballer anyway).

Fast forward 2 and 3/4 years and I'm on the plane to Detroit with the rest of Team GB, about to head off to one of the greatest experiences I've had so far (which only the birth of my children have surpassed....... Although Leeds Uniteds promotion to the Premier League is up there too.).

Over the next few months I aim to publish more blogs about my experiences in Tang Soo Do, to supplement pieces from our class and beyond. The ups and occasional downs, the many incredible people I've met, amusing incidents and so on. I hope you enjoy my ramblings and you may even find inspiration in what I write.

For Grandma Wakelin. More courage than any fighter.

By Liam Daly

Lead Instructor