July 16 – July 19

The WTSDA World Championship 2026 brings together Tang Soo Do practitioners from around the world for four days of competition, training, and celebration in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA. Open to both gup and dan grades, this is the pinnacle event in the WTSDA calendar — a chance to compete at the highest level and be part of the global Tang Soo Do family.

Schedule

• Wednesday July 15^th – Ki Gong at the Convention Center
• Thursday July 16^th – Ki Gong and WTSDA training clinics at the convention center. A lake and river architectural boat tour of Downtown Chicago with bussing will be available.
• Friday July 17^th – Black Belt and creativity competition.
• Saturday July 18^th – Opening Ceremonies and Gup competition.
• Saturday night July 18^th – One Family Championship party in the same room as the competition with a live band and a DJ.
• Sunday July 19^th – One Family picnic at Six Flags Great America. About 40 miles or 65 kilometers North of the hotel. There will be bussing available for an additional cost.
• Bonus Monday July 20^th – A Cubs game at historic Wrigley Field with a bus to and from the hotel, a 90 minute behind the scenes tour of Wrigley and a ballgame. WTSDA Member Bus Trip to Wrigley Field — Bus, Ticket, Tour & Souvenir

Who Can Attend

The World Championship is open to all WTSDA gup and dan grade members in good standing. Separate competition categories are available for juniors and seniors across all belt grades. Check with your instructor if you are unsure of your eligibility.

Travel & Accommodation

The event is held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel, 1551 Thoreau Drive N, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173 — approximately 5 miles from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which has direct and connecting flights from the UK. A WTSDA hotel room block is typically available at the event hotel at a preferential rate; check the WTSDA website for booking details and deadlines.

<p>The post WTSDA World Championship – July 2026 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

Students from Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do started their 2026 competition season with another good performance at this year’s WTSDA Great Britain National Championship in Nottingham, 25th April.

Leading the results for the Dan (black belt) divisions were Mr Will Dockerill and Ms Laura Vanhulle (a previous Gup Grand Champion) who impressively picked up trophies in all three of their individual Cho Dan categories, 1st’s in weapons and hyungs as well as 3rds in sparring. Our other Dan grade students showed particular strength in the sparring category with Mr Jakub Ozog (E Dan) picking up a strong 2nd place while Miss Emily Rutherford, Mr Stuart Rutherford and Mr Franciszek Tomczyk all achieved 3rd place results.

Philippa Collins lead the way for our Gup (coloured belt) students with an impressive 1st place in weapons. Gerardo Ruiz picked up a 2nd in sparring and 3rd in hyungs and Albert Haynes picked up a 2nd in hyungs in his first ever competition.

Both Will and Philippa now go on to join the rest of the GBTSDA competition team and attend the WTSDA World Championships in July taking place in Chicago USA.

As usual the club students and instructors were also involved with being judges, time and score keepers in addition to competing so for many it became a very long, but productive day.

Final tally for the day was 5 x 1sts, 2 x 2nds, 7 x 3rds and a chocolate bar (for being score keeper on the most productive ring of the day!)

More images can be found at GBTSDA Facebook page:

Photos by Master Islam GBTSDA

<p>The post National Championships – April 2026 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

April 25 @ 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

<p>The post National Championship – 2026 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

Topping off another successful year, last weekend saw 11 of our students travel to Ebbw Vale in the Welsh Valleys for the GBTSDA Regional Championships. Joining hundreds of Tang Soo Do students from GBTSDA clubs across the nation to compete in weapons, individual and team Hyungs (forms), and sparring.

The highlight of our success was Susie Morris, a local childminder and mum, collecting three individual 1sts. Competing as a red-tag belt, Susie is only one step away from becoming a black belt candidate. Susie was crowned the Gup Grand Champion by BKCN Khan, assistant Grandmaster of the World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA), for the best overall performance in the Gup (coloured belt) divisions. On top of this, she also combined with Rich and Phillippa to obtain a well-deserved 3rd place for their team form.

Despite having very little time to practice together due to school and college work, our young black belts Jakub, Emily and Will pulled off an impressive 1st place in the Dan (black belt) team form category.

Any of our students can represent us at national and regional championships. This time our team ranged from 10 to 50 years old, from green belt right through to 2nd Dan black belt, and from all walks of life. Three of our students were competing for the first time, including our youngest Alicja, all of them giving their best. No doubt several of them will go on to represent GBTSDA at the WTSDA World Championships in Chicago next July.

Their overall achievement was 5 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze in the individual divisions.

<p>The post Regional Championships – November 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

The European Championships took place in Athens, Greece, on the 11th October 2025. Our students, Philippa, Nathan, Susie, and Rich, along with Master G Russell and Master R Russell, joined the GBTSDA national team to compete against teams from other European countries as well as some from further afield.

The GB team departed Heathrow on Wednesday, 8th October.

As well as the Competition on Saturday, there were training sessions and seminars before and after.

<p>The post European Championships – October 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

October 10, 2025 @ 3:00 PM – October 12, 2025 @ 2:00 PM

With great joy and enthusiasm we welcome you to the 2025 European
Tournament ‘’Ευ Αγωνίζεσθαι’’ – ‘’Fair Play’’ Tang Soo Do taking place in
Athens, in Greece!

This three-day event will bring together WTSDA member from across
Europe and beyond under the same roof!

The Tournament aims to honor Tang Soo Do, the World Tang Soo Do
Association, and each of its member individually – through the ethos and
technical excellence of every athlete!

As host, Hellas Tang Soo Do Association declares its commitment to
work with love and sincerity, so that this unique event will be crowned
with absolute success!

Best regards,
Master Manolis Messados
Country Director

<p>The post European Championship – 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

August 30, 2025 @ 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

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On Saturday, 26th April 2025, we competed in the 41st GBTSDA (Great Britain Tang Soo Do Assoc) 2025 National Championships at the David Ross Sports Village, Nottingham University.

Our team of 12 joined almost 380 competitors from around the country to compete in categories of weapons (bo-staff, dagger, and sword), sparring, individual hyungs and team hyungs at gup and dan levels. Supported by family, friends, other club students, and instructors.

In addition to competing, many senior-grade students and instructors assisted the event as timekeepers, scorekeepers, judges, and other roles, donating their time to ensure a safe and enjoyable competition for all participants.

Since the 2024 Nationals, many of our students have been promoted in grade, so the standard of competition for them was much higher this year, but they all rose to the challenge and achieved great results. Most notably, Miss Holmes not only moved from the junior to the 17+ adult category but also rose in rank this year to 2nd dan, putting her in the 17+ ladies 2nd/3rd dan division, quite possibly the toughest division of the competition.

The day started with the weapons divisions, here the team had success with Mr Oliver Russell being awarded 1st for sword, Ms Laura Vanhulle a 1st for bo-staff and Mr Dockerill a 2nd, just missing out on a 1st in bo-staff in a very close division. Our 2nd gup ladies then all proceeded to gain podium positions with Susie Morris and Philippa Collins both gaining 2nds while Kate Latimer scored a 3rd place in bo-staff.

Midday saw the official opening of the Championships, led by KCN Khan, head of GBTSDA and 8th dan Assistant Grandmaster of the WTSDA (World Tang Soo Do Assoc).

As holder of the 2024 Gup Grand Champion award, Greg Ozog returned the cup for this year’s competitors to aspire to.

Sadly Greg was not competing in this year’s competition to defend the title. However, he still managed to come away with an award for being part of the most productive ring of the day, acting as timekeeper for gup divisions.

This year, we entered two teams into the team hyungs competition. Mr Oroz, Miss Holmes, and Miss Rutherford competed in the dan category while Susie, Philipa, and Kate competed in the gup category. Competition is always tough, especially in the dan category, but we were successful with a 3rd place in the gup category, repeating their success from the 2023 National Championships.

In the afternoon gup session Rich Morris (5th gup) achieved a 1st in sparring, despite nursing an injured knee followed by our three red belt ladies each picking up a sparring trophy: Susie Morris (1st), Kate Latimer (2nd) and Philippa Collins (3rd). Nathan Morris then proceeded to also score in sparring with a 3rd place position.

Ms Vanhulle is also a previous National & Regional Gup Grand Champion, and was competing for the first time since being awarded her 1st Dan black belt at the beginning of 2025. Facing a stronger dan division, she again produced a top performance to gain 1st’s in weapons and hyungs and a 3rd in sparring. Another first for Ms Vanhulle was serving as a scorekeeper for gup divisions.

Mr Dockerill successfully added a 1st place in hyungs to this earlier 2nd in weapons.

Miss Rutherford returned to the Nationals this year after a break in 2024 to take her GCSEs, now also competing in dan divisions she pulled off an impressive 1st in sparring and 3rd in hyungs.

Mr J Ozog faced a tough division but still manage to come away with a 3rd in hyungs, like other senior grades, he also served as scorekeeper.

Mr O Russell achieved great results by taking 1st’s in weapons (sword) and hyungs before running into very tough competition in the sparring in possibly the most physically demanding division. Mr Russell also continued to serve as a judge for gup divisions.

In addition to competing, our instructors and students help with the running of the day. Master G Russell continues to expand her judging experience as a corner judge and center judge for both dan and gup competition rings, while Master R Russell is responsible for the organisation of trophies. Mr Rutherford, while also competing, acted as score keeper throughout the day.

<p>The post National Championships – April 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

April 26, 2025 @ 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

<p>The post National Championship – 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>

November 8, 2025 @ 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM

<p>The post Regional Championship – 2025 first appeared on Ely & Witchford Tang Soo Do.</p>