What a weekend ! A.I.M.A.A Scotland had Instructors and students arriving from all over Europe to attend the Nationals taking place on Sunday the 10th of May in Blantyre Sports centre, Glasgow.

This year we had the honour of the attendance of Master John Darcy, who is not only the A.I.M.A.A European Director, but also a close and personal friend of Master Kirkwood and Mrs Kirkwood. We also had the honour of having Master Pat White of the TAI, who attended with 51 TAI students and parents. Master White is a close friend of Master Darcy and recently Master Kirkwood had the privilege of teaching a point sparring seminar in Dublin for the TAI organisation.

The weekend kicked off on the Friday with the arrival of the first group's of Instructors and students from A.I.M.A.A Ireland. Mr Will Power and Miss Ashlying Ryan arrived on the Friday evening and attended class at A.I.M.A.A Scotland Headquarters, which is where Master Kirkwood teaches on a daily basis and where the Scottish National Squad train every week. On the Saturday Master Darcy, Mr Long and Mr Healy arrived and were greeted by Master Kirkwood at the airport. The group where driven to the Hilton, where they all had breakfast together.

Students of A.I.M.A.A Ireland National Secretary, Miss Quintella Walsh and Mr Jimmy Courtney, arrived with their kick Boxing students. We also had Mr James Farrell and Mr Daniel Farrell arrive with their students, followed by Mr Ryan, Mr O'Connor, and Sean O' Donnell.

On the Saturday evening Mr Fernandez and Monika from A.I.M.A.A Jersey arrived at Glasgow Airport. Master Kirkwood, Mrs Kirkwood along with Master Darcy, Mr Long, Mary, Mr Healy, Mr & Mrs Reid and Jack collected the Instructors from the airport and headed to "Yen's" Japanese restaurant, which was a fantastic night of fun, fantastic food and lots of laughter.

The Sunday saw all the groups from A.I.M.A.A Scotland, A.I.M.A.A Ireland, A.I.M.A.A England, A.I.M.A.A Jersey and the TAI association converge in Blantyre Sports centre for a day of excellent sportsmanship's and friendship. All students under 14 yrs were awarded a participation medal, as well as the chance to win Gold, Silver or Bronze in the event.

The level of competitors was at an all time high, as many fought fantastic fights in points and continuous sparring. One of the highlights that everyone enjoyed was the adult continuous event between Mr John Phillips and Mr Ryan Kirkwood, which had everyone on their feet and shouting for more! We also had the fight with World Champion Mr John Kirkwood and Mr Jamie O'Connor, which was fast and furious. Within the ladies division we had exceptional sparring from Monika Warkowska, from A.I.M.A.A Jersey, who not only won in her division but also at a heavier weight division, showing she is an overall athletic.

The standard of one-step was phenomenal in both junior and senior divisions and saw A.I.M.A.A Scotland's own Mr Mark Russell and Miss Kirsty Gough win in the adult division. Mr Gerry Long and Mrs Cecilia Gough also competed in the one-step and showed the skills of one-step in full flow with a new move improvised by Mr Long, that had everyone in stitches.

Master Whites students where exceptional in patterns, especially the juniors. One child that stood out and had everyone talking, was little Katie White. An amazing competitor for someone so young. She demonstrated power, technique and perfection in every move within her pattern, which no one could even match. In all,  the event was exceptional with many exceptional competitors winning in patterns, one-step, sparring and team events. All those who attended have left with many trophies and many happy memories of the A.I.M.A.A Scotland Nationals.

Master Kirkwood & Mrs Kirkwood would personally like to thank the following Instructors for refereeing all day on Sunday:  A.I.M.A.A Scotland - Mr Lawson, Mr Shaw, Mrs Belgacem, Mr Mc Lear, Mrs Mc Lear, Ms Mallon, Mr Mc Caig, Mrs Gough. We would also like to thank Mrs Sutherland, Kirsty Gough, Ashley Wilmot, Mark Russell for time keeping and helping out all day. 

We would also like to thank: Mr Gerry Long, Mary, Mr Fernandes, Miss Walsh, Mr Courtney, Mr James Farrell, Mr Ryan, Mr Power, Mr Gleeson Mr Daniel Farrell, Mr O'Connor, Ms Tess Duffy, Mr Healy, Mr Phillips,  Miss Ryan and everyone else from A.I.M.A.A Ireland and Jersey who helped out on the day. Our thanks also goes to Mr Miah and his students from the Huddersfield school of Cho's TKD in England, who have supported this event 2 years in a row.

A special thank you to Mrs Sutherland for undertaking the airport pickup's on the Friday and bringing Mr Power and Ms Ryan to train at Master Kirkwood' school in Blantyre, and for picking up Mr Farrell on the Saturday morning, as well as running people about over the weekend. Also a special thanks to Mrs Gough for undertaking the refreshments for the officials.

Lastly our gratitude to Master Darcy for attending the Nationals in Scotland and for supporting Master Kirkwood and A.I.M.A.A Scotland. We would also like to thank Master Pat White and all those from the TAI who came to the event, and we look forward to attending the TAI TKD Championships in June in Dublin.

The weekend ended on a high and very positive note, with many of the Instructors and students heading home to Ireland and England. Master Kirkwood, Master Darcy attended a meal in the Italian restaurant in Hamilton with Mr Healy, Mr Fernandes, Monika, Mr Power, Miss Ryan, Mr Gleeson, Miss Duffy and Mr Fernandes's students from Jersey. This was a relaxing time for the group after a hectic and active day at the event.

Next years event will be held on Sunday the 2nd of May 2010. This will be an excellent event and we hope to welcome everyone once again to look forward to holding another International Championships in Scotland.

A.I.M.A.A SCOTLAND NATIONALS GALLERY ....Click here