Team GB and Bradford Taekwondo academy to target Paralympics

The project, 'Fighterbility', in its essence is about providing young people with upper limb impairments (K44 classification) the confidence to get involved in the sport.

Fighterbility will help match individuals with local training centres offering inclusive Taekwondo training classes, and Bradford's Horizon Taekwondo Academy is one of associated clubs.

The initiative is aimed at interested parties from the age of 15 and up with an interest in the all-action, dynamic sport. 

Horizon Master, Rick Simpson (6th Dan), was full of praise for the project when speaking to the T&A.

He said: “I think that it’s an excellent initiative. 

“Following the success of a very small number of para-athletes at the Paralympic Games from Great Britain in the summer, I think this shows that there is great opportunity out there for people who are eligible to compete in Taekwondo.

“Of course, there is a specific criterion for the Paralympics, and for Taekwondo it’s upper limb deficiency (K44 classification), but I think it represents a great opportunity for those wanting to get involved because we only have a very small pool of people that are currently being utilised in Taekwondo at the Paralympics.

“If there’s people out there that are wanting to get involved, then let’s get out there and see if we can find the next world champion.”

Rick Simpson (far right) with his Horizon students (Image: Submitted) Not only does Simpson admire this latest GB Taekwondo initiative, but he also has the belief that it will truly take off.

He said: “I’m 100% confident that it will start to open up new doors to aspiring para-athletes.
“Taekwondo can be done by anyone. 

“I’ve taught disability Taekwondo for 25 years now and I’ve had previous students achieve black belts despite being fully blind, and I’ve also got people to black belts who are wheelchair users, so there’s always ways how we can make Taekwondo work for people.

“For the Paralympics, with the eligibility being upper limb deficiency, then that’s something we can definitely excel in.”

Discussing the reasons behind Horizon’s involvement in this project, Simpson said: “We’ve been working closely with GB Taekwondo for 20 years now - which is the world class performance programme – as a feeder club for talent.

“So, any of our young athletes aged 13-17 are transitioned into the GB team to try and get them on to the Olympic programme.

“Our excellent track record over the years has meant that we have been one of the Taekwondo Academies to have been selected for this initiative.

“That in itself is an honour. It’s a great opportunity for us but we care more about giving the opportunity to others.

“And while we’re happy that we’ve been selected as one of the 11 bases across the country, we’re extremely excited about welcoming aspiring para-athletes to the club with a view of getting them involved.”

Horizon is one of 11 Academies to have partnered with GB Taekwondo for this initiative (Image: Submitted)

The trio of Amy Truesdale, Beth Munro and Matt Bush shone for Team GB Taekwondo at the Paralympics, and Simpson believes the three of them will all act as great inspirations ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

He said: “We’ve seen these athletes grow over the years. I remember seeing Amy Truesdale (gold medalist in Paris) compete over 15 years ago, and she was having to compete in able bodied competitions because para competitions didn’t exist. She held her own just as much as anyone else.

“Para Taekwondo came to fruition at the Tokyo Games, 2021, but the UK has hosted an Olympic qualification event every year since. 

“It’s meant that the country has been able to showcase its talent on a huge stage, and Amy, Beth and Matt have the been the centre piece of the para events.

“It’s been brilliant to see, and the country has been able to see just how talented these individuals are in the flesh.”

Despite being only four years away, Simpson is confident that, at Horizon and the other associated Academies, they’ll be able to ready some para-athletes for the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

He said: “I think success for the overall project would be to get the next Paralympic champion for Los Angeles in four years’ time; that would obviously be the end goal.

“For us at Horizon, an achievement for this project would be to get some people participating, for us to develop them, get them on to the world stage if they’re ready, and then on to the Olympic programme to compete with Team GB.

“For Los Angeles, I think that’s very achievable if they were to start soon. We’d get them in the gym, get them into competition and make sure we got them the correct kind of exposure.

“Then it would be about viewing the competition across the continent to understand the ability of our competitors, and then the journey would be underway.”

Of the project, GB Taekwondo have said: “This campaign is all about raising awareness of the opportunity for young people with an upper limb difference to get involved in a sport they may not have thought about before. 

"Taekwondo is dynamic, it is combat, it encourages respect and discipline, and offers great opportunities to become part of our Academy programme and compete internationally. For anyone who has the desire, commitment and fight there is a real prospect for them to represent the nation at the Paralympic Games in LA 2028 and beyond."

To register your interest in the Fighterbility project, please use the Expression of Intent form or visit this LINK.