MOHAMMAD Zamoord received his fourth Degree Blackbelt Honours last weekend after a gruelling and intense examination of theoretical and physical practices of the ancient and most popular martial art in the world, Taekwondo.

Zamoord has been training, teaching and coaching Taekwondo throughout the Bradford region for almost 30 years.

Reflecting on his achievement, he said: “I just had a baby girl in September, turned 50 in October and was grading in November, so I was under an enormous amount of pressure to try and achieve my fourth-degree honours in the time frame I had set myself.

“The grading examination was challenging, and I gave 100% of my blood, sweat and tears. One of the most challenging parts in the process was the board breaking, which is when you must break a black-board with two-choice kicking techniques, one flying technique and two-choice hand techniques; precision, power, and timing is a must. During the grading whilst I was sweating profusely with bloodied knuckles, I had questioned why I was doing this, so I had to remind myself about the saying, ‘no pain no gain.’

Zamoord added: “I think the covid-19 pandemic had played a major role in my determination and resilience for wanting to succeed because failure was not an option. With this mindset I received an extra surge of energy which I believe made this achievement to be one of my greatest Taekwondo achievements to date.”

Zamoord was in ore of the sport, Taekwondo, from a young age and he believes it’s a sport that many young people should partake in to help better themselves today.

He recalls an incident, which if it weren’t for taekwondo, he may not be alive.

He said: “Taekwondo has also played a major role in my physical and mental well-being, and it even saved my life once upon a time during a burglary. A gunman burst in and pointed a gun at me, asked for my money and it was such a terrifying experience. Your mind is telling you one thing and your body another. I then had a realization about all the things I’ve learnt through the sport over the years, and my experience and skillset helped to get me out of that scary situation which I had found myself in.”

Zamoord added: “I would recommend Taekwondo to anyone, both young and old. We have students in class aged five, and we also have students attending right up to the age of 60. The benefits range from learning self-defense to improving your health and fitness, while building self-confidence and increasing your self-esteem.

“I believe in this day and age it’s important for everyone to get involved in an activity from a mental health and social point of view. It massively helps to get you out of your comfort zone, and it helps to better yourself during the process.

“We’ve got brilliant trainers in the Bradford region, one being Chris Beanland, an 8th Dan master who coaches students in Shipley and Keighley. Chris is an amazing practitioner of the art, a pioneer and an Ambassador of Taekwondo. I am just privileged that he’s still around to pass on his knowledge,”