Congratulations to our newest yellow belt students: Rebecca, Noel, Liz, Gary, Ben, James, Ivan and Adam. Well done for your promotion to 8th Kup! or 축하합니다 as some people may say*. As you should all know yellow signifies the earth, in which a plant takes root and sprouts as your TaeKwon-Do foundations are being laid. So remember to make sure your foundations are solid — keep up the training (and keep practising what you know already), develop those skills and you’ll all grow up to green belt in no time.
As yellow belt students you’re now officially able to take part in competitions — keep an eye out on the Events page for the dates and details of next years’ tournaments and you can enter some sparring and patterns so Derby School of TaeKwon-Do can bring home even more medals from our next roadtrip! The UK Open in Glasgow saw us take home nine medals (review and pictures coming to this site soon!) so we’re expecting a bigger delegation next year and a bigger haul to come back with. And, obviously, more gold 
If you’re interested in getting some sparring practice in, and haven’t already done so, speak to the committee about some sparring safety gear. If a bulk order goes through we may be able to provide some cheaper-than-usual prices. BTC rules dictate sparring competitors will require hand, foot and head guards and a groin guard for the guys. Most importantly everyone will need a gumshield (teeth don’t grow back, and we all love smiling — or you’ll just look silly when we stretch!) Soft shin pads are optional in class, but after a couple of misplaced kicks some of you might want to consider the investment if you’re serious about sparring.
*courtesy of Adam, outgoing president of Oxford Uni TKD Club