This article is from page 21 of the 2012-10-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
GORT mother and son team, Gina and Cathal Casey, made their own piece of history last week when they both won bronze medals at the World Kickboxing Championships on Florida. The pair, who are both students of Lisa Connolly, at the Gort Taekwon-do Academy returned home over the weekend with their unique set of medals.
Gina, who is a special needs assistant at Gort Community School, and Cathal, a second year pupil at the school, both won the medals for Ireland competing in the ‘Light Contact Sparring’ category.
Fourteen-year-old Cathal is a black belt in Taekwondo, while Gina has a red/blue striped belt. The pair began Taekwondo three years ago and are now leading members of the Gort Taekwondo Academy. After making it past the initial elimination rounds, both were delighted to take home bronze medals from their first ever WKA World Championships.
The pair’s trip to America was made possible, in part, because of € 500 in fundraising conducted by Gort Community College.
According to their instructor, Lisa Connolly, who is herself a European Taekwon-do Champion and fourth degree black belt, Taekwon-do has many benefits for those who practice it. “The main things that people learn concentration, discipline and respect. Respect is a very big thing in Taekwon-do,” said Lisa.
“People’s concentration can improve because there is a lot of repetition, and if you don’t get something right you have to do it over and over.”
To find out more about the Gort Taekwon-do Academy call Lisa on 087 2070583.