Jakub Włodarz Champion at the Moravia Open in ITF Taekwon-do!
Jakub Włodarz Champion at the Moravia Open in ITF Taekwon-do!
Jakub Włodarz won the senior fights at the Moravia Open in ITF Taekwon-do. Over one weekend, athletes from Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do took part in two tournaments, winning a total of four medals.
17 October was an intense time for the athletes of Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do. They took part in competitions in the Czech Republic and Ostróda. In total, they brought home four medals.
A group of four senior A-team athletes from Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do, led by coach Adam Wargala, took part in the Moravia Open in ITF Taekwon-do. The competition took place in Ostrava. Jakub Włodarz stood on the top step of the podium, winning gold in the -78 kg fighting category, while Karolina Czech won silver in the -70 kg category. Dobrochna Dolicka won a bronze medal in the -57 kg category. Michał Krupa finished outside the podium places. The competition was organised to a very high standard. More than 400 athletes from 21 clubs took part, including clubs from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The same day, the Northern Polish Championships “Gladius Cup” were held in Ostróda. The competition brought together 180 athletes from 16 clubs from across Poland, ensuring a high sporting standard. Taekwondo, kickboxing, tang soo do, karate, and MMA clubs entered their athletes in the competition. Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do was also represented. Led by coach Mikołaj Kotowicz, a four-person team from the club’s B squad took part. Mateusz Kopciński won a silver medal in light-contact junior-senior +78 kg. Taking part in the competition was a good test of skills, gaining experience in fighting, drawing conclusions, and finding motivation for further training.
Kuba Włodarz on his participation in the Moravia Open in ITF Taekwon-do: “The competition was strong. As for my category, it was genuinely very competitive. Personally, I had two “final favourites”: athletes who fought in a truly unconventional way and scored points very effectively. Unfortunately, the standard of refereeing was rather low and the decisions were often controversial, which ultimately eliminated those two athletes from contention. Generally speaking, there were no weak athletes; there were only fairly good athletes and several outstanding ones.”
Read what Karolina and Dobrochna say about taking part in and the organisation of the competition in the Czech Republic.
Dobrochna Dolicka: “I rate the standard of the competition as very good. Fighting according to different rules, which somewhat limited the use of hand techniques, was an interesting experience. Unfortunately, the organisation of the competition left much to be desired—we only began fighting in the late afternoon.”
Karolina Czech: “The competition in Ostrava was a valuable experience for me, allowing me to verify my skills. My category was very competitive, which enabled me to face several opponents. The athletes’ technical level was high; however, the fact that the waiting time for fights was too long caused some dissatisfaction. To sum up, I consider my participation in this competition successful.”
