GMAC Martial Arts Triumphs on the World Stage and in Wales

This past weekend, GMAC Martial Arts celebrated outstanding achievements on two fronts, showcasing the talent and dedication of our members.

First, at the WKA World Kickboxing Championships held over three days at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell, our athletes made us proud by representing Scotland against competitors from 11 countries. With 6 World championships medals, including 2 World Championships Titles coming to Livingston Club.

The results were as follows:

Kickboxing Results:

James Vickers

  • Gold: Light Contact Male 12-14 years 55.1-60kg
  • Silver: Point Fighting Male 12-14 years +60.1kg
  • Bronze: Point Fighting Male 12-14 years 55.1-60kg

Oliver Crooks

  • Gold: Point Fighting Male 10-11 years 35.1-40kg
  • Bronze: Light Contact Male 10-11 years 35.1-40kg

Ewan O’Mahoney

  • Silver: Light Contact 15-17 years 55.1-60kg

Simultaneously, ten of our Taekwon-Do competitors traveled to Cardiff, Wales, to compete in the ITF Open Welsh Championship. With 6 countries, 34 clubs and almost 400 competitors, our team amassed an impressive haul of 6 Gold, 6 Silver, and 6 Bronze medals, placing 10th overall.

The results were as follows:

Taekwon-Do Results:

Gold: – Owen McIlvaney (Sparring) – Sarah McIlvaney (Sparring) – Emilia Singleton (Special Technique) – Declan McAvoy (Sparring) – Jaimie Singleton (Sparring x 2)

Silver: – Ren Smith (Sparring) – Karly Rodger (Sparring) – Declan McAvoy (Sparring) – Emilia Singleton (Sparring) – Karly Rodger (Special Technique) – Jodi Skivington (Sparring)

Bronze: – Abihram Rao (Sparring) – Declan McAvoy (Pattern) – Karly Rodger (Pattern) – Kaileen McIntyre (Pattern) – Bethany Williamson (Pattern) – Jaimie Singleton (Pattern)

Our coaching team is incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication displayed by all our competitors. The countless hours of training and preparation they put in leading up to these events truly paid off, making each and every one of them deserving of their wins.

As we celebrate these achievements, we invite you to join our vibrant martial arts community. Whether you’re interested in Taekwon-Do or Kickboxing, GMAC Martial Arts offers classes for all ages and skill levels.

Experience the benefits of martial arts training—enhanced fitness, confidence, and self-discipline. Visit us to start your journey with GMAC Martial Arts today. Your first class is free, so come along and discover what makes our community so special!

Martial Arts Strength & Conditioning Seminar

🚀 Elevate Your Martial Arts Training with Our Strength & Conditioning Session! 🚀

Join us for an exclusive Strength & Conditioning session with Coach Scott Fraser; Personal Trainer & 3rd Degree Taekwon-Do Black Belt!

💪 Date: Saturday 13th July
💪 Time: 9am – 11am
💪 Location: Victory Fitness, 6 Standhill Industrial Estate, Bathgate, EH48 2XJ
💪 Cost: £15.00

This introductory session is designed to give our athletes a kick-start in S&C training specific to martial arts. Learn everything from warm-up protocols to in-depth training techniques that will take your training to the next level.

🌟 Aimed at enhancing competition development tailored to martial arts
⚡️ Boost your speed, agility, and power
🔥 Learn the Do’s and Don’ts of lifting
🏅 Receive tips and pointers during the practical session

What to Bring: Gym gear and appropriate footwear.

Don’t miss this opportunity to advance your training and elevate your performance!

Secure your spot now, by messaging the Facebook Page, or speak to one of the team! 🥋👊

Open to members & non-members 

#MartialArts#StrengthAndConditioning#TaekwonDo#Kickboxing#GMACMartialArts#ElevateYourGame#CompetitionReady#VictoryFit#ElevateYourGame

Join Our Exciting Summer Camps at GMAC Martial Arts!

Summer is just around the corner, and we’re thrilled to announce our action-packed Summer Camps at GMAC Martial Arts in Livingston!

Our camps are perfect for kids and pre-teens looking to stay active, learn new skills, and have a blast. Whether they’re new to martial arts or already training with us, everyone is welcome!

What to Expect:

  • Fun Martial Arts Training: Taekwon-Do and Kickboxing sessions to build strength, coordination, and confidence.
  • Exciting Activities: Games, team challenges, and more.
  • Nerf Battles & Archery: Action-packed fun to test your aim and strategy.
  • Skill Development: Improve techniques and learn self-defense.
  • Opportunity to Gain Extra Stripes: Show your dedication and progress by earning additional stripes.
  • New Friendships: Meet new friends and train together.

Camp Details:

  • Week 1: Tuesday, 30th July to Thursday, 1st August
  • Week 2: Tuesday, 6th August to Thursday, 8th August
  • Time: 9am – 3pm
  • Ages: 4 – 11 years
  • Cost: £25 per day, or £60 for all 3 days

Spaces are limited, so make sure to reserve your spot today!

For more information and to sign up, click here or call us at 07734-926574.

Don’t miss out on a summer of fun, fitness, and friendship!

WKC International Open Results – 26th & 27th August

Our kickboxing students took to the mat at the WKC Scotland International Open at the Braehead Arena on 26th & 27th August.

With 15 students taking part and 23 medals bagged it was a great success once again.

RESULTS 5 🥇 7 🥈 11 🥉

GOLD’S

Sarah-Louise Cole (Continuous), Lewis Cuthbert (Continuous), James Vickers (Continuous), Stuart Thomson (Continuous), Aaron Thomson (Points)

SILVER’S

James Vickers (Points & Points Grand Champion), Aaron Thomson (Points Grand Champion), Keira Thomson (Continuous), Oliver Crooks (Continuous), Chloe Coles (Continuous), Josh Inglis (Continuous)

BRONZE’S

Stuart Thomson (Points & Points Grand Champion), Aaron Thomson (Points), Keira Thomson (Points & Points Grand Champion), Oliver Crooks (Continuous), Faith Inglis (Continuous x 2), Saif Taleb (Continuous), Camelia Taleb (Continuous), Ewan O’Mahoney (Continuous).

Not medaling this time round, but showing great effort and unlucky to narrowly miss out on medal placings were: Alfie Crooks, Taylor Smith and Aiden White.

Grand Master Bos in Scotland

It’s not often opportunities arise to train with legends in Taekwon-Do right on your doorstep. But this past august TKD Events gave that opportunity with Grand Master Bos visiting Scotland for a book signing with his brand new ITF Taekwon-Do Pattern Manual, and a one off Master Class Seminar in Wishaw.

A number of students & instructors from GMAC were there, learning from one of the best in ITF Taekwon-Do, the session was jam packed full on fun warm up drills, technical drills, as well as Pattern & Sparring fundamentals.

From start to finish everyone has a smile on their face, and a look of awe at GM Bos and his exceptional flexibility & strength skills he demonstrated throughout the session.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Check out some of the photos below. With more found online on the TKD Events Facebook Page

North Lanarkshire Open Results 2023

GMAC co-hosted this North Lanarkshire Open 2023, with our sister club Integrity Martial Arts Scotland last weekend with 26 clubs attending, our school placed second in the medal table with 18 Gold, 13 Silver & 16 Bronze medals.

Again another impressive list of results for our team in the first competition after the short summer break. We now look forward to the preparations for the next Taekwon-Do competition at the end of September the Claymore Cup.

Results

GOLD

Izaak Bridge (Sparring), Robert-George Girdwood (Sparring & Spec Tech), Abhiram Rao (Pattern), Oliver Crooks (Pattern), Keira Thomson (Pattern), Jakub Krug (Pattern), Ella Park (Pattern & Sparring), Lorna Ferguson (Power & Spec Tech), Emilia Singleton (Sparring), Ren Smith (Sparring & Spec Tech), James Vickers (Sparring), Declan McAvoy (Sparring & Spec Tech) and Jaxson Burns (Spec Tech).

SILVER

Freya Korycinska (Punches, Sparring & Spec Tech), Alfie Crooks (Pattern), Sarah McIlvaney (Pattern & Sparring), Ren Smith (Pattern), Oliver Crooks (Sparring), Keira Thomson (Sparring & Spec Tech), Jakub Krug (Sparring) and Ethan Massey (Spec Tech).

BRONZE

Robert-George Girdwood (Pattern), Romani-May Girdwood (Pattern), Izaak Bridge (Pattern), Jaxson Burns (Pattern), Tyler-Jay Russell (Pattern), James Vickers (Pattern), Jaxson Burns (Sparring), Alfie Crooks (Sparring), Freya Korycinska (Sparring), Abhiram Rao (Sparring), Tyler Russell (Sparring), Julia Krug (Sparring), Aaron Thomson (Sparring), Kyla O’Conner (Sparring), Poppy Thomson (Sparring), Sarah McIlvaney (Spec Tech) and Karen Smith (Pattern).

South of the border success for young GMAC competitors

Our team of competitors embarked on a 800 mile round trip over the first weekend in July, first travelling to Cardiff, Wales to compete at the ITF Open Welsh on Saturday, before heading back on the road to make it to Birmingham for the ITF Union Sparring GrandPrix the following day.

First up was the ITF Open Welsh hosted by Mr. Neil Ernest VI Degree and NE-Sport Taekwon-Do Club at the Cardiff House of Sport, an event which had twice been postponed due to covid, everyone was excited to get on the mats for the hotly anticipated event. We had 14 competitors from GMAC making the journey to Cardiff, and all returned with medals, no mean feat for the standard on display at the event. With some gutsy performances over the course of the day, everyone gave their all on the mat, and we couldn’t have been happier with the results. As well as all the students medalling, our small travelling team took 4th place overall club, in amongst some exceptionally larger clubs, and teams.

ITF OPEN WELSH RESULTS

GOLD’S x 11

Abhiram Rao (Sparring), Ren Smith (Sparring), Oliver Crooks (Sparring), James Vickers (Sparring), Declan McAvoy (Sparring), Karly Rodger(Sparring & Special Technique), Emilia Singleton (Sparring & Special Technique), Ella Park (Sparring) and Jaimie Singleton (Sparring).

SILVER’S x 7

Alfie Crooks (Pattern & Sparring), Owen McIlvaney (Sparring), Oliver Crooks (Pattern), Declan McAvoy (Pattern) and Sarah McIlvaney (Sparring & Special Technique).

BRONZE’S x 5

Ren Smith (Patterns), Oliver Crooks (Special Technique), Mhairi Crookston (Patterns) and Lorna Ferguson (Pattern & Sparring).

As well as the individual results noted above, two of our youngest female competitors won Joint Overall <7 years Female Competitor on the day, with 2 Golds each: Karly Rodger & Emilia Singleton.

Thank you also to our Umpires: Master John McIlvaney VII Degree, Mr. John Munro V Degree, Mrs. Lorna Singleton III Degree and Mr. Lennon McAvoy I Degree, who helped make the tournament the success it was.

Photo’s from the Welsh event are on our facebook page here.

On to day two of events, with a 200 mile hop further up the M6 to Birmingham for the ITF Union Grand Prix, which was predominantly a sparring event, with all competitors having the chance to take part in sparring leagues (everyone spars everyone in the division), meaning the winners were the best of the best on the day. Again each of the competitors who took part earned medals to bring back to Scotland with them, after a long day of competition.

ITF UNION GRAND PRIX RESULTS

GOLD’s x 6

Ren Smith (Sparring), Oliver Crooks (Sparring), Jaimie Singleton (Sparring), Declan McAvoy (Sparring), James Vickers (Sparring) and Lorna Ferguson (Power).

SILVER’s x 4

Alfie Crooks (Sparring), Lorna Ferguson (Sparring), Sarah McIlvaney (Sparring) and Owen McIlvaney (Sparring).

BRONZE’S x 2

Abhiram Rao (Sparring) and Emilia Singleton (Sparring).

Overall the club came in 3rd Best Club with 11 competitors taking part in the event.

Photo’s from the event in Birmingham can be found here.

Development Competition Results

This past Saturday we brought our development competition’s back to our regular annual schedule. This event was to promote and develop the skillset of our youngest competitors, in taking their first steps into a competitive martial arts environment. All those taking part were split into groups of similar grade and ability, to compete for medal placings against the other competitors in the divisions. This allowed for each person taking part the opportunity of more than one bout within small leagues, with all participants winning medals for their efforts.

We were very encouraged to see so many of our youngest students standing on the mats and showcasing their skills in-front of not only their family members but also their peers. As with all competitions there is a wealth of experience on show, and again those who had a little more competitive experience showed great skill and sportsmanship to adapt their own bouts to that of their opponents, to continue encouraging them in a friendly and supportive environment. Very humbling to see from so many of our young students.

Congratulations to all who took part. A huge thank you to the black belts who umpired at the event.

A full gallery of pictures can be found on our Facebook Page

RESULTS