Tai's WAKO GB Fight for Gold!
Donation protected
Our son Tai, who is 12, has been selected to represent Great Britain in the forthcoming European Championships, in light continuous kickboxing, which will be held in Skopje, Macedonia this September.
Unfortunatly there is no funding in this sport so we have to finance Tai's journey in becoming a Champion and dreams of becoming an Olympic Champion. Although Kickboxing is not yet an Olympic sport Tai hopes that once it is recongnised that he will be at his peak. However, this all comes at a cost.
A lot goes into becoming a champion and without the support of us (his parents) and his grandparents financial support he would not be able to train.
Tai requires training kit, pads and equipment as well as for competition.Tai also has to finance his entire trip to represent GB this September, amongst many other costs to enable him to train and reach his goals.
Tai is a member of the SKF Kickboxing/Karate Crawley Dojo www.skfkarate.com and has been since he was 6
(7 years training). Tai trains 6 days a week, some days twice and up to 4 hours at times.
Tai's kickboxing journey has not be easy by far, as his own life journey has not been without its obsicales.
From the age of 3 Tai was diagnosed with low
self-esteem and lack in self-confidence which held him back. We found a local martial arts club which he joined. He was later asked to leave, as they were finding his behaviour very challegening at times within the club.
Friends of ours told us about Jacey Cashman and the SKF club. We were informed about how amazing he was and that the club welcomed people from every background, so we went to see. Straight away from the ofset Tai was accepted for the little character that he was, into the club, and began his journey to becoming a champion.
Tai has found it hard at times and faced many personal challenges since he was diagnosed with OCD, Tourette Syndrome and then ADHD. He has been supported at the Dojo and at no point has Jacey or any member of the SKF family treated Tai any differently. They expect the same from him as they do from any other student, teaching him many valuable life skills. At times that was very hard to see, as Tai could became very distressed. His needs are complex, so to see how this has helped shape Tai into the young man that he is today, is a true reflection on Jacey Cashman, SKF and Tai himself.
Being part of SKF and having a sense of belonging has pushed Tai to realise that he can be anything he wants to be, that anything is possible if you work hard and beleive.
Tai's hard work, determination and never give up atitude has led him in acheiving his Junior Black Belt this summer and selection into the GB squad.
Tai has shown that dispite any disability or label society puts on him he won't let this define who he is or what he can become. We couldn't be prouder of how far he has come. We strongly beleive that a lot of it is due to him being part of an exciting sport that is growing and gives him the discipline and attributes to transfer into his everyday life.
If Tai is fortunate to reach his target, then all donations will go towards his GB competition, training cost, training clothes, equipment and competition cost and will hopefully enable him to continue his journey by fighting on the international circuit.
Finally we would like to thank you for reading Tai's story and his FIGHT FOR GOLD!
Any support no matter how small is trully appreciated and will go towards his kit, training, travel and any expenses he needs to continue his training and fulfil his dreams.
Thank you,
Sharon & Gavin.
Unfortunatly there is no funding in this sport so we have to finance Tai's journey in becoming a Champion and dreams of becoming an Olympic Champion. Although Kickboxing is not yet an Olympic sport Tai hopes that once it is recongnised that he will be at his peak. However, this all comes at a cost.
A lot goes into becoming a champion and without the support of us (his parents) and his grandparents financial support he would not be able to train.
Tai requires training kit, pads and equipment as well as for competition.Tai also has to finance his entire trip to represent GB this September, amongst many other costs to enable him to train and reach his goals.
Tai is a member of the SKF Kickboxing/Karate Crawley Dojo www.skfkarate.com and has been since he was 6
(7 years training). Tai trains 6 days a week, some days twice and up to 4 hours at times.
Tai's kickboxing journey has not be easy by far, as his own life journey has not been without its obsicales.
From the age of 3 Tai was diagnosed with low
self-esteem and lack in self-confidence which held him back. We found a local martial arts club which he joined. He was later asked to leave, as they were finding his behaviour very challegening at times within the club.
Friends of ours told us about Jacey Cashman and the SKF club. We were informed about how amazing he was and that the club welcomed people from every background, so we went to see. Straight away from the ofset Tai was accepted for the little character that he was, into the club, and began his journey to becoming a champion.
Tai has found it hard at times and faced many personal challenges since he was diagnosed with OCD, Tourette Syndrome and then ADHD. He has been supported at the Dojo and at no point has Jacey or any member of the SKF family treated Tai any differently. They expect the same from him as they do from any other student, teaching him many valuable life skills. At times that was very hard to see, as Tai could became very distressed. His needs are complex, so to see how this has helped shape Tai into the young man that he is today, is a true reflection on Jacey Cashman, SKF and Tai himself.
Being part of SKF and having a sense of belonging has pushed Tai to realise that he can be anything he wants to be, that anything is possible if you work hard and beleive.
Tai's hard work, determination and never give up atitude has led him in acheiving his Junior Black Belt this summer and selection into the GB squad.
Tai has shown that dispite any disability or label society puts on him he won't let this define who he is or what he can become. We couldn't be prouder of how far he has come. We strongly beleive that a lot of it is due to him being part of an exciting sport that is growing and gives him the discipline and attributes to transfer into his everyday life.
If Tai is fortunate to reach his target, then all donations will go towards his GB competition, training cost, training clothes, equipment and competition cost and will hopefully enable him to continue his journey by fighting on the international circuit.
Finally we would like to thank you for reading Tai's story and his FIGHT FOR GOLD!
Any support no matter how small is trully appreciated and will go towards his kit, training, travel and any expenses he needs to continue his training and fulfil his dreams.
Thank you,
Sharon & Gavin.
Organizer
Sharon Gordon
Organizer
