A MARTIAL arts instructor who teaches students in Lyde Green is celebrating 35 years in taekwondo.
Master Vaughan Buxton, who started the sport when he was seven and earned his black belt by the age of ten, has since gone on to train over a dozen champions.
Vaughan said: “When I started taekwondo, I was a small, geeky child who got bullied.
“Taekwondo helped to build a new friend group, which in turn allowed my confidence to grow.
“Its tenets teach respect and perseverance. It improves people’s confidence, as well as creating everlasting friendships.”
Vaughan, who is also a violinist, won his first gold at the Taekwondo Association of Great Britain Welsh Open in 1995.
He also won in his category at the Clash of the Titans, which brought a range of martial arts styles together at the UK tournament in Huddersfield, for three years running.
He was the number one seed when he qualified for entry into the World Championships in 2004, winning all 10 of his bouts – on his 21st birthday.
He then went on to fight a half dozen tough rounds to be crowned welterweight World Champion in the sparring division in the sport’s birthplace of Korea.
Student and friend Stuart Leppard, 58, who has achieved his 5th and 6th degree under Vaughan’s instruction, as well as reaching two World and two European Championship finals, described him as a ‘star fighter’.
Vaughan was promoted to 7th Degree in May 2021, and his competing days officially came to an end.
But he continues to instruct the next generation at the club he opened, which is now known as South West Taekwondo (SWTKD) and holds training in Lyde Green.
For more information, call 07500 764276 or visit www.swtkd.co.uk.
Angela Belassie