FOR people looking to train and compete at the highest level in taekwondo, Manchester has been the number one port of call.

But now a new centre has opened in Poole that promises to provide top class facilities for beginners, national and international competitors alike.

Wessex Taekwondo Association officially opened their new Performance Sports Centre in September, offering high performance support for not just taekwondo competitors, but also other sportspeople in the community.

The brainchild of John Harrison, the 6th dan black belt has invested £80,000 of his own money in creating a scaled-down version of the GB Taekwondo centre in Manchester.

He told the Daily Echo: “We've got two full rings, we've got all the equipment, the electronics, same as what they used in the Olympics.

(Image: Newsquest) “We've got the strength and conditioning suite downstairs, and we were lucky enough to get that from a donation from the National Lottery, so that was great.”

With 35 years of experience in the martial art, Harrison has been coaching internationals for nearly 30 years, as well as being the UK Armed Forces head coach for 28 years.

The centre is also bringing together other sports professionals to create an all-round centre for high performance sport in the area.

This includes sports therapist Scott Langston from Back to Fitness, personal trainer and PhD researcher in nutrition James Brooks and sports psychologist Nick Hutchings from LYD Sports.

The centre has already seen interest from other sports clubs, with Harrison hosting a football team who came in to do some plyometric work, before having an hour and a half seminar with Brooks on nutrition.

(Image: Newsquest) Harrison said they have most bases covered with the expertise at the centre.

On the importance of the psychological aspect of taekwondo he said: “I've got quite a few that are actually working with him currently because they compete and it's just to keep the mindset right.

“When you are competing in taekwondo, you are stepping onto the ring where people are going to be trying to kick you in the head and various other things, so been able to have a clear mind and understand what you're after [is key].”

The centre was opened at an event in September, with the mayor of Poole, Cllr Pete Miles, and Olympic silver medallist Caden Cunningham.

Harrison said the Olympic star was ‘awesome’ on the day.

“I had nothing but praise from everybody that attended, the mayor and everybody that we had here, and also the parents that saw him as well,” he said.

(Image: Wessex Taekwondo Association) “He was definitely an inspiration to the kids and not just the kids, everybody. We had adults that did the seminar as well.

“The way we did it, he came in, the mayor did the opening address.

“Caden then took over and he took a seminar for 2 hours, and then we had an hour where we had a question-and-answer session.

“We all sat down and we had all the people that took part in the seminar then basically were just firing questions at him, and it was amazing.

(Image: Wessex Taekwondo Association) “I was impressed with the questions from the kids. You normally expect some really funny questions, but they were, across the board, really good questions that were coming out.

“The way Caden answered just showed that intelligence and the thought process that went through it.

“He's an amazing ambassador for taekwondo, and I really do wish him well in the future, and obviously 2028, when he's fingers crossed in Los Angeles.”

Last weekend, a team of 13 athletes from the centre travelled to Manchester for the national championships and achieved an overall 15th place out of 80 teams – a best result for Harrison and the team.

(Image: Wessex Taekwondo Association) “I think already we're beginning to reap the rewards of the facility and the training that we can give,” Harrison said.

“We're off to Romania on the 24th of this month to compete in the Dracula Open, which is a G class event, which is the higher-level events in Europe.

“I've got six players going out to that. So, we've got six international players, two senior internationals, and then the others, they're all breaking into the scene this year.

“This is their first international competition and then next year, if they perform at what we would like them to do, they'll hopefully follow in the footsteps of Ben and Lily, who are my international class players.”

Since opening, the centre has welcomed 30 new students to bring the total number to around 120, with an aim of reaching 150.