A Chat with GB Guys ahead of 2014 European Championships

British Taekwondo [BT] speaks to some of our Male Athlete selection ahead of the European Championships 2014. Athletes Ruebyn Richards, Andrew Deer and Dominic Brookes chat with our Media Officer, Bethany, as they reveal their thoughts on training and competing. The full time athletes also give a great insight about themselves off the mat, as fascinating personalities shine through in the group chat.

[Ruebyn Richards: RR] [Andrew Deer: AD] [Dominic Brookes: DB]

BT: So tell us about your training, how’re you finding it?

RR: um, we’ve been doing plenty of it. We’ve done a couple of training camps; with some British guys, Polish guys, and most recently we’ve had the Korean Team over. Plenty of contact work, lots of test matches, making sure our game plan is really set down. Now it’s this last bit of just making sure we’re really sharp and ticking over well.

AD: The training has been very good. The prep leading up to the Europeans has been really good. I’ve banked a lot of my sessions, and I’ve been doing my own plan going in, and it’s been going well so – yeah, I’m really confident.

DB: Training is always tough. About two months away from the Euros we’ve all got a lot of stuff to work on, so there’s a lot of

volume. For example we’ll be training three times a day quite often, and that’s when it’s hardest for me. We have really mixed sessions so you’ll get up at 7:30 one morning and the next you’ll be up at 10.00. It can be like waking up in different time zones. Usually it comes down a bit about a month before, it begins to get a bit easier then. The two weeks before is quite tough because everyone is dieting, and you’ll be doing short sessions.

BT: Is dieting a hard part of your training?

RR: I’m getting used to it, January was the first time I properly dieted for a competition so, it’s my third time doing it for the 68 (category) and I’m not getting ridiculous cravings now. I’m just settling down, seeing what works for me.

BT: Are you a bit if a foodie then?

RR: Oh big time

BT: Me too! So how does it help having other teams over to train with you?

AD: With the Koreans being here, it’s always an experience, as you always learn something new. The way they move, the way they kick; it’s very unique to Korea. It’s a case of; we’re with them, learning and growing together.

BT: You mention a unique style, is that something you come to recognise in different nationalities in taekwondo – for example – do we have a British style?

AD: What I would say is that generally we tend to be strong, we’re very much ‘front-leg fighters’. So a lot of us use leg control in the application of headshots, where you could say the Koreans predominantly use movement and wider techniques, they tend to be very good at gauging that distance and manipulating it to their advantage when scoring. They’re very clever, very clever!

BT: A lot of you have said it’s good to use the taper phase of training to get mentally focused, is that the case?

RR: Yeah definitely. I mean I’m not one to spend much time thinking about other opponents. I try to focus more on exactly how I’m going to fight, I mean every day I’ll dedicate some time just practicing my own rounds so it’s automatic when I get there. The taper is also good because we start dieting so I’m feeling knackered! [laughs] But no it’s a good time to get feeling really confident as well.

AD: Well I work with the psychologist and with a training plan backed up with my

psychological plan, so I go into the match knowing exactly what I’m going to do, executing it and delivering it.

DB: Honestly, I just use this time to survive! [laughs]. I usually like to have my game plan in focus by now. By now I’m already confident of what I’m doing, so it really is just going through it and making myself feel good about it. There’s not a massive mental element in the taper for me, maybe three days before the competition I’ll start looking at the person I’m potentially fighting, see who my main opposition may be before the medal round, things like that.

BT: Many people think that competition is a case of going in and fighting each match as it comes, but you mention a ‘game plan’, how do you develop that?

DB: Like you say it was just ‘kick kick kick – fight it as it comes’ for – well I’ve been doing this twenty years now – but for the first seventeen that’s what I did. Eventually though, people will find something that works well for them. All I knew originally was that I was going to go forward and I was going to try for headshots. There is a very fine line between knowing what you’re good at, and knowing what you want to do in a match. At the last Olympics there was a Spanish guy, very good, he was my size and he fought very uniquely. I thought at the time: ‘he looks really poor’, he technically wasn’t doing ‘good taekwondo’ but he was winning every match. I tried something similar. I’ve developed it since and it’s worked well for me.

BT: So, it must be difficult to clear your mind of distractions in leading up to and on the day of competition, how do you do it?

RR: It’s something I’ve got used to really. It’s really weird, I’ve thought to myself before, like in Egypt, I was stood at the

edge of the ring looking at the other guy thinking; “I’m not going to remember this in about two seconds time. I’ll just be switched in, totally focused.” It’s like a switch with me I think, I tend to switch in and out quite easily.

AD: It’s really a case of you and that opponent in the ring. Stick to your plan, stick to it 100% and commit to it; that in itself helps you stay focused. When you come off your plan, and things may go wrong, that’s when you can use different techniques to get you back into it. It’s a constant, you can only keep that concentration steady for so long and you do have to refocus and that’s very important. It’s that mental skill you absolutely need to refocus.It’s easy to be drawn into distractions; “Oh I’m losing – oh I’m winning – what do I do within the match.” But it really is a case of honing it down, sticking to your strengths and executing them absolutely.

BT: So tell me what it would mean to you to have a European Senior title…

AD: Winning a European title would be amazing. It only comes round every two years so it’s a big major. I mean, I feel proud actually just being selected for the weight division, that’s really good because I know I can go up there and do my best, bring what I’ve gained from the training and see the outcome by hopefully bringing home a gold medal.

DB: It would be amazing, not only for personal emotional gain, it would mean more emphasis on security, it would mean a greater guarantee when I’m getting selected for other competitions. It would develop the rest of my Taekwondo career as well as my stability as an athlete off the mat.

Ah – it would mean, it would be everything. Just absolutely amazing. After the last Europeans, I lost in Manchester and just felt terrible. I think now I just have so much more belief in myself, I feel like it’s mine to win.

So your defeats spur you on just as much as your victories then?

RR: Yeah definitely. You learn so much, especially on the big stage in the quarterfinals of the worlds, it was really tough. But it’s something I’ve grown so much because of. I think that’s the biggest change in me, that belief I have in myself, even just from that performance. Because, I didn’t believe in myself then, but I still did well; now, I really trust myself, I really think and believe I can win.

BT: So, off the mat, tell me what you like to do when you have the spare time (I know you don’t get much!)

DB: To be honest most time spent away from here I spend with my fiancé. We go on dates a lot, the cinema, meals nothing too big. We do some little adventurous things like Safari parks too.

BT: That’s an amazing date!

DB: [laughs] Yeah!

RR: I love going out to eat with my mates, the guys from the team, (obviously when I’m not dieting!). There’s so much good food to be had in Manchester, and when I go home to Nottingham I like to go to the cinema with my dad a lot, I go shopping with my mum, there’s some great shops in Nottingham. I’m a bit of a town person really.

AD: In my spare time I like to cook.

BT: Do you?!

AD: Yeah I love it! [laughs] Everything as well, from starters to mains to desserts, I love to bake! I’m always in the kitchen, and I always like to make things properly from scratch.

BT: So, Ruebyn likes eating food, Andrew likes cooking it; I have the perfect question for you all!You’re stuck on a desert Island for the rest of your life, and you

can only have one three-course meal forever: what is it?

RR: [laughs] ok. I’ll start with dessert. For me, it’s a no brainer: banoffee pie. I absolutely love that stuff, can’t get enough of it. So that’s dessert! [long pause]For main…. The first thing sticking out in my head is ribs. Have you been to Red’s True BBQ before?

BT: ... I don’t eat meat

RR: Ooooo.

BT: I know, blasphemy! [both laugh]

RR: Well ribs, sweet potato fries and obviously some veg to tide me over. Starter, I dunno’, maybe something light like calamari? That would be me I think, good little mix; bit of seafood, bit of meat and something sweet!

: Ohhh. Hmm, to start with it’s going to be mushrooms on toasted bread. Then for main I would definitely have grilled sea bass on a bed of spinach and wild rice.

That’s a great one.

AD: Now, for dessert I would like a brandy basket with double cream, strawberries and blackberries.

BT: I’m impressed with how quickly you reeled those off! Dominic, desert Island, three course meal for the rest of your life; go!

DB: To start I’d have Jack Daniels sesame seed chicken strips…

BT: Wow that was quick.

DB: [laughs and taps head] yeap, that’s up there, ready for this scenario. Then cheeseburger and chips, and most definitely a chocolate fudge brownie with Chantilly cream on the side.

BT: Nice! We’ll leave it there then. Thank you so much for speaking with us, the very best of luck to all of you next week… and sorry for making you talk so much about amazing food when you’re dieting!

DB: AD: RR: [all laugh] It’s ok! Thank you.

For further details contact Adrian Tranter PresidentBritish Taekwondo

Mike Mckenzie Development OfficerBritish TaekwondoOr:Bethany Bishop Media Officermedia@britishtaekwondo.org

British Taekwondo, Office 6, Park Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England, NG19 8ERT: 01623 656025W: www.britishtaekwondo.org.ukF: www.facebook.com/BritTaekwondo Tw: www.twitter.com/BritTaekwondo