A TEENAGER from Teignbridge has become one of the youngest 3rd Degree Black Belts in the country after a national tae kwon do grading last month.

Shawna Ball, pictured left, was just four when she took up the martial art, but the 17-year-old has now been crowned ‘Best Female in Grading’ by judges from the TAGB (Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain) in Daventry.

A member of MartialArts4Fun, Shawna was one of five students from the club to travel to the event in October and come back with reasons to celebrate.

‘I first started tae kwon do when I was four because I was being bullied in primary school,’ Shawna told the Mid-Devon Advertiser. ‘I wanted to do something that would give me confidence.

‘I really took to it and I was a black belt by the time I was nine years old. I was also best in grading then.

‘For my 3rd Dan I took part in a “pre-pre-grading” with my instructor before attending pre-grading, which included the whole of the South West – and then the full Great Britain grading last month.’

TAGB students from all over the UK grade in April and October each year in the hope that they obtain their black belt, or next degree, in the martial art.

The grading consisted of both practical (patterns, line work, sparring and destruction) and theory elements. Around 500 students of all ages took the grading examination over three days, examined by a panel of 8th and 9th Degree World Masters.

Along with tae kwon do, Shawna also plays cricket for Bovey Tracey and Devon Under-18s – as well as having recently taken up hockey with Ashmoor Ladies.

When she isn’t doing that she’s studying for her A Levels at Teign School and Coombeshead Academy, along with doing her job as a sports coach with Teignbridge Leisure.

While she trains for her 4th Dan Black Belt grading in four years’ time, Shawna also plans on giving back to those who are newer to the sport.

‘I plan to keep competing and also do some more teaching,’ she revealed. ‘I teach for one or two hours per week at the moment, and the more I learn the more I’d like to give back.’

Shawna’s mum Karen is a 2nd Degree Black Belt herself, having taken up tae kwon do shortly after her daughter.

‘I started because she did,’ Karen added. ‘We travel all over the country and it definitely helps that I do it as well. We just want to enter all the competitions we can.’

Shawna will be presented with a trophy at the TAGB’s British Championships in November.

Of the other students from the club to be graded, Moretonhampstead’s Hugo Denman was successfully promoted to 1st Degree Black Belt.

From the Teignmouth students who graded, Simon Moore and Adrian Ashton were promoted to 2nd Degree Black Belts, with Shaun Hall being promoted to a 3rd Degree Black Belt.

Senior Instructor of MartialArts4Fun, Peter O’Neill, was also awarded his 7th Degree Black Belt and he is now entitled to use the World Master title.

The TAGB is the largest Tae Kwon Do Association in Europe with more than 25,000 members. Classes are suitable for everyone aged three and above, and can be a fun way of spending time with the family as adults and children learn alongside each other.

More information about the schools can be found at www.martialarts4fun.co.uk, by contacting World Master Peter O’Neill on 07718 750390 or by emailing [email protected]. As part of the school you can train six days a week at various locations around Teignbridge.