Master Rienzi Trento and the Holborn Tigers taekwondo squad who recently competed in Barcelona

EAGLE-EYED martial artists might just have noticed a few new moves during their training sessions that wouldn’t look out of place on the big screen.

The Holborn Tigers took their biggest squad yet overseas recently when they competed in the exciting International Open Jordan FAMC Taekwondo Champion-ships, which were held in Barcelona.

A team of 10 Tigers from Camden, Islington and Westminster, cheered on by 18 parents, challenged some of the brightest young talents from around the world, going up against fighters from Spain, France, Italy, Jordan, Luxembourg and Nepal to name but a few.

It was the first competition that the Tigers had competed in that allowed headshots in all age groups, which affected the club’s usual mighty medal haul.

But Master Rienzi Trento was still beaming with pride as he reflected on the trip, insisting that his young charges had brought plenty back to the UK with them.

He said: “It was such a great experience. This competition was about as elite as you can get; the standard was incredibly high, and all of our young fighters will have learned so much from it.

“We had previously introduced headshots into our training sessions, but it’s still relatively new. In most of the events that we go to in the UK, you speak with the organisers and other coaches beforehand on the day to see if headshots will be allowed, and they are never allowed in the younger age groups, so it’s still something that we are getting used to.

“We even had some young fighters making their debut for us in what was extremely tough conditions. Every single member of our squad made the club proud. They were great.”

Young fighters are, of course, well-protected with headguards and visors, while only light kicks to the head are allowed, which are measured using a censor. Head kicks are a major scoring technique, but punches to the head are prohibited.

Master Rienzi added that when it comes to tournaments closer to home, he might have to check on a few new kicks that have now made it onto the Holborn Tigers’ curriculum.

He explained: “We saw some fantastic kicks that were like something you would only see in a film: there was this scorpion kick, and a one-handed cartwheel kick.

“We are definitely going to be practising them in training, but I will have to check if we’re then allowed to use them in competitions because I’ve never seen them before.”

But even new rules, new kicks and new surroundings couldn’t stop the Holborn Tigers landing some medals.

Red belt Maximilian Babak, who grew up and went to primary school in Soho, won two tough fights to get to the final, where he earned a silver medal after narrowly losing to a top opponent from France.

The 10-year-old said: “The competition was huge, there were so many fighters everywhere. I really want to go again next year.

“I worked a lot on my headshots, and I am glad it worked very well.

“I really like the axe kick to the head that my coach, Master Rienzi, also likes so much. I scored many points with the headshots.

“Winning two fights was good but then to lose in the final, when I was so close, was not so good. I think I could have done better in the final – in my next competition I will be better.”

There was also joy for two young roaring Tigers with yellow belts and a green stripe. Scarlett O’Reilly, 10, put in a scintillating display to earn a silver medal in her age group, while Luna Sousa Chambers, 8, bagged a bronze.