Two students from TTA Barbican competed internationally for the first time at the Belgium Open Challenge Cup Championship in Tongeren, Belgium. Annecy Crescini and Luisa Liu, both 2nd dan, earned gold in the team poomsae (patterns) category alongside Jasdeep Kaur Gill (TTA Nottingham), and also reached the individual poomsae finals. Below, they share their reflections on their achievements and the experience.

Luisa Liu said: “Competing internationally outside of the TTA environment at the Belgium Open Challenge Cup Championship for the first time was both a humbling and eye-opening experience. The months leading up to it were filled with extra training sessions and refining techniques to ensure every movement was sharp and precise. One of the biggest challenges for me was re-learning something as fundamental as breathing—understanding how it connects to movement, power, and rhythm. It felt like starting from scratch, but in the end, it all made sense and made a difference. Stepping onto the mat, I felt like I was scratching the surface of my Poomsae journey. Winning gold in the team category and reaching the individual finals was a wow moment, but as there is always room for improvement, I know I can do with more when the next opportunity arises.”

Annecy Crescini said: “Going into my first international Poomsae competition in Tongeren, Brussels, I felt a mix of nerves and excitement, knowing how much preparation had gone into this moment. The journey to get here involved memorising new Poomsae patterns beyond my belt level, extra training sessions, traveling to meet up with teammates, refining every detail, and countless repetitions. The hard work paid off, and I’m beyond grateful to have achieved gold in the team event and to have reached the finals in the individual category. This has been a huge learning experience and an opportunity to test how much I’ve grown. There’s still a lot to improve, and I’m excited to keep pushing forward.”

Annecy and Luisa said: “As a final note from both of us, we want to thank Grandmaster Loh—we could not have experienced any of this without his guidance and the opportunity to uphold TTA teachings on an international stage. We are also very grateful to our instructors and all the seniors for their insight, support and teaching throughout this journey.”