Soho Parish Dragons celebrated their rapid rise by hosting their first-ever taekwondo championships

THE success of siblings Lilli and Maximilian Babak, along with their Holborn Tigers teammates, often hit our headlines.

And that recognition has now led to a brand new class of mini-martial artists taking to the training mats to study taekwondo.

Within months of launching, the Soho Parish Dragons already boast “17 young students and a growing waiting list” for their weekly session in Westminster.

And the club have just celebrated their rapid rise by hosting their first-ever taekwondo open championships, which saw more than 40 youngsters showcase their skills in one, or both, key disciplines: the poomsae – otherwise known as patterns – in which a competitor is judged on their ability to perform a set sequence of movements; and kyorugi, the skilful art of sparring.

Lilli Babak beat Maisie Underwood in their sparring showdown

Explaining the series of events that helped breathe fire into the dragons, Master Rienzi Trento said: “Lilli and Maximilian both attend Soho Parish School, and the coverage they received for their efforts and successes within taekwondo was embraced and celebrated within the school.

“In fact the articles are still hanging in their classrooms!

“It led to us starting up a club within the school, and now here we are – the Soho Parish Dragons are soaring.”

Reflecting on the open competition that saw the Dragons welcome members from their sister club Holborn Tigers into town, the 6th-dan black belt added: “It was fantastic to see so many kids enjoying themselves and enjoying taekwondo.

“The parents were all there cheering them on, and we even had a screen set up in the kitchen upstairs so that they could watch live streams of the action while getting food and drinks. It was great.”

Fittingly, Lilli was among the big winners as she struck triple gold. The 10-year-old red belt took first place in her patterns event, before then being triumphant in the “Champion of the Champions” final where the victors of the patterns from each age and belt category all meet each other.

She also won her sparring competition, beating blue belt Maisie Underwood in the final.

Maximilian Babak won double gold

“It was super special to have a competition at my school, I couldn’t wait for this day,” said Lilli. “I am very happy with my performances because I got three gold medals – one in fighting, one in patterns, and then another gold medal for the Champion of the Champions.”

The more experienced martial artists are now gearing up for a busy summer. Lilli added: “I am very excited for the upcoming competitions. We have one in July, and then in September we’re taking part in the World Championships.

“My aim is to get at least one medal at the worlds, but if I will not get one it will still be an amazing experience. I am doing my patterns every day and I do 50 press-ups and 100 sit-ups. I wish there would be even more competitions, I like it so much.”

Lilli’s younger brother Maximilian, 8, also saw his arm raised in victory after winning his first gold medals in both sparring and patterns, before bagging bronze in the Champion of the Champions.

After receiving his accolades, the green belt said: “I am so happy I got my first two gold medals. I am practising my patterns every day with my sister, and eat a lot of eggs to get more muscles, and I do 20 diamond press-ups with my feet up on the sofa.

“I can also do around 111 sit-ups!”