Johann De Silva and Courtney Smith prepare for Worlds at ITF Fight Evolution Camp

England coach Johann De Silva and Team Warrior’s ‘Angry’ Courtney Smith stepped up their preparations for October’s ITF World Championships by travelling to the Ukraine to take part in the 10-day 2017 ITF Fight Evolution Camp.

ITF Fight Evolution Camp took place in the Carpathian Mountains in the Eastern European country from 21-31 July, and not only featured taekwondo sessions, but also a mountain run, and, on a rest day, quad biking and zip lining.

The Camp is run by legendary husband and wife taekwondo team Oleg and Katya Solovey. Oleg is the coach of the national team and has led his wife Kataya, son Vitaly, and many other Ukrainian athletes to multiple taekwondo and kickboxing European and World titles in. Indeed, during their stay, Johann and Courtney were able to train and spar with many former and current European and World Champions. It’s fitting, then, that the camp’s motto is: ‘To be the best, you must train with the best’.

Johann and Courtney participated in three sessions a day at ITF Fight Evolution Camp, There was a Cross Fit session, plus the aforementioned high-intensity mountain run, in which participants endured a gruelling 5km run up steep and rocky terrain. Taekwondo training followed the fitness work, with pad work drills, resistance band training, combination drills and stretching exercises. Finally, there was a 90-minute sparring session, including a new, fun tag team sparring exercise.

Johann De Silva said:

“It was a truly fantastic camp, and Courtney and I learned a lot. I’m really excited to bring back what we learned and share our knowledge with the rest of our classes. It is a camp I would definitely recommend to others, and will hopefully be experiencing again with more of my students.”

You can book a free trial lesson here with De Silva Taekwondo. Don’t worry, Johann won’t teach you how to bungee jump.