Edwards looks to keep kicking

... But martial artist facing $6.3m budget

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Olympic tae kwon do representative, Kenneth Ed-wards, is looking to build on his spirited showing at the recently concluded London games, but is staring down the barrel of a budget exceeding USD$70,000 ($6.3 million) for the upcoming year.

Edwards, who created history by becoming Jamaica's first tae kwon do participant at the Olympic Games, went down 4-6 to his first-round opponent, Asian champion and number six-seeded Liu Xiaobo in the 80+ KG category, but did his fan base no harm, with a fearless effort.

With the Olympics now a thing of the past, Edwards is hoping that the experience can serve to give his career a real shot in the arm, but he knows very well that it will cost a tidy sum if he is to get the required training and competition opportunities that he requires to take his craft to the next level.

"Next year, we have several competitions lined up. Hopefully, the sponsors will assist us in making this possible. The first championships should be the US Open in early February, and I think we will be competing on the European circuit as well," said Edwards.

"The budget is looking like over US$70,000 for the year, so it's pretty costly, but that's what it takes at this level, and hopefully, we will be able to get that in place," he added.

A positive impact

Edwards, 26 , is also counting on his efforts having a positive impact on the sport locally. He says he feels a great sense of pride having been the first from the island to compete at the Olympic level.

"The Olympic experience for me was a personal dream fulfilled, however, for the sport of martial arts in Jamaica, it's invaluable. I feel it has put Jamaican martial arts on the map, so I am proud and honoured to be the person that spearhead that," said Edwards, who will resume training in a few weeks after a recent self-assessment and vacation periods.

"I have been in New Jersey since after the Olympics with my coach reviewing the fights and projecting for the upcoming season.

"The overall perspective is that it really was a good fight (at the Olympics). Technically, we executed our game plan. There were some things in the fight, like a couple of our shots not being scored, but that wasn't our fault. It's up to the judges to score punches and catch some of the stuff," he added.

"The findings weren't detrimental to our training or how we executed on the day, but it was still very important for us to review," Edwards said.