Taekwondo row leads to parting of ways from church

Martin Risk Taekwondo will no longer be welcome in Camelon Parish Church’s St John’s Church Hall, in Brown Street, from March 30.

Mr Risk received a letter from the church stating he could no longer hold his classes at the venue. The decision stems from an incident which happened when the hall was mistakenly double booked on Friday, December 15 last year.

Janice Guthrie, Camelon Parish Church session clerk, said: “The church was holding a children’s breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning and we had arranged to go in on Friday night and sort out the hall.

“There was some sort of failure in communication and the Taekwondo class was present. There was an incident that occurred on the night – aggressive behaviour from the Taekwondo group towards the church volunteers and two church elders.

“We discussed the matter at two different meetings before we made the decision.”

Mr Risk claims the aggressive behaviour actually came from the church elders, who he said stormed into the venue and threatened members of the club.

The Taekwondo expert said he had been holding classes there without incident for seven years and was providing a service to help the community stay active and get fit.

Visit www.facebook.com/GTFFALKIRK if you can help Mr Risk and his students find a suitable alternative venue in the Camelon area.