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Boldon Tae Kwon Do great-grandad still getting his kicks at 90
He's no karate kid, but high-kicking 90-year-old Cristobal Campos could give any young fighter a run for their money.
Don't let his age fool you, for this great-grandfather is a super-fit Tae Kwon Do expert – and he has the black belt to prove it.
Cris, of West Boldon, trains twice a week with the Chungdokwan club at Washington Leisure Centre, where he has become a popular character.
He tops up his martial arts training with weekly weight sessions at Temple Park gym, South Shields, which helps the pensioner defy Father Time.
Cris, who originally hails from Southern Spain, said: "All the training keeps me strong.
"A lot of the young men at the gym say they can't do what I do.
"I started the Tae Kwon Do 10 years ago through my grandsons, after going to watch them.
"It was something I had never done before but I really enjoy it. It helps keep me active and is good for self defence."
The former professional boxer and merchant seaman moved to Britain in 1941 and lives with wife of 60 years May, 82.
Speaking from their home in Don View, she said: "He never sits still. He does his exercises in the house too and has a pull-up bar in the kitchen."
Dad-of-two Cris will be performing a display, along with fellow members of the Chungdokwan club, at the forthcoming Great Northern International Festival of Martial Arts.
The event will see scores of martial arts enthusiasts descend on the Seaburn Centre on May 8, to raise life-saving funds for Cancer Research UK.
Cris's son Mike, his instructor at Washington Leisure Centre, said: "Dad is certainly the oldest in our group to do Tae Kwon Do, if not the world.
"There are certain things he can't do, but people half his age wouldn't be able to do them either and he will give everything a go.
"That's what Tae Kwon Do is about – it's very much a participation sport. It keeps you fit and it helps you to treat other people with respect."
* Tickets and information on the Great Northern International Festival of Martial Arts are available from the Seaburn Centre, on the seafront, or from Peter on 522 6294 or email: psethp@yahoo.co.uk
Tickets are priced 4.50 for adults or 3 for under-14s and senior citizens. Family tickets, for four people, are 12.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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