As his name might suggest, Richard Auciello’s family hails from Italy. His grandfather moved to the area from Foggia half a century ago, initially working on local farms before moving to Williams and Cliff, the brickyard in Stamford. Richard himself has lived in and around the town all of his life, but still enjoys family trips back to Italy where his relatives still own farms and (more excitingly!) vineyards.
He became involved in the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do at the age of nine, all thanks to his babysitter. “She happened to bring her boyfriend round with her one night, and he brought a copy of The Karate Kid on video. I was being bullied at school at the time, but felt so inspired by the film, that I knew that I wanted to be like the kid on screen,” he recalls. Luckily, the boyfriend happened to be David Mears, who ran Tae Kwon Do classes at the old YMCA building (which is now occupied by the Language School) in Stamford, and who was also the 1984 World Champion. Mears told him “I should go and see him, and watch his class do it properly. So I did. I began classes the next week, and that was it”.
Under Mears’ instruction, Richard progressed amazingly quickly. He became the Under 12 British Champion at the age of just 10, and earned his Black Belt before his twelfth birthday. He was undefeated for three years in Junior competition, before being asked by the National Instructor to leave the Juniors and join the Seniors at the age of 16 (instead of the usual 18), because no-one was near his standard. That same year he was invited to train with the England squad, and became the youngest person ever to fight for the England team.
At the same time, he left school and became an apprentice electrician with M & E Electrical Services in Stamford. Richard is still full of praise for his former boss Mark Evans. “Mark was great,” he says “he allowed me time off to train and sponsored me when I competed.”
Success in competition continued throughout the 1990s, peaking in Rimini, Italy in May 2000 when, after eight fights in one day, he became Tae Kwon Do World Champion.
It was at this point, as World Champion and England Team Captain, that Richard decided to retire from competition. “Nine years of competition had taken its toll. I had had broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a shattered knee cap!” However he did not leave the sport altogether. He was quickly appointed England coach and in 2002 took on the England Manager’s job. In the recent World Championships in Hong Kong, his team of 22 brought back 18 medals, many of which were gold.
All this and he still finds time to run Stamford’s Tae Kwon Do Club, which he took over from his mentor David Mears in 1998. He says “It is still deemed to be a boy’s sport, but more girls are now joining up. Most of our members are between five and 16, but it really is a sport for anybody – our oldest member is 65. People think it is about kicking and punching, but it is more about challenging yourself and your mind. We had one bloke with severe arthritis who was told by a doctor that he would never be able to do sport again – he recently earned his black belt.”
Although Tae Kwon Do is still a very important part of Richard’s life, his priorities have changed since he gave up competing. He married wife Jo, with whom he has two daughters, Jessica and Rimini May (who is named after the place and date of his World Championship victory), and started his own business, Auciello Electrical Services. Instead of training six times a week, he limits his coaching to Tuesdays and Thursdays, with competitions on Sundays, and Jo has became involved as Club Secretary. However there are signs that there could be a second generation of Auciello Tae Kwon Do World Champions. Although only 6, Jessica is keen and talented, and has asked to compete in the Under 8 category at this April’s British Championships. “But don’t worry,” says Richard, “I’m not some horrible pushy parent! She just does it because she wants to do it, not because she has to, which is how it should be.”
Bluecoat Tae Kwon Do Tel: 01780 480233