Through years of developing athletes, coaches and clubs, and building a team culture, that vision finally became reality earlier this month.

Having earned 12 gold medals, 10 silver, and 12 bronze across the two days of competition at Manchester Velodrome, Apex were crowned the overall team champions for the first time in their history, as well as claiming the Novice Team prize.

Simpson told British Taekwondo: “I had a vision of what I wanted to do when I set up my own club for the first time.

“I was dreaming of being on that podium holding that team trophy."

Simpson began his taekwondo journey under the guidance of Quest Taekwondo before going on to establish Horizon Taekwondo in Keighley just after the turn of the century.

The evolution of that work has eventually led to the current structure, with five Apex clubs stationed across the North of England, including the one in Keighley.

Rick Simpson (right) poses proudly, having fulfilled a dream 20 years in the making of becoming national champion. (Image: UGC)

Simpson said: “When people walk through the door sometimes you just see someone and after 20 minutes of a class you know that they're going to be a class act.

“You just get excited and can't wait to enrol them onto the fight team and for them to do their first inter-club sparring day and their first championship.

“You know there's a really good fighter in there that's ready to come out, and when they're ready, they'll come out.

“I'm sure most coaches have the same kind of excitement when they see people coming through the door.”

That philosophy has been developed over many years and has extended beyond Simpson's own clubs through the wider Apex structure, including his close working relationship with Rooji Karim and Apex Taekwondo Greater Manchester, which is based in Oldham.

That production line has also seen the formation of two Apex clubs in Bolton and one in Chorley.

The long-term approach that Simpson and Karim have instilled has been evident at the National Championships for many years, with Apex rarely missing out on a top three spot in the team standings over the past decade.

Having finished as the second-placed overall team last year, their eyes were set on top spot heading to Manchester, and after more than 20 years as a coach, Simpson has finally achieved that dream.

He said: “Over the years, we set ourselves targets of what we needed to do better next year to improve on this year.

“We've got lots of careful planning in place for our fight teams so that we can forecast how well we're going to do.”