WIKF Finish Second in the Medal

Table at the Toyakwai Open Championships

2006

Nine members of the Ken-Bu-Kan competition squad and five from Su-Ha-Ri represented WIKF England in the Toyakwai Open Championships at Dagenham, Essex.  With only a small squad competing against many other larger clubs and associations, the squad came away with an impressive 16 medals, 7 Golds, 5 Silvers and 4 Bronze pushing them to second spot in the competition’s medal league table, just 3 points behind the winners.

First in action were Ken-Bu-Kan’s Kata competitors.  Jerome Brown was in action in the junior grade Kata event scoring high marks to secure the squad’s first Silver medal of the day.  Next up were Michelle Little, Jay Kirton and Alex Little all competing in the same category.   All three competitors performed high scoring Kata, with Alex Little winning Gold, Michelle Little taking the Bronze and Jay Kirton just missing out in the medals but finishing in the top five.   Next up was Krystal Cornwell taking part in the mixed adult’s event.  Krystal secured a final position and then took another Bronze medal for the squad.  Finally in the team event, Jay Kirton, Michelle Little and Jerome Brown took part in the team Kata event for the first in their competition careers.  All three performed their Kata with exceptional timing and deserved to take the Gold medal.  Kata over and everyone has picked up at least one medal each!!  

Onto the Kumite events, with Ken-Bu-Kan’s James Phillips competing first.  After winning 10-0 in round 1, 8-1 in the quarter-final and 6-1 in the semi-final it was yet another final for James scoring 24 points and losing only 2.  In the final, James was scoring heavily against his opponent taking the score to 6-5 with only a few seconds to go.  His opponent however managed to score 3 points on the bell, and James lost the final bout 6-8.  A very unlucky loss for James, but he still came away with the Silver medal and some very impressive victories.  Next to compete was Connor Rattray and Jay Kirton in the same category.  Connor won his first round bout 4-0 but narrowly lost his second bout 1-0.  Jay fought very well, winning 8-1, 10-3, 10-1 and 5-1 on his way to another final spot.  His final opponent posed no threat to Jay as he won 5-2 to take another Gold medal for the team and Jay’s third Gold in this competition.   

Jerome Brown was also in action and equally impressive reaching his final with 8-0 and 8-3 wins over his opponents.  The final was once again one sided as Jerome eased his way to another Gold medal with a 3-0 victory.  Gavin Bailey also found some good form reaching his final scoring 1-0, 3-1, 2-1 and 1-0 in the earlier rounds.  The final was contested against a Southern Region team member, whom Gavin fought in the British International Championships in January 2006.  The bout ended 4-4 then and this final was also very close, with neither competitor committing and scoring in normal time.  In extra time both competitors went forward for the attack but Gavin’s attack scored second and therefore Gavin settled for the Silver medal.

Su-Ha-Ri’s Cain Walsh was also action but was unable to reach the medal positions this time.

In the girl’s event, Su-Ha-Ri’s Chloe Walsh was on the mats, taking part in her first open competition.  Chloe showed some true potential getting through the early rounds, but lost in the semi-finals to take her first Bronze medal.  Amy Budd fought well but was unlucky losing in the early rounds.  Ken-Bu-Kan’s Michelle Little was also in action winning her semi-final 8-0 and reaching the category final.  The bout was once again one sided for the Ken-Bu-Kan athlete, as Michelle easily won another title and the Gold medal scoring 8-3.   Krystal Cornwell was in action in the ladies event and was made to work hard in her category winning 8-7 in the semi-final and 8-3 in the final.  Krystal’s first Gold medal and another victory for Ken-Bu-Kan.

In one of the taller height categories for the boys, James Townsend took the mat winning 8-3 in his semi-final after having two previous byes.  In the final, James worked extremely hard but was beaten 1-8 by a very impressive new competitor on the circuit.  Nevertheless, James went home with the Silver medal, the 13^th for the WIKF team. 

The final junior individual category saw Alex Little from Ken-Bu-Kan and Ben Hackett from Su-Ha-Ri.  This category had an impressive line of all styles competitors from all over the country.  If the category’s results went to form and experience, then a final bout would feature Ken-Bu-Kan’s Alex Little against his Southern Region team member Alex Sell.  Ben Hackett fought well in the first round, but was unable to beat his opponent.  Alex had a first round bye, but quickly began scoring winning 5-3 in round 2, 5-2 against a Northern Region opponent in the quarter-finals and then an impressive 7-0 in his semi-final.  Alex Sell was also in winning form reaching the final to contest against Alex Little.  The final was as tense as ever, with both fighters scoring with great precision and speed.  Alex Little took the upper hand and was leading 6-4 with only 5 seconds to go.  The victory was certain until the judges and referee were convinced that Sell’s kick scored against Alex Little.  The point was wrongly awarded and Alex settled for the Silver medal. A bad decision by the judges that was also acknowledged by Alex Sell’s father and coach. 

In the senior section, new member Mike Kitson and Su-Ha-Ri coach Kevin McAuslan-Crine were in action.  Mike fought well but lost in the early round, while Kevin reached the quarter-finals of the heavy weight division, losing by one point to the eventual Champion.

Fourteen medals for WIKF and onto the team Kumite events.  In the mixed Junior team, the Ken-Bu-Kan trio of Alex Little, Gavin Bailey and Jay Kirton, who are one of most successful trio in the UK, took the mat in a category featuring 16 teams.  The team fought impressively in every round losing only 2 bouts on their way to victory and another team Gold for the trio.  In the Male mixed team event, Kevin McAuslan-Crine, Alex Little and Gavin Bailey took the mat and once again the category was large with many experience teams from the UK.  The team were also impressive in the early rounds and reached the final.  The final was against Kaizen, who had three Southern Region competitors in their team.  First bout was Gavin Bailey, who narrowly lost to his opponent 5-3.  Alex Little fought second and managed to hold onto a draw.  In the final bout, Kevin needed to win and by more than 2 points.  The bout was impressive with both opponents executing successful take down techniques.  Kevin beat his opponent but only by 1 point and the team lost on total points scored and settled for the Silver medal.

A very successful competition for WIKF England winning 7 titles and 16 medals in total, placing them second in the medal league table.

Back Row:  Ben Hackett, Mike Kitson, Kevin McAuslan-Crine & Andy Michaelides (WIKF Squad coaches), James Townsend

Front Row:  Jerome Brown, Gavin Bailey , James Phillips, Jay Kirton, Michelle Little and Alex Little.