Design by: Mark Thomas
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WIKF BOASTS 3 ENGLISH
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Twelve members of the WIKF England competition squad competed at the Karate England National Championships. The prestigious No.1 ranking event in the country was very close to not taking place but with the last minute organizing and finally recognizing it as an official title, the competition was confirmed. This year saw the biggest competition so far in its history, with the highest number of associations and participants. The WIKF squad had trained very hard throughout the season and managed to reach the final of 5 out of the 18 categories, which is an amazing achievement. In the finals, WIKF claimed 3 of 60% of the titles, coming away with 3 English All Styles Champion, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals!!!! First to compete were the Suhari’s Tegan Walsh, Chloe Walsh and Danielle Duke in the girls 10-11 years heavy-weight event. The 2006 British All Styles Champion Chloe Walsh did well to get through the early rounds and winning her semi-final to compete in the final later on. Tegan and Danielle both lost in the quarter-final stage, but only one of them would contest for bronze in repocharge. Danielle was the lucky one and fought well to pick up our first Bronze medals of the Championships. Next to compete was Ken-Bu-Kan’s Jerome Brown in the 10-11 years middle-weight event. After becoming the British Champion in 2005 and picking up a disappointing Bronze in 2006, Jerome was eager to set his mark on the English Championships this year. Jerome was slow getting off the blocks, but quickly showed his strength and skill against his opponents. After winning 4 bouts and reaching the final without dropping a single point, it was clear that Jerome was set to win another ranking title. Finally, in the 10-11 years events, Kane Walsh from Suhari took the mat. After winning his first major title in 2006, the British All Styles, Kane was keen to take another. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as Kane lost in the opening round to the eventual winner. However, Kane did in repocharge to take our second Bronze medal Next up was Ken-Bu-Kan’s Michelle Little competing in the middle-weight 12-13 girls division. In the first round, Michelle comfortably beat her opponent 8-1 and secured an 8-0 win in her quarter-final. In her semi-final, it was much the same as she beat her opponent with ease to reach her first final in a ranking event. The finals were to be contested after, so Jerome and Michelle had a little time to recover and compose themselves. Next to compete was Jay Kirton from Ken-Bu-Kan, the 2006 British All Styles Champion. Jay fought well in the opening rounds, securing comfortable wins but in the quarter-final, Jay met EKKA’s Ryan Jay for the second time in as many competitions. The bout was tense, but Jay was unable to deal with his opponents reach and composure and unfortunately lost. He could now only hope for repocharge if his rival won the semi-final against the opponent from Vale Karate, which he did. In repocharge, Jay had to face another opponent whom he had lost to earlier in the year. Jay had some unlucky decisions go against him and was unable to medal on this occasion. Gavin Bailey from Ken-Bu-Kan was next up in the 14-15 light-weight event. Having come close to the reaching the British final in 2006, Gavin new he’d need to repeat and better his performance at the English. Gavin did just that, getting through the early rounds comfortably using his signature Gayakazuki against his opponents and mixing up his techniques well. Gavin surpassed his British achievement winning his semi-final to reach the final, WIKF’s 4th final in 4 categories entered. James Townsend was next competing in the 14-15 years heavy-weight event. James faced EKKA’s Craig Warren in round one, whom he lost to at the last competition they entered. The bout was close, but James was eventually beaten. His opponent reached the final, so James was competing for the Bronze medal, but was unable to overcome his determined opponent. No medal this time for James. Finally, Ken-Bu-Kan’s Alex Little the 2006 British All Styles Champion, was in action in the 14-15 years middle-weight event, having moved up from the light-weight a couple of months earlier. Alex was quietly coming through the rounds, disposing of his opponents in the same fashion as he has done all year. Eventually, after a grueling 4 rounds, Alex reached the final to face his no.1 one rival on the circuit James Witt from Higashi, whom he lost to in the previous competition. Both competitors reached the final without being tested so the final would be tense between the two athletes who have the highest respect for each other. All the preliminaries were over, so now on to the finals… First to compete was Chloe Walsh. After a slow start Chloe began to score points, taking the lead in her final. Chloe fought very well to take the English title, to add to her British title that she won 4 months earlier. Next was Jerome Brown and from the start, he stamped his authority on the final, by scoring heavily and going ahead 7-0. A slight excessive contact from Jerome, and his opponent dropped to the floor holding his face looking for penalties. Eventually, after coming back to his position, Jerome was given a penalty and dropped his first point of the Championships. The bout restarted and Jerome finished the final impressively scoring the last 2 points he needed to win 9-1 and become the 2006 English All Styles Champion. Next was Michelle Little, who had to face the opponent who beat her in the previous competition. Michelle failed to impress in the final, and although the bout was close, her opponent confidence pulled her through. Michelle picked up a well deserved Silver medal. Gavin Bailey was next to take up the challenge and was facing an opponent from Ken-Yu-Kai, who was at the top of the category weighting 53 kilos and nearly 16 years old. However, Gavin set off first scoring the first 2 points. His opponent then scored an un-timed kick to the body, injuring his foot. The bout ended level at 2-2, but his opponent was not able to move or kick as well. Extra time and bout fighters stayed focused. Both attacked with a Gayakazuki, but Gavin reach was second to his opponent, scoring first. An unlucky result for Gavin, but nevertheless a well deserved Silver medal Finally, Alex Little was the last final. The bout was all level at 0-0 after 1 minute after some very untidy techniques. Suddenly, Alex scored with a Gayakazuki and going ahead with 30 seconds to go. Alex continued to frustrate his opponent, who was unable to score and the time was up. Alex had added the English All Styles Title to his British that he claimed 4 months earlier. Successful results for the WIKF squad, claiming 3 English titles, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals, confirming their status as one of the best competition squads in the Country. European Championships here we come….
Click images to enlarge!
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Copyright
2005 Tatsuo Suzuki