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For further information email us at info@shuharikai.co.uk

or call Chief Instructor Richard Burridge on 01708 737125 or 07850 253998

Copyright (C) by Shuhari-Kai Karate Club 2003-2009

       

National Glory at EKGB Championships     A small squad of five from Shuhari-Kai attended the 2003 EKGB Children’s National Championships at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield on the 27th & 28th September. Considering the small number they were rewarded well with a brilliant 4 Nationals Medals between them, 1 Gold and 3 Silver. The event which saw the brightest young talent pit their wits and skill against each other to become National Champions was conducted over two days. Day one saw the Kata events being contested whilst day two hosted the Kumite events.    Day one – Kata Day one saw the clubs Kata exponents, JJ Burridge, Jodie Miles, Sophie Roberts and Alex Sell, all in action. Competing in the Girls 3rd-1st kyu, 10-11 yrs category was Jodie Miles. Although receiving a bye in the first round, Jodie was up against it in the subsequent rounds as she was drawn ‘AKA’ to go first in all of her subsequent rounds. In the second round, Jodie performed ‘Seienchin’ Kata to good effect taking all three judges flags. This was followed by ‘Bassai-Dai’ in round three once again took all judges flags. In the fourth round, Jodie needed this one to make the final and she made no mistake as she performed ‘Seipai’ to perfection and completed the job by once again taking all flags. Now all Jodie had to do was wait for the finals later that evening.     In the Boys 3rd-1st kyu, 10-11 yrs category was Alex Sell. Like Jodie previously, Alex received a bye for the first round but was drawn ‘AKA’ to go first in the second round. Alex performed ‘Seienchin’ and scored all three judges flags. The third round saw Alex drawn ‘AO’ to go second. Alex beat his opponents ‘Bassai-Dai’ with his own performance of ‘Bassai-Dai’ scoring two flags to one. In the fourth round, Alex was once again drawn ‘AKA’ and had to perform first and like Jodie, Alex took no chances to make the finals by performing ‘Chatanyara Kushanku’ and scoring all flags. For Alex too, the wait for the finals was tense and nerve wrecking.     Soon Sophie Roberts was up performing her Kata ‘Seienchin’ in the Girls 3rd-1st kyu, 12-13 yrs category. Sophie clearly performed her Kata better but the judges awarded the match to her opponent by 2 flags to 1. Disappointed Sophie made the repocharge rounds for a chance of bronze but once again her performance of ‘Kushanku’ Kata lost out by 2 flags to 1. JJ Burridge completed the Kata preliminary rounds in the Boys 3rd-1st kyu, 14-15 yrs category. After receiving a bye in the first round, JJ was drawn ‘AO’ for round two. After watching a poorly executed ‘Seipai’ by his opponent, JJ performed ‘Bassai-Dai’ Kata. Strangely, JJ lost out on the judges decision by 2 flags to 1. Unfortunately JJ’s opponent didn’t last too long in the competition blowing JJ’s chances of making the repocharge.     The Kata Finals The Kata finals were a spectacle to behold. All the finalist were gathered together and paraded into the arena to rapturous applause with ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet!’ blasting out in the background. After the bows, they were paraded off again and the finalists were called up in small groups to perform their Kata’s in the center of the arena to the five judges surrounding the center mat. Only Alex Sell and Jodie Miles had made the Kata finals from the squad and it was Jodie who was called into action first. Jodie performed ‘Kushanku’ while her opponent performed ‘Nijushiho’. The judges scored 3 flags to 2 in her opponents favour. Jodie’s heart sank as did ours as she couldn’t have performed any better but she stood tall as she received her Silver National Medal and made us all proud. Following on from Jodie’s exploits was Alex who was in the last group to be called. In front of 1000 people in the audience and more importantly 5 judges, Alex performed ‘Jion’. Alex’s opponent performed ‘Wunsu’ Kata and stole the title by 3 flags to 2. Alex also felt disappointed at coming so close but like Jodie, accepted his Silver National Medal presented by Commonwealth Kata Champion, Jonathan Mottram, with pride.     Day two – Kumite The second day of competition saw the Kumite events get underway and the addition of Shuhari-Kai squad member Claire Page’s entry into the competition. Competing in the Girls Under 35kg, 10-11 yrs category was Jodie Miles. Jodie got off to flying start as she beat her first opponent 10-7 in a cagey match. The scores were being patched point for point until Jodie showed her class and pulled away towards the end of the bout to take the win. In her next bout, Jodie was head and shoulders above her opponent as she stormed through 9-0 to proceed into the finals as clear favorite. Unlike the previous day’s organisation, the finals were held straight after the repocharge had taken place for that particular category and Jodie was soon up. In a close final, Jodie was evenly matched early on with both girls giving away penalty points for contact warnings. As the fight progressed, Jodie was clearly on top but her opponent, defending a 1 point lead, backed off as she skirted around the area trying to avoid combat. Jodie, clearly frustrated, launched a volley of punches at her opponent only to receive one too many warnings and give away 2 more points at the death. Jodie lost 5 points to 2 in a final where she clearly dominated and should of won. But this was still a fine performance for Jodie who received her second Silver National Medal of the competition from England National Coach Ticky Donovan OBE.     Sophie Roberts was next to take to the mats as she competed in the Girls Under 45kg, 12-13 yrs category. In her first round bout, Sophie fell behind 3-0 as her techniques were failing to be scored by the judges. But with 30 seconds left on the clock, Sophie made a remarkable comeback showing her true spirit as battled her way back into the match. Sophie’s opponent was beginning to skirt around the area trying to avoid Sophie’s attacks and she was duly penalised for this giving Sophie the momentum to go on and win the match 4-3. Unfortunately for Sophie, she was eliminated in her next match losing 7-3 as she was unable to match her first round victory. To compound to her misfortune, her victorious opponent failed to make it to the finals and thereby eliminated Sophie from any repocharge rounds. She still finished in the top eight in her first Nationals tournament and will obviously go from strength to strength in preparation for next years competition.     JJ Burridge had the opportunity to compete in both the Boys Team 14-15 yrs event and his own Boys Over 60kg, 14-15 yrs category. Teaming up with Danial Cotter and AN Other from Shorai Association for the team event, JJ was fighter number 3 and was called to duty in the quarter final round. JJ went into the match needing to draw or better to progress further in the competition but unfortunately succumb to a superior opponent. JJ showed a lot of courage and spirit by trying different techniques and not letting his opponent to dominate the match but it wasn’t enough to see him through. In his individual event, JJ showed even more determination by claiming a first round victory in this top weight group, beating his opponent 3-1. In his next round fight, JJ only just lost out 2-0 to his opponent but it was so close it could have gone either way. A brave performance from JJ who was up against the big guns in both of his events but he stood up to be counted.     In the Girls Under 50kg category, Claire Page made a cameo appearance as ‘Celia Johnson’ in ‘Brief Encounter’ as her encounter with the championships was all too brief after her first round elimination. Claire threw lots of Junzuki’s, Gyakuzuki’s and Mawashigeri’s at her opponent but managed to score only 1 point as she lost 7-1. Claire has lots of potential but failed to realise any at the championships this time round but still has time to deliver what she’s capable of.     Last up for the Shuhari-Kai squad was Alex Sell competing in the Boys Under 40kg, 10-11 yrs category. Alex, with four rounds to negotiate to the finals got off to a bright start showing lots of technique and control but quickly dropped a point to his opponent. Alex kept his head and his techniques going as the 30 remaining buzzer sounded. Unflustered, he snapped in a Gyakuzuki to level the score. Now easily in control, Alex quickly picked off his opponent as time ran out taking the match 3-1. Onto the second round and full of confidence, Alex quickly opened up his account and dodged any reply from his opponent. Alex continued his winning formula of picking off his opponent and ran out 4-0 winner. The third round match saw Alex go behind early on after receiving two contact warnings. This was the only point his opponent picked up as Alex upped a gear and cruised to a 7-1 victory. The fourth round match saw no let up as Alex got better and better Gyaking and sweeping his opponent into total submission as he won 8-0 with over 30 seconds still left on the clock. This set up a nice final between Alex and an Ishinryu student. After the repocharge rounds had completed, Alex took center stage as the final commenced. Alex looked in total control as he quickly opened up a 3 point lead. His opponent managed to claw one point back with 30 seconds left on the clock but Alex was dodging, attacking and wouldn’t let his opponent settle into any rhythm. As the buzzer sounded for time, Alex had secured 3 points to 1 victory and the EKGB National Title. Alex was grinning ear to ear as he collected his winners trophy and Gold medal and stepped up for the photo shoot.     All in all, it was an impressive display from the squad who came away with four National Championship Medals between 5 students, one being Gold and three being Silver. The squad that went to the Nationals were both gracious in defeat and victory which shows great maturity on their part. They carried the club badge with honour and took away some great memories of the competition and Sheffield (especially McDonald’s… but that’s another story).     Shuhari-Kai would like to thank Jonathan Mottram for all his support during the competition and training of the Shuhari-Kai Kata Squad. Without his input, the championships would not have been so successful. Although refereeing during the competition, Chief Sensei Richard Burridge was a big inspiration to the students, constantly checking on their progress and offering encouragement whenever possible which was greatly appreciated. Another big thanks to Paul Beeson who was Shuhari-Kai’s junior squad coach for the championships. He led the squad to one Gold and one Silver and some moral victories, which was fantastic. A final thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation who’s continued support have helped develop not only the squad but the club as a whole. We look forward to repaying the hard work and belief shown to the students.     Squad: JJ. Burridge, Jodie Miles, Claire Page, Sophie Roberts, Alex Sell.

 

For further information email us at info@shuharikai.co.uk or call Chief Instructor Richard Burridge on 01708 737125 or 07850 253998   Copyright (C) by Shuhari-Kai Karate Club 2003-2009