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

      

WIKF British National Championships 15 Medals from the WIKF British National Championships for Shuhari-Kai Karate Club with 4 Golds, 2 Silvers and 9 Bronzes. Big 'G' Lawrence Grosvenor picked up the prestigious 'Competitor of the Day' award after some impressive displays picking up his individual and team golds along the way. Despite this impressive medal haul, there was a sense of under achievement. Add to the fact that it took 14 hours to complete the Championships - with only 180 competitors, it was a long drawn-out day.     The first events to get underway were the Kata events 9Yr old Vishaal Dovedi and 8Yr old Aimee Sell were moved from the 9 Yrs and under (any grade) category into the 10-12Yrs 3rd Kyu and above category, because they were 3rd and 2nd Kyu grades respectively. This left Ali Ayerman, Jordan Hodges and Terry Morton to compete in the 9Yrs and Under category. The rules were simple, each competitor completes the same Kata, Pinan Nidan in this case, and the top eight highest points scorers go through to the finals where another Kata is performed for points. Unfortunately for the trio, all failed to make the final, but for Jordan, laying in sixth position overall after scoring 6.9, 6.9 & 7.0 from the three judges, he just missed out on the finals by 0.1 as the top eight was reduced to the top five.     Perhaps it would have been more prudent for the judges to announce any rule changes to the competitors and the audience prior to the start of the Kata events, rather than just changing the number of finalists from the originally stated 8 after the competitors had all finished!    Competing in the Mixed 10-12Yrs 9-4th Kyu category was Luke Bannister and Samuel Gee. Sam scored 6.8, 6.9 & 7.0, whilst Luke scored 6.9, 6.9 & 7.0. Luke just missed the final cut as the finalist were reduced once again.    In the Mixed 10-12Yrs 3rd Kyu and above event, Jodie Miles and Alex Sell were competing together and so was Vishaal Dovedi  and Aimee Sell after being repositioned into this category. Jodie was the first up to perform the required Kata, Pinan Godan, in this event. She scored 7.0, 7.1 & 7.1 which would leave her in fourth position overall after the initial round. Next up was Aimee who scored 7.0, 7.1 & 7.2 from the three judges which would leave her in third position overall. Alex was the next of the quartet to perform and his score of 7.2, 7.2 & 7.2 would land him in top spot 0.2 ahead of his nearest rival. Vishaal performed his Kata well but failed to achieve a high enough score with 6.7, 6.8 & 6.9 leaving him short of the final cutoff. The judges selected only the top three to go through to the finals. After much deliberation, the top four were allowed to compete in the finals.    JJ Burridge progressed in the Mixed 13-15Yrs 3rd Kyu and above category by scoring 7.0, 7.2 & 7.2 for his rendition of Pinan Godan leaving him in fourth place overall with the top six going through to the finals. However, Sophie Roberts scored 7.0, 7.0 & 7.1 for her Kata display which left her just outside the cutoff zone. Mark Edwards didn't make finals either in the Senior Mixed 8-4th Kyu event this time as he lost concentration on his Kata mid way through and had to stop his Kata. Never mind Mark, it take guts to get up there in the first place.     All this excitement and it was it was team Kumite next.     Team Kumite - Mixed Peewee with Vishaal Dovedi, Jordan Hodges and Terry Morton did extremely well taking bronze medals for their efforts, definitely a team for the future. Luke Bannister, Luke Mount and Sam Gee all teamed up in the boys 10-12Yrs category, as did Alex Sell with Shorai Association members Ryan Lambert and Rammel Tullac. Both teams picked up bronzes with some good displays. After cruising into the next round following some impressive displays and looking like favourites to make the finals, Alex drew his second round match at 3-3 following team mates Ryan's win. Their third member, Rammel, was late to reach the event but turned up at this exact point. Rammel was primed and raring to go as the teams third fighter but was refused permission enter the event as he was late. This meant as the team effectively had only two fighters, they lost there third fight by default and hence the chance to go through to the finals.     Alex was helping out in JJ Burridge's and Mig Islam's team in the Boys 13-15Yrs Category. Alex fought first winning his fight leaving JJ to complete the teams victory with an impressive display of technique. Unfortunately, the 'Referees' decided not to allow Alex to compete in a category above his age and discounted his initial victory. This left Mig needing to win as the first fight was then counted against them. Mig unfortunately lost and the team went out.   The Girls 13-15Yrs team of Abigail Gee, Amy Mount & Sophie Roberts, picked up a bronze medal after failing to progress into the finals. Amy lost her opening bout but Sophie pulled it back to level the score. Abigail couldn't quite pull off the final victory for the team but fought well in her attempt.    More luck for the Seniors Mens 8-4th Kyu team with Amir Ayerman, Mark Edwards and Mark Sell taking part. Mark Edwards took to the mats for the opening match and took a few heavy blows. Mid match, Mark suffered a kick to his neck and throat which not only got his opponent disqualified but landed Mark in hospital with a dislocated vertebrae. We wish Mark a speedy recovery and hope his injury is not too serious. Mark Sell was next up and won his fight 4-2 securing victory for the team and a place in the final.    The Mens Senior 3rd Kyu+ team of Wayne Burridge, Ed Vinas and Lawrence Grosvenor battled their way into the finals overcoming our other Shorai Association team only to face yet another Shorai team in the finals. Lawrence fought superbly all day long as the opening fighter not losing once allowing Ed and Wayne some breathing space. In the semi's Ed tied his second round match after Lawrence's victory. Wayne then lost his third round fight but only by a few points which meant the team went through on points.    Not to be outdone, the Senior Womens team of Sammy Burridge and Amy Roberts stormed into the finals after both girls won their respective fights. Sammy was up against a former European champion who had so much uncontrolled technique she was  disqualified from the match. Amy Roberts showed she has lost none of her form eventhough she hasn't competed competitively for 18 months. With only a team of two it was a great effort.    The individual Kumite events got underway and eventhough there were plenty of referees and judges, only the referee and a shadow judge was used. No flags were in evidence (except the mens senior event) even for the finals. In the Peewee 9Yrs and Under event, Jordan Hodges, Terry Morton, Ali Ayerman and Vishaal Dovedi were all competing. Little Ali lost his opening fight losing 6-0. Vishaal did better but still bowed out in the opening round narrowly losing 4-3. Competing in his first competition, Terry won his opening round fight after it went into extra time with the scores tied at 0-0. Terry was the first to strike with snap punch to take the win 1-0. Terry then lost his next fight 2-3 in a close contest. Terry looks likely to be a hot prospect in the future if he keeps up his hard work. Already a hot prospect, Jordan fought his way into the bronze medal position with a bye in the first round followed by a 3-2 victory in the next round. Jordan then lost his Semi-final fight 7-5 to a much bigger opponent but Jordan chased him down all over the mat during the bout. Great spirit Jordan and a well deserved medal.    The Boys 10-12Yrs event saw Luke Bannister and Alex Sell competing. This was a tough category with Alex's Shorai team members Ramell Tullac and one of the favourites Ryan Lambert also competing. Ryan actually went out in the opening round losing 8-0 eventhough he was all over his opponent. Ryan just couldn't connect decisively. Luke won his opening fight 3-2 to make it into the next round as did Ramell. Alex also cruised into the second round after his first round bye (this brings back memories). The next round saw Ramell drop out as did Luke after losing 5-2. Luke's getting better with every competition and it's only a matter of time before he's in the finals. Alex made round three after a convincing 8-0 victory and then made the semi-finals after another decisive 9-2 win. The semis saw Alex against Ryans earlier victor but Alex had the benefit of watching his fighting style. Alex didn't rush in as Ryan did but stayed out of reach before launching into attack mode. Alex won 4-1 to book his place into the final.        Jodie Miles was up against it from the start with probably the best two fighters drawn together in the opening round of the Girls 10-12Yrs event. Jodie took the opening point but it was even until she gave away a penalty and allowed her opponent to establish a lead which Jodie couldn't pull back. Jodie eventually lost 5-3.    The Girls 13-15Yrs event saw Elenor Ayerman, Abigail Gee and Sophie Roberts competing in the same event. Like Jodie, Sophie was up against one of the favourites and already having beaten her in the team event, Sophie couldn't repeat the performance losing 3-2. Abigail received a bye for her first round fight but lost in round two by 1-0. Elenor was definitely the dark horse as she won her opening round fight 1-0 then followed it but by securing a semi-final place winning 3-2. Unfortunately Elenor lost this match 3-0 but not before securing a bronze medal. Well done Elenor.     In the boys 13-15Yrs, JJ Burridge was on fire in this large event and took his first round victory 2-0. The next round saw JJ secure a more decisive 5-0 victory turning up the heat. JJ's third round match proved a lot closer but the score line of 2-1 was a little flattering to his opponent as JJ was easily in control. The semi-final saw JJ come up against the  eventual winner and eventhough put on a good show, the 4-0 score line says it all. None-the-less a bronze medal was well deserved.     The Senior Mens 8-4th Kyu event saw Amir Ayerman was up against the eventual winner in the first round. Amir put on a brave display but bowed out early on at 10-1. The Senior Mens 3rd Kyu+ Under 70KG category saw Wayne Burridge, Lawrence Grosvenor and Viran Pandra. Wayne, recently back from injury, showed his lack of competition fitness losing 9-3 in his opening round match. Viran did better winning 1-0 in the first round but bowed out in round two losing 8-6 in a close match. No such bowing out for Lawrence as he won his opening round fight 5-0 and followed it up with a much closer 2-1 victory. The semi-final round saw Lawrence secure his place in the final with a 4-1 win. The final individual bout of the day (before the finals) involved Ed Vinas competing in the Senior Mens 3rd Kyu+ over 70KG event. Ed won his first round match 5-3 but just missed out on a semi-final place losing 4-1 in his next fight.     Just when you're hyped up for you Kumite finals, dressed in your fight Gi, you have to get changed into you're Kata Gi once again, and re-channel your emotions into a more calm focused mode ready for the Kata finals. So our Kata finalists take to the stage once again, with Jodie Miles, Aimee Sell and Alex Sell up together. Jodie called up first performed Kushanku and after some discussion between the judges, Jodie's Kata is adjudged technically incorrect and given a baseline mark. Aimee up next played safe performing Pinan Yodan. After the other finalist performs 'a technically correct' Seishan, Alex performed a technically incorrect Jion and was given a mark as was Jodie after some more discussion between the judges. When the scores were delivered, Aimee came second, Alex third with Jodie fourth.     Following the Kata finals, the team Kata event took place. With only four teams competing including ourselves we came fourth, eventhough we had two Kata finalist in Aimee Sell and Jodie Miles competing with Amy Roberts.    At very long last, the Kumite finals, with the individuals first followed by the teams. Yet another change of Gi for Alex Sell and another change of pace for his finals bout in the 10-12Yrs event. Alex didn't disappoint as he was up against the competitor who held him to a 3-3 draw in the team event. Alex stormed his way to the Gold medal with a comfortable 5-2 victory being in total control throughout the match. As was Lawrence Grosvenor who made no mistakes in the Male Cadets event. Lawrence never looked like dropping a point let alone losing as he secured Gold with a 4-0 victory.      The team finals kicked of with Sammy Burridge and Amy Roberts sealing victory in the Senior Ladies event whilst it was not such good news for the Seniors Mens 8-4th Kyu competitors of Amir Ayerman and Mark Sell. After losing team member Mark Edwards to injury, Mark S. lost his opening bout 3-1 meaning with only two members, they couldn't possibly win and had to settle for Silver. Not so for the Senior Mens 3rd Kyu+ team of Lawrence Grosvenor, Ed Vinas and Wayne Burridge. Lawrence won his fight, Ed lost his fight and so it all came down to Wayne. Wayne didn't disappoint as he held out for victory and Gold.   At 10 O'Clock the competitors got their medals after registering at 8.00am. What a long day, 14 hours for 180 competitors.   Top of the medal table were Ken Bu Kan, followed by Shorai (our association) closely followed by KMAC. Congratulations to Ken Bu Kan on their achievement and we look forward to competing again in the near future.

 

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