 The Toyakwai Greater London Championships, held on Sunday 26th March
2006 at Gorebrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, saw more success for Shuhari-Kai Karate Club as they collected 6 medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze) as they brought their medal count up to 43 for the year so far.
The championships started off with the Kata events first, and as ever at these championships the Kata was judged by three judges using a scoring system, the
medallist being the competitors with the highest combined score after performing a single Kata.
The Mixed U16yrs 6th-4th Kyu category saw Jordan Hodges, Billy Lang and Billie Lowry all in action together. Billy
performed Pinan Sandan and scored 6.7, 6.7 & 6.5 from the three judges totalling 19.9. Billie performed Pinan Yodan and scored 7.0, 6.8 & 6.6 totalling 20.4. Jordan scored 7.0, 6.9 & 6.8 totalling 20.7 from the three judges for his Pinan Shodan Kata. Unfortunately for the trio
they hadn't acuminated enough points to make the final medal positions.
The Mixed U16yrs 3rd-1st Kyu category was absolutely massive with well over 50 competitors taking part. Shuhari-Kai squad had Jade
Lewis, Shane Mitchell, Sophie Roberts and Aimee Sell all taking part. Jade was the first out of the four to compete being drawn about a quarter ways down the list. Jade performed Seienchin Kata and scored 7.3, 7.1 & 7.1 from the three judges
totalling 21.5 which left her in 2nd position at this early stage. Shane was up next drawn mid table and he also chose to perform Seienchin like Jade before him. Shane, looking sharp in his new Kata Gi, scored 7.2, 7.1 & 7.0 from the judges totalling 21.3
which left him just short of the top positions. Drawn three-quarters way down, Sophie was next to take to the mat and she chose to perform Unshu Kata. Sophie scored all 7.3's from the judges totalling 21.9 which now left her in 4th overall at this stage
pushing Jade and Shane slightly down the finishing order. Although Sophie gained a good score, she slightly over-cooked her jump which could of cost her a medal. Last up was Aimee who was drawn towards the end of the category. Having seen some high scores come in pushing
the rest of the squad slightly lower, Aimee pulled out a great display to score 7.5, 7.5 & 7.4 from the judges receiving a total score of 22.3 for her Annan Kata. The category finally ended with Aimee in 4th overall and in joint bronze position. This was a
great achievement from the 10 year old beating many older and more experienced opponents all performing their best Katas.
The Mixed U16yrs Dan Grade Kata event saw Alex Sell and Jodie Miles competing in this category. Alex was placed in the top half of the draw
with Jodie towards the end. Alex performed Chatanyara Kushanku receiving a top mark of 7.4, 7.4 & 7.2 from the judges totalling 22.0. Jodie performed Seipai Kata and scored 7.3, 7.2 & 7.2 totalling 21.7 from the judges leaving her tied in 2nd position
with Jonathan Mottram's Emma Lucraft, both just behind Alex. Both girls were required to perform an additional Kata to decide silver and bronze medal positions. Jodie performed Nipaipo Kata and scored 7.3, 7.2 & 7.2 from the judges which left her in bronze medal position just
failing to match Emma's score for her additional Kata. A good result for Alex and Jodie with Gold and Bronze respectively with Emma splitting the pair. In fact the result gave England's number one, Jonathan Mottram, a perfect 1-2-3 as he trains all three students
in Kata.
The last Kata event the squad entered was the Mixed U16yrs Open Grade Team Kata event. Jodie teamed up with Sophie and Aimee and drawn
second they performed Seienchin Kata together. They scored 7.2, 7.2 & 7.1 totalling 21.5 from the judges which earned them a bronze medal in the end. Well done girls. So with 1 Gold and 3 Bronzes from the Kata events it was on the Kumite fighting events.
The Girls 4'0''-4'5'', 5th Kyu & Over category saw Billy Lowry in action. Billy didn't get going and went out early in round one losing 6
point to 1. Another 1st round casualty was Charlie Smeeth in the Girls 4'5''-4'10'', Novice-6th Kyu category. Charlie is new to competition and was up against it as she bow out losing 8-0.
The Girls 4'10''-5'3'', 5th Kyu & Over category saw both Jodie Miles and Jade Lewis in action. Jade emulated the feat of the
girls before her bowing out in the opening round losing 2-0. It was a lot closer with Jade's Jodan Mawashigeri failing to score but jade just couldn't find another reply to bring back the scores. Jodie on the other hand made an impressive start to her campaign winning
her opening round 8-1. Unfortunately Jodie went out in round two after levelling the scores at 3-3 to take the match into extra time. Both girls went for the point from the off and Jodie's opponent was judged to have scored the 50/50 attack. Jodie was unlucky this time but she
fought a lot better.
Elle Ayerman and Sophie Roberts were both n action in the Girls 5'3'' &
Over, 5th Kyu & Over category. Elle began her match slow and was a number of points down before she started to score, but she had left it too late to come back losing 8 points to 3. Sophie made a better start winning her opening round match 7-3. Sophie
then won her semi-final match 8-2 to make the final. The final saw Sophie start well but got caught with her kicks and couldn't chase down the points. The match ended with her losing 8-3 and having to settle for silver. Sophie was disappointed she hadn't won and felt she could
of done better which is an encouraging sign that the more experienced squad members do have a lot of self belief and confidence.
The Boys Under 4'0'', Novice-6th Kyu Category saw little 6yr old Callum Alboni in action. Callum did well in his first round winning 3-0 but
came unstuck in the 2nd round and lost out 4-2. Brandon Halling was also in the same category as Callum but Brandon lost out in his opening round losing 6-3. Jordan Hodges competed in the Boys 4'5''-4'10'', 5th Kyu & Over category and looked like one of the
favourites to take the crown. Jordan certainly started well winning his opening match 3-0, but lost out 6-3 in his 2nd round match after suffering a knock to his arm.
Billy Lang was another relatively newcomer to competition and after having a go at Kata, he now had a go at Kumite competing in the Boys 4'1''-5'3'' Novice-6th Kyu category. Billy did well scoring some good points
but failed to progress any further after suffering a 4-2 defeat.
The Boys 4'10''-5'3'', 5th Kyu & Over category had Ali Ayerman and Shane Mitchell in action. Ali lost out in the 1st round losing 6-1 after coming up against a much more experienced opponent. Shane had a
close affair in his opening round but came out on top winning his match 2-1. The next round saw another close match but this time Shane came out on the wrong side of a 2-1 score line prematurely halting his progress.
The final Squad member competing was Alex Sell in the Boys 5'3'' & Over, 5th Kyu & Over category. Alex received a 1st round bye and made a good start in the2nd round opening up his account with an 8-0 victory. The
3rd round saw Alex progress to the semi-finals after securing an impressive 6-1 win. The 4th round semi's saw Alex ease to the finals with a 7-3 win. Alex had a much tougher time in the final letting his initial 3-0 lead slip. But Alex came back strong in the end securing an
8-6 win in the dying seconds to claim his second gold of the day.
The final category the squad entered was the Mixed Aged Girls Team with Jodie teaming up with Sophie and Elle. Unfortunately for the girls, they bowed out in the 1st round after both Jodie and Elle filed to win their
matches with Sophie the only victor. At 1 win and 2 losses the girls couldn't progress any further.
The squad did well to come away with 6 medals from this large tournament. The more experienced squad members medalled but the younger squad members did find the going tough with such large fields and wide categories. But
by competing they all increased their experience which stands them in good stead for the future.
SQUAD: Callum Alboni, Ali Ayerman, Elle Ayerman, Brandon Halling, Jordan Hodges, Billy Lang, Jade Lewis, Billie Lowry, Shame Mitchell, Jodie Miles, Sophie Roberts, Aimee Sell, Alex Sell & Charlie Smeeth. |