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 Sunday 29th October 2006 saw ten Shuhari-Kai Karate Club students travel the short distance to one of our most local tournaments, the Toyakwai International Open, which
was being held at Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Essex. The squad did reasonably well bringing home four silvers and two bronzes but no gold this time round. The squad had a few new faces competing at this event and although not everyone medalled, it’s hoped that the
less experienced and new squad members enjoyed the experience.
The Kata events were held first with the format being a single Kata performance scored by three judges with the highest scores claiming the medals – nice and simple.
Competing in the Mixed U16yrs, Novice-7th Kyu category were both Reece Floyde and Halle Moorton, both very young yellow belts. Reece performed Pinan Nidan as his chosen Kata and scored 6.8, 6.5 & 6.3 from the
three judges totalling 19.6. Halle, like Reece before her, also performed Pinan Nidan but scored slightly higher with 6.8, 6.8 & 6.8 from the judges totalling 20.4. Unfortunately both scores were not high enough to place them in the medals but they both did well to compete and
have a good go.
The Mixed U16yrs, 6-4th Kyu category saw both Terry Moorton and little Callum Alboni competing together. Terry up first performed a good Pinan Yodan scoring 6.9, 6.8 & 6.8 from the three judges totalling 20.5.
Callum performed Pinan Sandan for his chosen Kata and scored 6.8, 6.7, & 6.7 from the judges leaving him with a score of 20.2. Once again both boys’ scores were outside of the top four placings but both did very good Katas.
The Mixed U16yrs, 3-1st Kyu category saw Shane Mitchell and Aimee Sell both competing. Shane was right at the top end of the draw with Aimee at the bottom. Did going early give Shane a disadvantage? Well Shane
performed Nipaipo Kata and scored 7.2, 7.1 & 7.0 from the three judges totalling 21.3. That score was to leave him outside of the medal positions as he witnessed a number of higher scores surpass his total during the event. Aimee performed Annan Kata and scored 7.6, 7,3 & 7.2
from the judges totalling 22.1 putting her into second position which she held on to the end of the category leaving her with silver.
Aimee was allowed to join her colleagues, Jodie Miles, Sophie Roberts and Alex Sell in the Mixed U16yrs, Dan Grade Kata event. Up first was Jodie who performed Annan Kata. Jodie scored 7.4, 7.2 & 7.0 from the
judges totalling 21.6. Alex was to go next and his Suparimpei Kata scored 7.4, 7.3 & 7.3 totalling 22.0. That score was to leave Alex in 1st place at that stage. Up next was Aimee who performed Annan Kata. Aimee scored 7.4, 7.4 & 7.2 to equal Alex’s earlier score of
22.0. Sophie was up next and she performed Unshu Kata. The judges scored Sophie’s Kata 7.3, 7.3 & 7.2 totalling 21.8 which left her in 5th place overall after the category had finished. The last competitor up was Harry Cannon from Khalsa Karate who beat both Alex’s &
Aimee’s Kata score to claim 1st place. As Alex & Aimee went tied in 2nd place, they both had to perform an additional Kata to decide 2nd and 3rd places. Alex performed Chatanyara Kushanku first and scored 21.9. Aimee up next performed
Nipaipo and scored 21.7 leaving Alex with Silver and Aimee with Bronze.
The Kumite events then commenced with Callum Alboni competing in the Boys U4’0’’, Novice-6th Kyu category. Callum was leading 1-0 in his opening round match when his opponent left the mat and then failed to return
leaving Callum being awarded the match. The next round saw Callum slug it out with his opponent but neither managed to score a clean point. After extra time had completed the decision went to the judges and all voted against Callum.
The boys 4’5’’-4’10’’, Novice-6th Kyu category saw Reece Floyde in action. Reece is very inexperienced when it comes to competition and this was all about gaining valuable experience. Reece went out in the opening round
losing 8-0 but at his age and level the result wasn’t the important thing, it was the experience of competing, witnessing the format and gaining some confidence, so well done Reece.
The Boys 4’10’’-5’3’’, 5th Kyu & Over category had Shane Mitchell, Terry Moorton and Ali Ayerman competing together. Terry went out in the opening round losing 2-0 in a close match but terry did look good
and looked a lot sharper than in his pervious outings. Ali’s opening round match went into extra time as the scores were tied at 1-1 at the final whistle. Ali snatched the vital first point in extra time to win the match. Round two saw Ali’s run come to an end as he lost out
3-0. Shane won his opening round match 1-0 in a tight contest. Shane then snatched victory in the 2nd round as he was the first to score in extra time after the scores were tied at 1-1 at the final whistle. The semi-final round saw Shane open up a slight gap in the
scoring to 2-0 and he held this score-line till the end to claim victory. The final finally saw Shane’s winning streak come to an end as he fought really well but lost out 3-1 settling a well earned silver.
Alex Sell competed in the Boys 5’3’’ & Over, 5th Kyu & Over category and received a bye in his opening round as his opponent failed to show. The 2nd round saw Alex win 7-2 although he did lose his cool during
the match. The 3rd round saw Alex win a cagey match 2-1 which saw him into the semi-finals where he took the victory 4-1. The final saw Alex stupidly retaliate to an ‘After Yame’ punch for which he was penalised and coincidently lost the final 4-3 losing by that
single point he gifted his opponent earlier on. Alex must remember it’s up to the judges to penalise his opponents, not himself! He earned himself a silver on this occasion for what so easily could have been a gold.
The Girls 4’10’’-5’3’’, 5th Kyu & Over category saw Jodie Miles in action. Jodie won her opening round match 8-3 looking in good form. The next round saw Jodie up against a Maltese girl who was just a bit too fast for
Jodie and pipped her to a 4-2 victory. Unlucky Jodie for Jodie who did fight well even though she lost out.
Sophie Roberts competed in the Girls 5’3’’ & Over, 5th Kyu & Over category which saw her stage a remarkable comeback in her opening round. At 5-1 down mid way through the match, things looked bleak for Sophie but she
clawed her way back to level the scores which saw the match tied 6-6 at the final whistle. In extra time it was Sophie who scored first to complete this amazing turnaround. The 2nd round saw Sophie once again drop behind early on but she fought back once again and
only just failed to level the scores finally losing 4-3 in another good match.
The final medal tally of the day was 4 Silvers and 2 Bronzes. Well done guys.
Squad: Callum Alboni, Ali Ayerman, Reece Floyde, Jodie Miles, Shane Mitchell, Halle Moorton, Terry Moorton, Sophie Roberts, Aimee Sell, Alex Sell.
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