After a long but very worthwhile day, Shiranamikai came away with 4 medals at the London and South East Championship!
David: Bronze in kumite
Parth: Bronze in kumite
Danny: Gold in kata, Bronze in kumite
Well done guys – and to everyone who competed!
Here are a few highlights of the day:
It was a close call between Fabiola and her opponent in kata but despite kiai-ing (her opponent didn’t), the flags went the other way.
In the men’s kumite division, Anthony looked strong and confident. David, despite receiving a cut eye (prompting ten minutes of first aid treatment), bravely continued and went on to take bronze.
1st Kyu Will sailed through his first round of senior grade kata. In the second round, his Heian Godan was sharp enough to earn a draw against an experienced 3rd dan, before going out on the next kata called.
Parth did well to maintain his concentration during one of the longest running kumite rounds and finished up with bronze. It took a long time for things to get moving on his area and there must have been lots of aches from sitting on the wooden floor for so long.
Finally, another good Heian Godan earned Danny top marks in the final and a gold medal.
So, great stuff! There was a really good atmosphere with family, friends and helpers supporting our competitors. Everybody came away with something: in some cases a medal; for others an insight on how to improve their karate or the inspiration to start competing.
The next competition will be the JKA England National Championship in July 2012. As usual we will be entering a team and look forward to bringing back another good set of results. For those of you that would like to enter – now is the time to set your goals and start working towards them at the dojo. One way to get a head start is the next JKA England course on Sunday 4th December at Loughborough University, Leicester.
Austin