2010

 

Next free five week beginners course starts

Wednesday 24th February 6.30 till 7.30 book a place now

 

 

 

5th - 7th February

European Cadet & Junior Karate Championships

 

A medal at the European Championships at last! 

 

Steve and Claire Crawford and myself left for Manchester airport at around 8.30 in the morning to meet up with the rest of the parents, Tom Del-Rio and Anthony Kiernan as well as Sensei Amir. The plane was flying to Istanbul and then onto Ismir (Simple)   The first flight was delayed by an hour and by the time we had got a visa "£10, what is that all about?"   and managed to fight through passport control we were two hours late for our connecting flight.  We arrived at the gate after being told that the flight would wait, guess what, no plane!

We were then bundled off to another gate, onto a bus and finally a plane, hopefully it was the correct one as we didn't ask where the plane was flying to.  Fortunately we did land at Ismir,  well we did but our luggage didn't, another hour and a half waiting in line to fill our forms for lost luggage, great!!   By this time the next flight had arrived in from Istanbul so we waited for the luggage from that flight and luckily our bags limped off the carousel.  We finally arrived at our hotel at 12.30am,  so if any Turkish airline operators would like to contact me, I will accept their apology.

 

We were all up the next day bright and early, buzzing about the days competition ahead.  The tournament was held at the Halkalipinar  Sports Stadium in the centre of Ismir, quite a new stadium with fantastic facilities, but to be truthful probably a little too big for this event and I feel the size probably affected the atmosphere.

There was 42 countries taking part which was quite noticeable in the opening ceremony, all the countries did not take full teams, once again the lack of finances are not unique to our country.

 

Jake Kiernan and Harley Del-Rio were the first to compete, Jake on the near side and Harley on the far side, having to run the length of the stadium to watch each fight alternatively.  Both lads breezed through the first rounds and then the second very confidently and I started to believe this was going to be our day at last, then the third round came along,  Jake went through again but I couldn't believe it when Harley crashed out after fighting so well in the previous rounds. Then to put a real downer on the proceedings, Jake got beat in the semi,  a rollercoaster of emotions.  Luckily Jake composed himself and beat the Turkish fighter  in the third place fight off, a moment I will not forget for a long long time, particularly the smile on Anthony's face, must have been such a proud moment for both.

 

 A little later on that day, one more of our Sale Dojo trio came up to fight our little pocket rocket Lauren Crawford, she didn't get off to the best start being hit with a head kick more or less straight away and to be honest out of the fight before she got going or so I thought.  At around 3o seconds to go, she managed to turn the fight around in the most thrilling comeback I have ever witnessed, just pure determination but unfortunately the euphoria did not last too long as she was beat in the next round. 

 

I think overall a fantastic first day and I am very proud of my three students as I felt either of them could of took a medal on that day and left me with more anticipation for the following day with Josh Gagon.

 

Once again, up bright and early for the second day of competition, Josh seemed very fresh and confident.  I know he has put the work in over the last 12 months and has done everything that has been asked of him, losing over 10kg as we felt last year he was a little heavy, unfortunately it just didn't happen for Josh, he drew the current European Champion in the first round, and even Josh would admit that he didn't perform.   We all have a bad day at the office from time to time, so chin up Josh.

 

If you're thinking of going to Turkey, I recommend that you do not go in February unless you take your swimming trunks and thermal underwear.  I was hoping that I would feel a little sun on my face, I even packed two pairs of shorts, but with temperature of minus 2 and torrential rain I will not be choosing an out of season break to Turkey.

 

(Kumite report extracts taken from English Karate Federation web site.)

 

Jacob Kiernan – Male Cadet U52kg

Jacob’s first fight was against Spain and both fighters started cautiously testing each other without scoring. The Spaniard eventually broke the deadlock scoring a Gyakusuki punch taking a 1-0 lead. The Spaniard then received a warning and Jacob scored off the line at the restart to level the scores. Jacob soon scored with another Gyakusuki punch and finished off the fight scoring in the final seconds to secure a 3-1 win.

The 2nd round saw Jacob come out flying and took the lead within 8 seconds scoring with a Gyakusuki punch. Jacob doubled his lead scoring another Gyakusuki but the dropped a point following a contact warning. With a 2-1 lead Jacob didn’t sit back, he went out to extend his lead which he did twice more scoring two Gyakusuki’s to win the fight 4-1.

Round three proved a lot closer as Jacob couldn’t break down his Luxemburg opponents defence as the fight finished 0-0 and went into 1 minute of extra time. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Jacob finally found a way through and scored a Gyakusuki punch. A contact warning for his opponent in the last few seconds saw Jacob receive an extra point to seal a 2-0 victory.

The 4th round was the pool final so no pressure! A 50/50 punch with his French opponent saw the point go to France. Another 50/50 and France were 2-0 up. Jacob tried to get the points back but was caught twice more with Gyakusuki punches and lost out 4-0.

Although missing the final, Jacob was now in the repechage final fighting for bronze against a Turkish opponent. A good start from Jacob go 1-0 up early on and instantly doubled his lead firing off another Gyakusuki punch off the line to go 2-0 up. However, Jacob walked into a Gyakusuki to drop a point but once again maintained a 2 point cushion scoring another Gyakusuki. The second minute of the fight saw Jacob drop another point as he was penalised for ducking an attack reducing the lead to 1 point. Jacob didn’t let himself down as he sealed his bronze medal winning fight with a final Gyakusuki score to win 4-2 and England’s first medal of these championships.

Harley Del-Rio – Male Cadet U63kg

Harley’s opening round fight saw him doing most of the work, pressing his opponent within the first minute but could find a way through his opponents defence. After a minute Harley began to back off to draw his opponent out but neither fighter broke the deadlock. Extra time saw stalemate as the fight finished 0-0. The judges were called into vote for the winner and all flags went Harley’s way.

Harley’s 2nd round match saw another tight encounter but with 50 seconds left on the clock he finally broke the deadlock scoring with a Gyakusuki punch to go 1-0 up. With 25 seconds left he doubled the lead and secured the win in the final 10 seconds scoring another Gyakusuki to finish a 3-0 victor.

Round three for Harley and although he had a good sharp opening a 50/50 punch decision went to his opponent. Another 50/50 went against him a second time leaving him 2 points down. Whilst trying to reduce the deficit Harley forced his opponent to step off the mat within the last 10 seconds giving Harley a much needed penalty point but it was too late for him to score again as he bowed out 2-1. Unfortunately his opponent lost in the next round leaving Harley out of repechage scuppering his chances of a bronze medal.

 

Lauren Crawford – Female Cadet U47kg

Lauren’s opening round fight was.. wow. Fighting a taller Croatian opponent who used her legs well, Lauren went 3 points down early on being caught by a Jodan Mawashigeri kick despite being the most aggressive fighter out of the two. Lauren didn’t let up and had soon reduced to deficit to 1 point following Gyakusuki punches. Lauren was caught once again with a Jodan Mawashigeri kick but started to fire in her own and scored with them twice to secure an amazing win 8-7.

Lauren’s 2nd round fight saw her really start sharp and both fighters had to be warned for contact within the first 30 seconds. Lauren’s Bosnian opponent managed to open the scoring following a Gyakusuki punch. A warning for Lauren and another Gyakusuki saw Lauren 3-0 down. Lauren pulled one back and gained another point following a contact warning to her opponent but time ran out with the scores 3-2 against her.

Joshua Gagon – Male Junior +76kg

Josh had a tough fight in his opening round encounter with his French counterpart who looked sharp and quickly scored a Gyakusuki punch against Josh taking a 1-0 lead. Another Gyakusuki punch saw the French fighter go 2-0 up. Josh reduced the deficit by scoring with his own Gyakusuki punch  but with 30 seconds left on the clock the French fighter restored his 2 point lead following a Gyakusuki punch and saw out the reaming time left defending his lead.

The French fighter went on to make the final leaving Josh in the repechage 1st round. Josh’s opponent favourite technique was the sweep as he slam-dunked Josh at least 5 times without scoring. Josh couldn’t find a way to score either and the fight went into extra time. Inevitably Josh’s opponent finally manage to score from a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. As Josh chased the points he was caught with a Jodan Mawashigeri kick losing another 3-0 which ended his medal hopes.

 

 

31st January

Kyu Grading

 

Little bit disappointing with the turnout for the first grading of the year, I think the harsh weather at the beginning of the month has put us back about a couple of weeks. Slowly but surly we seem to be getting everyone back to full strength. Congratulations to all who achieved their new grades on Sunday, especially Autumn Holmes with a first class pass.  

 

24^th January

Wasquehal Karate Open Lille France

(Report by Vincent O'Hora)

 Brian, Alex and I travelled to Lille in France for the Wasquehal Karate Open. This competition is a great International competition to get the year up and running.  Brian and Alex travelled via the Eurostar and met me at Lille train station on the Saturday afternoon.

As a incentive the competition entry fees, the accommodation for all athletes, food during your stay and transfers to and from the venue are paid for by the tournament organisers. This is organized by the local governing body in Lille. Many of the local bank managers and MPs have interest in Karate in France and so have a strong say into where cash will be channeled, and luckily for karate, it’s to creating this great event. I was so taken-a-back by the organisation and generosity of this event I tried to speak (in my terrible French) to organisers to see how this could all be possible. Apparently Karate is the second sport in France and so has a great organizational structure: every club is linked to one main governing body, each karate student pays 150euros for the year and can train as much as they like. All of the money is collected and is then dissipated from the very top. They pay hall hire, insurance, competition entry within France, for all competitors and clubs. A refreshing change to what we are used to, no wonder France consistently perform well at major tournaments.

Anyway, all three of us were fighting on the Sunday, in the same section, for some reason unknown to me. There were three male categories  -68kg, -78kg and +78kg, we were all in the -78kg. With as many countries as Algeria, Egypt, Scotland, France, Belgium, Ireland, England, Netherlands, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Finland, Latvia etc, and also over 250 male competitors in the three sections, it would be impossible to draw one another... NO! I drew Brian first round! Alex drew a French boy.

Before Brain and I did battle, we could see Alex taking to the mat. Alex eventually lost 5-4. Alex did succeed in landing a beautiful reverse round house, but unfortunately couldn’t hold the lead. Some suspect opinions on the force used by the French lad,  but either way I think a very positive start for Alex’s return to the International scene and a great deal of positives can be taken from this performance.

Brian and I then started, a difficult fight in the end for obvious reasons, I ran out winner. Not nice for either party involved. I didn’t want to put my friend out first round and Brian obviously didn’t want to go out first round, but these things happen. I then went on to fight a Dutch lad, won 7-1, following this a narrow win against a German boy 2-0, then in the quarter finals I came unstuck against a French lad 5-3, having been kicked in the head on the bell. Felt I was rather unlucky having received two  points against me for petty warnings and not receiving points for two really clean body kicks, but let’s not sit around moaning. Onwards and upwards!

Positives can be taken for all three competitors.

A recommended tournament  for all (+18) and at little cost. The caliber was on par  with most international competitions I've been to, including current World and European champions, there were no easy fights!

Looking forward to the AMA international and also following this, the Dutch Open, a lot of work to be done...

 

12^th January

Happy New Year

 

First of all I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy and injury free New Year.

 

 

Looking forward to 2010 and I'm extremely positive because we can build on what was achieved last year, if we have half the success of 2009 I will be very happy.  Last year was probably the highest point at Sale Dojo to date with very high junior grade standards, numerous Shodan and Nidan passes and to top it all the most successful competition squad in the United Kingdom. 

 

Being a person who fronts Sale Dojo I seem to get most of the praise following our successes, I have a great team behind me and I am sure they wouldn't let our standards drop in the next twelve months.  I would like to thank them for their hard work and support for last year and I think it is extremely important that you guys continue to make me look good.

 

               Sorry Dojo Closed!

 

Once again I feel it will be a difficult year financially so we will endeavor to keep the cost of training and competition fees down as much as possible and I am sure we will be able to arrange more fund raising events to ease the burden.

I would also like to wish our students who have been selected to represent their country at the forthcoming  European Championships in Turkey in February, the best of luck to all, I'm sure you'll do us proud.   

I tried to play down our chances of a medal in my head after the disappointment of previous years but unfortunately the closer the championships are and the improvement I have seen over the last few weeks I think this is the year.  (I hope so or I will be sulking for the next twelve months!)

                                                                                                                                         England's Jake, Harley, Josh and Lauren

 

I know it is going to be nearly impossible to surpass last years success but I'm sure we'll all be pulling in the right direction and we'll give it a darn good try.