May News 10

Emily Griffiths sat her EKKA referees exam last year but made her first appearance as an EKKA Judge B at the BKTL. She was presented with her referees Badge and Tie before the event by Chief Instructor Paul Harris.

This is always a major achievement, she will now be able to join our other LKK and EKKA referees on the mats.

The second of six battles in the British Karate Team League 2010 took place at Clacton Leisure Centre on the 2nd May. Again, a good number of entrants from LKK, ELKAI and EKK took place in another thrilling encounter.

The LKK team consisted of:

Kata: 4th Kyu and below – Fenella Stuart, 3rd Kyu and above – Chloe Duce.
Kumite: 9yrs and below – Maisie Raymond, 10/11yrs – Alex Shiers, 12/13yrs – Jasmine Lancaster, 14/15yrs – Emily Appleby, 16/17yrs – Chloe Duce.

Kata: 4th Kyu and below – Zak Coates, 3rd Kyu and above – Sam Day.
Kumite: 9yrs and below – Zak Coates, 10/11yrs – Laurence Gill, 12/13yrs – Mitchell Priestley, 14/15yrs – Jake Pickering, 16/17yrs – Daniel Szabo.

(Five flag system in operation).

Fenella Stuart:
Fenella’s debut in BKTL was an excellent one. She performed with confidence and her Nidan Kata against her ELKAI opponent was good enough to win 4 flags to 1. Her second Kata (Nidan) was, unfortunately, not up to her EKK opponents standard and she went down 5 flags to 0.

Chloe Duce:
Once again Chloe stepped up to fill the 3rd Kyu and above spot for LKK in the Girls section and performed with her usual gusto. ELKAI had no opponent for her so a 5 flags to 0 was the result. Her Jion against her EKK opponent was strong enough to beat EKK 4 flags to 1. Chloe is still unbeaten in BKTL Kata.

Zak Coates:
Zak’s Nidan against ELKAI was an easy victory, his opponent looking nervous and gave LKK a 5 flags to 0 win. Against EKK it was much closer and, although Zak performed his Yondan with spirit, he was beaten 3 to 2.

Sam Day:
Sam’s Jion was excellent and his ELKAI opponent was no match for him, Sam won 4 flags to 1. He was unfortunate in his contest with EKK, however, as a disturbance in the hall upset his rhythm and his Kanku Dai went down 5 flags to 0.

(Three flag system in operation).

Maisie Raymond:
In her first fight against ELKAI Maisie kept coming forward and throwing mainly single punches. Although her technique was sometimes not quite good enough to score it was good enough to prevent her opponent from attacking. A solid win of 3-1. No EKK opponent was available for her to fight this time.

Zak Coates:
Zak’s ELKAI opponent had few techniques and kept kicking unsuccessfully to the arm; this got him nothing more than warnings. Zak kept his cool and won the fight easily 10-2 with 44 secs to spare. The EKK fight was a closer encounter. Zak was up against a bigger, stronger boy who hurt him late in the fight with a chudan punch. Zak never fully regained his composure and lost a close fight 3-2.

Alex Shiers:
With no ELKAI opponent for Alex she gained her first points for LKK. She fought well in her debut bout against EKK but was faced with a more experienced fighter. Alex kept trying and came forward bravely but often got scored on as she did losing 9-0. By being part of the team Alex gained points for us (and experience) and she did herself proud.

Laurence Gill:
Against his ELKAI opponent Laurence scored with Mawashi-Geri early. The ELKAI fighter was still suffering from a rough encounter in his previous round and went backwards most of the time giving Laurence an easy win 5-0. Against EKK Laurence struggled against bigger, more aggressive opponent. He couldn’t get close enough to get into the fight and lost 6-0.

Jasmine Lancaster:
Jasmine started at a furious pace and was soon into a lead against her ELKAI opponent. She always had too much for her and won 7-2. Against EKK she looked a little tired but chased the points to gain a battling 3-2 victory.

Mitchell Priestley:
Mitchell brought his English title form into the BKTL and easily disposed of both his ELKAI and EKK opponents (7-0 and 4-0). He never needed to get out of 2nd gear and always had too much class on the day.

Emily Appleby:
After an early exchange with the ELKAI girl Emily was her usual aggressive self and scored with repeated Jodan punches to win 10-2 with 50 seconds to spare. There was, unfortunately, no EKK fighter for her to battle with.

Jake Pickering:
Jake had to stand his ground bravely against a much larger boy from ELKAI. Jake was proof that just being aggressive is not enough and his strategy of punching first got him repeated points as his opponent tired. He won 8-5. Against EKK Jake waited for the attack and scored points by reacting with speed. His 5-2 victory was well deserved.

Chloe Duce:
Chloe was much more mobile than the ELKAI opponent and took advantage in the end gaining a deserved 6-4 victory. Against the EKK girl Chloe scored whenever she went first. Her opponent had no answer and could not react so it was another win for Chloe 10-2 with time to spare.

Daniel Szabo:
Daniel used his superior punching speed against an ELKAI opponent who seemed to run out of steam in the second half of the fight. A solid 4-1 victory gained for LKK. Daniel held his ground well to frustrate his EKK opponent who got desperate towards the end flinging wild punches and losing technique in the process so LKK won more valuable points; fight score 5-2.

After coming second to EKK in the Kata (1 Gold and 3 Silvers) we were mostly unstoppable in the Kumite (8 Golds and 2 Silvers). It was good to see several people turn over their result from the previous BKTL meeting.

LKK: Gold 9, Silver 5, Bronze 0
EKK: Gold 5, Silver 3, Bronze 6
ELKAI: Gold 0, Silver 7, Bronze 7

Points from 1st British Karate Team League meeting – LKK 2, EKK 2, ELKAI 1.
Points from 2nd British Karate Team League meeting – LKK 3, EKK 2, ELKAI 1.

British Karate Team League standings:

LKK: 5 points
EKK: 4 points
ELKAI: 2 points

LKK took full “A” and “B” squads to St Joseph’s College in Ipswich on the 16th May for the EKKA National Championships and came away with an impressive medal haul of 32, including 15 Golds.

The squad consisted of a wide mix, from international level competitors to those gaining useful experience on the mats and a good sprinkling of first-timers.

Both the Kata and Kumite participants equipped themselves admirably – some winning Gold in both disciplines. The squad was well coached by higher grades from the club, none of whom were over 16 years old. Also present from the club were Sensei Paul Harris, Steve Naylor and Loren Cook in a refereeing capacity.

The club is rightly proud of all its participants but especially those competing for the first time who overcame understandable nerves to do themselves great credit.

Gold: Laurence Gill, Zak Coates, Sam Day
Silver: David Brian, Fenella Stuart, Chloe Duce
Bronze: Toby Tweed, Harry Blundell, Lincon Pretlove

Gold: Kayleigh Mead, Maisie Raymond, Jake Pickering, Daniel Szabo, Rhian Duffy, Laurence Gill, Emily Appleby, Josh Pickering, Chloe Duce, Zak Coates, Mitchell Priestley, Loren Cook
Silver: Jack Appleby, Josh Crooks
Bronze: Ciara Duffy, Alex Shiers, Fenella Stuart, Leon Stainer, Sam Day, Ethan Day, Tomas Szuromi, Gemma Salt, Lincon Pretlove

Sam Day, Lincon Pretlove, Zak Coates, Laurence Gill, Chloe Duce, Fenella Stuart, Harry Blundell, Toby Tweed, David Brian, Kayleigh Mead, Ciara Duffy, Alex Shiers, Maisie Raymond, Callum Crozier, Jack Appleby, Leon Stainer, Jake Pickering, Daniel Szabo, Rhian Duffy, Emily Appleby, Ethon Day, Andrew Sterry, Tomas Szuromi, Gemma Salt, Josh Pickering, Josh Crooks, Mitchell Preistley, Kelly Pender, Loren Cook.

Lincon Pretlove’s 4 Golds stole the plaudits in another impressive haul of medals for the LKK team this time at the EKK English Open at Tolworth Leisure Centre in Surrey on the 23rd May. With over 600 competitors it ended up a long day but the squad coped well with the extreme heat in the venue.

First up were the Pairs Kata teams; Sam Day and Chloe Duce missed out this time but in the under 12’s category our pair of Fenella Stuart and Toby Tweed claimed Bronze, while Harry Blundell and Kayleigh Mead tackled the newly-formed Lincon Pretlove and Jack Appleby in the final. Lincon and Jack won out and received the first LKK Gold of the day.

In the Individual Katas Fenella Stuart went out before the medals in the 9yrs and under group but Kayleigh Mead secured her second Silver of the day. Sam Day promptly matched her on another mat in the 10-12 Boys group (above 4th Kyu) while Laurence Gill took a Bronze in the same age group (below 3rd Kyu). Once again, however, LKK cheered a Gold for Lincon Pretlove in the 9yrs and unders. This was impressive as the group was split and there were more than 40 competitors in all in this category – with Toby and Harry, in the other half, only just missing out on medals – and a lot of concentration was required to last the distance.

Team Kumite was again a strong suit for LKK. Out of 5 categories entered only 2 teams came away without Gold. Mitchell Preistley, Josh Pickering and Jake Pickering took a Bronze in a tough 13-15yr group while Sam Day, Jack Appleby and Laurence Gill missed out on Gold by 1 point before a fight-off saw them take Silver in the 10-12yrs. Fenella Stuart, Maisie Raymond and Kayleigh Mead were far too aggressive for all opposition taking the Gold in the Girls 9yrs and under. Meanwhile, Ethon Day, Harry Blundell and Lincon Pretlove provided great entertainment in the 9yrs and under section for Boys. A great Sambon by Harry in the dying seconds of his fight keeping it alive for Lincon to grab the well deserved Gold. In the 13-15yr Girls Chloe Duce, Emily Appleby and Rhiann Duffy beat some tough opposition to triumph in the end to make it Gold and a clean sweep for LKK’s teams of girls.

Individual Kumite saw LKK with fighters competing all over the venue at once as we challenged hard in every category we entered. Harry Blundell, Maisie Raymond, Sam Day, Josh Crooks and Chloe Duce all came up against tough opponents and were eliminated before the medals this time but Bronzes were snapped up by Fenella and Kayleigh, Jake Pickering and Rhiann Duffy in their respective categories. In the lightest weight category of 9yrs and under Ethon Day imposed himself early on with impressive kicking to coolly win his second Gold of the day. Lincon then stormed to his 4th Gold, in the heavier under 9’s. Jack Appleby and Laurence Gill both made the final of the U35Kg 10-12yrs and Jack scored in the final second to stay unbeaten for the day in all his Kumite fights and to win his second Gold. Josh Pickering, though new to the Open scene, took away an excellent Silver medal in the 13-15yr olds and Mitchell Preistley brought back another Gold in his lower weight and higher Kyu version of the same age group. The 13-15yr old Girls had the Duffy twins and Emily Appleby in attendance and Emily came out on top for her second Gold of the day beating Rhiann in the semis and the improving Ciara in the final. Kelly Pender fought well to grab Silver in the 16-17yrs, as did Daniel Szabo, on the boy’s side, narrowly losing to an England International in the final. Our two top lady fighters – Loren Cook and Emily Griffiths – did what they do best and polished off 2 more Gold medals.

Thanks go to LKK’s referees for the day – Steve Naylor, Sam Beck, Loren Cook and Emily Griffiths – who all gained more experience and respect on the circuit. Their officiating meant that Sensei Paul was our only coach on the day and those few left to fight with no-one physically in the chair still brought home medals with the support of other members of the team. This, again, is valuable experienced gained for the future.

Well done to all those who came and supported the team – noisy as ever!

Gold: 2
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2

Gold: 10
Silver: 6
Bronze: 5

Gold: 12
Silver: 9
Bronze: 7

(In alphabetical order) Jack Appleby, Emily Appleby, Harry Blundell, Loren Cook, Josh Crooks, Sam Day, Ethon Day, Chloe Duce, Rhiann Duffy, Ciara Duffy, Laurence Gill, Emily Griffiths, Kayleigh Mead, Kelly Pender, Josh Pickering, Jake Pickering, Mitchell Preistley, Lincon Pretlove, Maisie Raymond, Fenella Stuart, Daniel Szabo, Toby Tweed.