November News 10

LKK took a full “A” and “B” Squad of eager competitors on the 21st November to the EKK Challenge in Tolworth to take on the local talent.

A respectable eight youngsters were involved in Kata including two sets of pairs. Fenella Stuart started off her golden day steaming effortlessly through four rounds of nidan and yondan Kata without losing a flag while Zak Coates (jion) and Laurence Gill (nidans) did similarly well, Laurence narrowly beating Harry Blundell in the semi and Lincon Pretlove in the final. Toby Tweed and Sam Day were both pipped by one flag in finals to take a Silver but David Bryan strolled through two Nidan Katas to take his own Gold and finish the individuals on a good note. In the pairs Lincon and Laurence took every flag on their way to Gold while Sam and Zak were unlucky not to be given the decision in their semi for a Bronze.

In a first for LKK we had a competitor on the slam mats – used to sharpen technique – and newcomer Adam Bazzoni took home a creditable Bronze medal for his efforts amongst the 6 and 7 year olds.

In team Kumite LKK took home three of the five categories. Zak Coates, Ethan Day and Toby Tweed lost out by 1 point in the final fight of the 7-9yrs for Silver while Mitchell Priestley, Jake Pickering and Sam Day took the same colour medals in the 13-15yr Boys. The 10-12yr Boys title was a straight forward affair for Sam, Laurence and Lincon while the 13-15yr Girls walked away with theirs after their opponents withdrew leaving Emily Appleby, Chloe Duce and Rhian Duffy with no-one to fight. The 16-17yr Boys of Josh Pickering, Mitchell and Daniel Szabo dispatched their final opponents for a good haul of team medals for LKK.

The individual Kumite had already started by now and Adam Bazzoni dominated his opponent, brilliantly chasing him round the mat for a superb first Gold of his competitive career. The two girls in the under 10s – Maisie Raymond and Fenella – easily passed through the early rounds to meet each other in the final where Fenella won her second Gold of the day in a battling encounter to leave Maisie with the Silver. In the boys version Toby missed out this time but Ethan lost a tight semi final by virtue of warnings while Zak cruised to a second Gold of the day to take the title. Harry, Laurence, Lincon and Jack Appleby were all in the Boys 10-12s and although Lincon encountered a tough opponent in round two Harry went on to the semi where he met an in form Jack who progressed to the final. He met Laurence who came out the winner of a close fight after bouncing back quickly following some lengthy treatment on the mat. Sam Day despatched his only opponent 8-0 in his final to take his Gold medal while Mitchell was tough in his first fight and then classy in his final to walk away champion. Chloe Duce won convincingly to secure more shiny stuff for LKK as the other 13-15 year old girls faced each other in their lower kyu category. Maizie Crooks and Ciara Duffy took Bronzes this time while Emily and Rhian met in a close final which Emily took in extra time to complete a clean sweep for the club. Jake lost a close final by a point for Silver in the boys version of the 13-15s while his older brother Josh won by a point to snatch a Gold for the Pickerings. Daniel gunned his way to an easy win in the 16-17 year old higher kyu category outclassing his opponents while Josh Crooks was too quick for his adult men for another golden moment. Finally the senior ladies of Loren Cook and Emily Griffiths had the 13-15 year old girls thrown at them for good measure. They both showed their class taking Gold and Silver respectively after dispatching Emily and Ciara in the first round and Chloe and Rhian for Bronzes in the semi.

On a busy day where LKK had 24 competitors representing the club it is fantastic to note that everyone took home silverware for their mantelpiece. Our results speak for themselves in the last competition of the year encompassing both squads and bode well for 2011. Well done especially to Adam for his first medals and thank you to our referees – Sam Beck, Loren and Emily – and to a very hard-worked coach in Sensei Paul on his solo efforts around the mats.

Gold: David Bryan, Zak Coates, Laurence Gill, Fenella Stuart, Boys pairs kata
Silver: Sam Day, Lincon Pretlove, Toby Tweed
Bronze: Harry Blundell, Boys pairs kata

Bronze: Adam Bazzoni

Gold: Jack Appleby, Emily Appleby, Adam Bazzoni, Zak Coates, Loren Cook, Josh Crooks, Sam Day, Chloe Duce, Laurence Gill, Josh Pickering, Mitchell Priestley, Fenella Stuart, Daniel Szabo, 10-12 boys team kumite, 13-15 girls team kumite, 16-17 boys team kumite

Silver: Rhian Duffy, Emily Griffiths, Jake Pickering, Maisie Raymond, 7-9 boys team kumite, 13-15 boys team kumite

Bronze: Harry Blundell, Maizie Crooks, Ethan Day, Ciara Duffy, Rhian Duffy

Squad: Jack Appleby, Emily Appleby, Adam Bazzoni, Harry Blundell, David Bryan, Zak Coates, Loren Cook, Maizie Crooks, Josh Crooks, Ethan Day, Sam Day, Chloe Duce, Ciara Duffy, Rhian Duffy, Laurence Gill, Emily Griffiths, Jake Pickering, Josh Pickering, Lincon Pretlove, Mitchell Priestley, Maisie Raymond, Fenella Stuart, Daniel Szabo, Toby Tweed.

Temperatures down to -7C greeted the early risers who travelled down to Weston-Super-Mare for the last trip of the year. The WKU were the hosts in a well attended event on the 28th November and the competition was fierce.

Four of LKK’s boys contested the Kata with Lincon Pretlove first to take to the mats. He completed a clean sweep of four rounds without conceding a flag to win the Gold medal. Laurence Gill put up a good show in a big group to take Bronze while Sam Day was pipped in the final for Silver. Zak Coates also put in good effort but failed to impress the judges this time going out in the second round.

The team Kata consisted of Zak, Sam and Lincon and faced the crack team from EKK in the final where they showed class and technique to win a great Gold.

In the team Kumite Loren Cook and Emily Griffiths scored a Bronze medal and then the individual warriors took to the mats for further winnings. First up was Ethan Day, in the lower grade under 10s, who breezed through the early rounds before meeting a tough competitor in the final losing 6-3 to leave him with the Silver. Zak Coates in the higher kyu version got warnings in the first round to make it closer than it looked and then faced little opposition before a 5-3 win in the final to take a deserved Gold. Laurence Gill and Jack Appleby competed in the lower kyu 10-12 years and both lost to the same boy. Jack fought back twice in the first round with chudan and heel kicks before losing to a judge’s decision. Laurence made it through to the final but lost 4-3 to take Silver. Sam took part in the higher grade 10-12 and, after winning his first fight by a point, lost in the final to a classy opponent but still brought a Silver home to Essex. Lincon scrapped through more early rounds than Sam but missed out on this occasion. Chloe Duce took on some tough opposition in the 13-15 girls and chased hard but lost out early on. Emily Appleby in the 4th kyu and under annihilated her opposition scoring 10 points in each round with hands and feet to take a well deserved Gold to end her year on a high. Jake Pickering started the early rounds in fine form winning 8-0 and 10-2 but caught a top fighter in the final and settled for Silver. His brother Josh took on a national level 16-17 year old fighter and battled hard but went down in the first round after a battling performance. Daniel, in the same group, got a bye to the second round but did not make an impression losing 5-2. The LKK ladies were left and Emily Griffiths, in her weight group, took a Bronze. Loren was on top form all day and, in her weight group, creamed the opposition including England representatives to win a close final for an excellent Gold. Both ladies made it through the early rounds of the open weight to face each other in the final. Loren scored early and then held on to win the battle 1-0 and take her second Gold, taking LKK into the winter break on a positive note.

LKK have won many accolades this year including Welsh, English, British International and British titles and members of the club have represented the English Karate team home and abroad. New competitors have achieved medal status and begun to make their way up the ladder and 2011 will, no doubt, bring further success under Sensei Paul Harris’s leadership. Thanks to him, Loren and Emily for coaching in this competition and to the parents for supporting the team and making the long trip possible. Good luck to all for 2011.

Gold: Lincon Pretlove, Team Kata
Silver: Sam Day
Bronze:Laurence Gill

Gold: Emily Appleby, Zak Coates, Loren Cook (x2)
Silver: Ethan Day, Laurence Gill, Emily Griffiths, Jake Pickering
Bronze: Emily Griffiths, Ladies Team Kata

Squad: Emily Appleby, Jack Appleby, Zak Coates, Loren Cook, Ethan Day, Sam Day, Chloe Duce, Laurence Gill, Emily Griffiths, Jake Pickering, Josh Pickering, Lincon Pretlove.

Tuesday, 2nd November saw the annual Sports Personality Awards ceremony held at the Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea in which LKK was well represented winning three accolades this year. Paralympian sailor Hannah Stodel handed out the honours on a night where a whole range of sports and sports people were given recognition for their efforts in competing, coaching and volunteering. Up first was Sam Day (nominated by Tendring Technology College) who received a Certificate of Merit for his performances throughout the year, particularly in Kata at the AMA and the British, and for his gaining 1st kyu status. Emily Appleby (also nominated by Tendring Technology College) then received her Certificate of Merit for her Kumite achievements at National level at a relatively low grade, which included medals at the AMA, the Welsh Open and the British Open. Finally, Sensei Chris Harris was runner-up in the Male Sports Personality of the year for 2010, being recognised for his competition fighting, his England representation including the European and World Championships and his gaining EKKA’s youngest ever 3rd Dan.

Well done to all three for their awards as recompense for much hard work and for representing LKK (and Emily and Sam their school) with great credit.