British Karate Federation Championships 2012

The British Karate Federation once again held their 4 Nations Championships in Glasgow this year. The event was organised by the Scottish Karate Federation, with officials in attendance from all of the four home nations. Wado UK had a small squad of four competitors in attendance, but that was enough to see them arrive home with four medals to mark the occasion.

Amie Newton of the Shinken Dojo was the youngest member of the group and she was entering not only the under 10 years Kata section, but the same age group in Kumite too. Her Kata was the first event for Wado UK and Amie managed to advance through to the final in what was her first major championships. The final didn't go her way, but this was a fantastic achievement for Amie and a well deserved silver medal was in the bag.
Amie followed this success with a bronze medal in her Kumite section also. The smile on her face said everything by the time she had finished. It was a memorable day for her by the end and perhaps following in her sister Jessica's footsteps is a real possibility. Well done Amie!

Mathew March of the Shinken Dojo was also entered into the Kata sections, in the Senior Male category. This section is always keenly contested, and today would be no exception. The National Squad Kata Coach and Bronze medallist at the recent Senior European Championship, Jonathan Mottram, was in this particular section. Matthew managed a repechage appearance but unfortunately failed to progress to the medal positions. He did however have the opportunity to watch Jonathan Mottram win the British Championships once again.

Jessica Newton of the Shinken Dojo, recently installed in the Junior age group for the 16-17 year old's, was the next to compete. Competing initially in her own weight group, Jess was to face some new faces, along with some more familiar ones who moved into this age group before she did. Jess was in her first Kumite competition at this age and it was going to be interesting to see if the extensive success in her Cadet categories could be transferred to the Junior's. That was indeed to be the case, as she managed to replicate her younger sister Amie's success from earlier in the day, with an impressive Bronze medal of her own. Jess was then to challenge her Open weight category, but following her disqualification for a contact violation left the competition at this stage. This was another mature performance from Jess which sets her stall out for this new Junior age group.

Finally we had Joe Munro of the newly re-named, East Hull Karate Club. Joe would be competing in his Cadet age group for the last time at a major championships on this occasion. The draw was completed three days before the championships and a showdown with Mitchell Priestly was on the cards. Mitchell is an England Squad Member along with Joe, but seems to have the edge in competition. Joe managed to defeat his first opponent from Scotland in comfortable fashion, which meant that with Mitchell doing the same the English pair would indeed meet on the mats again. The match itself was a cagey affair with scoring opportunities but very little scoring. Both contestants took big hits, but with Mitchell taking the biggest as he ducked into a kick from Joe which hit square in his face. It was considered to be Mitchell's own fault, meaning he took the penalty also. This didn't seem to put him off his stride though, as he managed to steal the only point of the match for himself. Unfortunately this hailed Joe's departure from the category, although with Mitchel going on to reach the final it meant that Joe was in the repechage.
This was an opportunity which Joe wasn't going to squander and after a close fought battle and a 3-3 scoreline with seconds to go, Joe managed to pull off a last ditch attack and score with a successful head kick. This gave Joe three points, a final score-line of 6-3 and a Bronze medal to display.

Our small group of competitors managed to return with one Silver and three Bronze Medals for their hard work and effort. This was a very pleasing result, well done everyone!!

 

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