I think we all know that Haxby isn’t a particularly
competitive dojo and there is never any pressure for its members to attend the
various competitions around the country. That didn’t stop a small team,
including two debutantes, from wanting to compete in the annual JKS National
Championships. And there can’t be many clubs who could boast that they supplied
an equal number of competitors, officials and spectators to the event.
The vagaries of scheduling the individual events to ensure
that each Tatami was in use a much as possible, but to an outsider seemed quite
random at times, even with a fifth tatami being added to the arena, it was a
long day for anybody taking part in both kata and kumite. As spectators,
however, it meant that we got to see some high quality and interesting karate
between supporting the Haxby Squad. Unfortunately, a prior commitment meant
that we left soon after the last Haxby competitor had finished their event and
we missed the special England v Scotland event which rounded off the day.
Holly, Adam and Jonathan were up first in team kata, the
opening event of the day. Competing in the 11 – 15 yrs category, their first
round opponents were the Walsall B team, made up of slightly lower grades than
the Haxby team. Walsall’s Heian Godan was, unfortunately for them, performed
slightly out of sync and led to Haxby’s Bassai Dai winning the round with a
score of 2:1. The second round saw our team up against three male black belts
who performed, a fast, peppy and intricate kata full of bounces, jumps, high
kicks and spins (kanka sho, I think) that was not only performed immaculately
but was a delight to watch. Inevitably, despite an even better performance than
in the first round, all three judges scored against Haxby in this one. This was
no embarrassment, though – the trio had only had a limited number of practice
sessions and to get through to the second round was seen as an achievement in
itself.
All four members of the Haxby team also competed in the individual
kata events. A clash of events meant that I didn’t get a chance to watch
Jonathan, whose first round Heian Nidan wasn’t favoured by the judges, who
awarded a unanimous win to his opponent. Nor did I see Adam, whose Heian Sandan
saw him progress through to the second round with a unanimous win.
Unfortunately, in that round two of the judges deemed his opponent’s Heian
Shodan the better and Adam’s competition was also over.
Elizabeth, performing on a Tatami with five judges, fared
little better in the Dan grades category. Her first round Heian Sandan split
the judges three to two, but in her opponent’s favour. Talking to her
afterwards, she thought it was probably her stances than let her down.
Something for her to work on, then.
Holly had a similar experience to Adam, winning the first
round with a Heian Godan that saw all three judges rule in her favour. Her
second round Heian Yondan, however, saw her opponent receive the same score.
With Adam and Jonathan heading home, the girls had a long
wait before their individual kumite events, both of which took place late in
the afternoon. Elizabeth was the first to compete and was up against Lois
Norwicki, a 3rd kyu from FSK who didn’t have the height advantage of
Elizabeth’s usual opponents. As usual, Elizabeth fought bravely and with
spirit, attacking much more than in the past. Unfortunately, it was to be her
defence that let her down again. Both fighters went for a chudan gyaku zuki but
it was Lois who was deemed to hit first. Then, as Elizabeth attempted to win
the bout outright with a mawashi geri, Lois snuck in with another chudan punch,
winning the fight 2:0.
With just Holly left to compete, it was looking as if Haxby
were going to be leaving the event without any medals. Well, sort of…
Earlier in the afternoon, Holly had been drafted in to fight
alongside Emily and Abby from Selby in the team kumite event. Fighting first in
the first round, Holly won her bout and, with Emily losing but Abby leading 1:0
at the end of the allotted time and the judges awarding her the win, the trio
progressed to the next round. With only a few teams entered, this turned out to
be the final. Holly was first onto the tatami again but she took an
eye-watering kick to the head which meant here opponent won outright. Both Emily
and Abby’s fights ended in draws and, in both cases, the judges couldn’t
separate them either, meaning that the team lost the round but, ultimately, won
a silver medal.
After a bye in the first round, Holly’s individual kumite
was a much more measured affair than Elizabeth’s, but Holly still took the
fight to her second round opponent – Sofie Evans from Brecon. With no score at
the end of time, and the judges not able to split the girls, the bout went to
extra time and Holly scored first with a jodan punch, winning the fight. Again,
a small number of competitors meant that her next round was a semi-final and a
medal was guaranteed. A chudan punch saw Holly’s opponent take the first point
and a jodan punch won her the fight, meaning Holly came away with a bronze
medal.
These competitions aren’t just about the medals, though.
Winning is nice but, like any sport, it’s the taking part and doing your best
that counts. “I tried,” mouthed Elizabeth to me as she left the mat after her
kata, and that’s all we can ask, isn’t it? Well done to all four club members,
all of whom showed determination and spirit.
Thanks to Ian Massey for this report (and to agreeing to be
the squad coach at the last minute!)
visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to find out more about our Club. For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk
