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| The Haxby Team |
This year saw a team of sixteen, covering a range of ages
and grades, from HSKC travel the short distance across to Barlby High School to
compete in the Novice competition organised by SSKC. Sensei Paul has designed
the competition as an introduction for those who are thinking about competing,
and as such anyone who has held their Shodan for more than a year is not
eligible to compete. The focus then is on allowing karateka who are coming up through
the coloured belts to get a taste of competition and to test themselves in a
friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
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| This years Competition was the biggest yet! |
This was the biggest competition yet, with 170 competitors
in total the school gym was inevitably a bit cramped, not only with the number
of people watching but also the addition of a third “mat” to allow more events
to be held at the same time. It did, at times, seem a little chaotic with the
organisers, judges and administrators having to make themselves heard over the
noise of competition, warm-ups and chatting spectators but, excepting one or
two “mishaps”, things were well organised, a credit to Sensei Paul who puts in
a lot of time and effort to ensure that things run smoothly.
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Katherine looks to be
enjoying herself too much! |
The event itself lies somewhere between the Children’s
Competition and the JKS Nationals. It is a bit more relaxed than the Nationals,
particularly in respect of some of the junior kumite events during which the
judges could be seen to be giving a lot of thought towards how to explain some
of their decisions to the younger competitors while still allowing a
competitive feel. On the other hand, the inclusion of older competitors results
in some very fierce and hard-fought matches. Almost inevitably in a martial
arts competition there were a few injuries, ranging from minor bumps among the
juniors to near-knockouts among some of the seniors, the Red Cross were there
to minister to the few people then needed attention. I don’t remember seeing anybody from Haxby
having to have first aid, but I did see both Abi and Dave from Selby (and,
occasionally, Haxby) being knocked to the floor. Both were able to get up and
carry on, with Dave eventually winning first place in his event.
Thank you to Deal who, as team captain, did an excellent job
of getting the team organised, making sure everyone was in the right place at
the right time, and keeping track of our results:
Under 12 Kata:
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Kian never seems phased
by competitions ! |
Bethany was Haxby’s star of this event, making it through to
the semi-finals before being beaten into fourth place, just missing out on a medal.
Kian, the only competitor from Haxby to not have a “by” into the second round,
managed three wins before being beaten while Elizabeth managed her first ever
Kata win in the second round before being beaten by Lucy Winn in the third. It
was Lucy who beat Bethany to take third place in the event.
Under 17 Kata:
Adam, Katherine and Oliver were all knocked out in the first
round of this event. Thomas successfully joined Holly in the second round but
only Holly progressed, eventually taking second place (and Haxby’s first medal
of the day) behind Emily Crockford of Selby.
Over 16 Kata
(Beginner to 3rd Kyu):
Both Helen and Lisa made it through to the second round of
this event but Gareth, in his first competition, was knocked out in the first
round.
Over 16 Kata (2nd/1st
Kyu +U22 Shodan):
Dael’s second round defeat was to Matt Beard, the eventual
winner of this event, so no shame there.
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| Dael performing Tekki Shodan against Matt from Selby |
Family Kata:
I don’t know whether Kian and Aaron progressed past the
first round but Lisa and Rebecca had a very unfortunate draw which saw them up
against Holly and Bethany in the second round. The Bamfords won that round and,
eventually, first place overall and a second medal for Haxby.
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| The Gowlands performing Family Kata |
Under 12 Kumite:
Again Kian was the only Haxby competitor to start in the
first round and managed to defeat two opponents before being beaten the third.
Elizabeth started in the second round but made no progress despite a spirited
showing against the much taller Laura Tideswell of Crystal Peaks.
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| Elizabeth's opponent seemed much bigger in real life! |
U17 Kumite – Male:
There were more Haxby competitors in this even than in any
other. Oliver was the only one to fight in the first round but was beaten by
Niall Worsfold of Akashi, who went on to win third place in the event. Aaron,
Jonathan and Adam were all beaten in the second round, while Thomas progressed
to round three where he was knocked out by eventual winner Darenz Custodio of
Walsall.
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| Adam sizes up his opponent! |
U17 Kumite – Female:
Katherine, another first-time competitor, was knocked out in
the first round while Holly was beaten in the semi-final by the ever-impressive
(and eventual event winner) Rebeka Thacker of Walsall before coming fourth behind
fellow 1st Dan Jane Jackson of Bunbu.
O16 Kumite - Male (Beginner to 3rd Kyu):
Gareth progressed to the second round where he was beaten by
Scott Haxby of Selby, an excellent performance given the disparity in grades
and the fact that Scott won second place in the event.
O16 Kumite – Female
(Beginner to 3rd Kyu):
Helen, Haxby’s final competitor of the day, was knocked out
in the first round by Lindsay Kirk of Selby.
This was the first competition for some of our squad (Lisa,
Katherine, and Gareth) who all showed impressive spirit and courage to step
onto the mat. You must remember that the majority of Karateka choose not to
take part in competitions. It takes real courage to step on to the mat, the aim
should always be to test yourself and your karate, and that courage was
displayed by the whole team.
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| Oli displaying the sportsmanship that we are proud of at the club |
It was also the last time that Holly would be eligible to
compete in the Selby Competition, and she put in a very good performance gains
Fourth in Kumite, Second in Kata and bringing the Family kata cup home to Haxby
again. It has become a tradition for the family kata cup to come to Haxby, and
as we pride ourselves on being a family club it is a reflection of the values
of the club. We will be looking to our other family teams (the Acasters,
Gowlands, Sutherlands, and others!) next year!
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| The Bamfords collecting gold for Family Kata |
With a first, a second and two fourths HSKC came fourth in
the medal table, an impressive showing. Well done to all competitors, both for
their spirit and their sportsmanship.
Thank you to Sensei Paul for all the hard work he obviously
put in beforehand to ensure the competition ran so smoothly. Thanks also to
Sensei Mike and Sensei Ian who must have been exhausted by a full days
refereeing, and to Jim, Pete and Catherine who all volunteered to help out with
the running of the competition on the day. Thanks also have to go to Ian Massey for writing this report and being in charge to the photography.
Finally well done to every who
competed and supported your spirit, sportsmanship and dedication are a
credit to you and the club.
visit www.haxbykarate.co.uk to find out more about our Club.
For more information email info@haxbykarate.co.uk
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