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Jacob Kiernan - Male Cadet U52kg
On only his second outing for the England Squad at the Junior European Championships in Turkey, Jacob Kiernan came away with a Bronze medal after some fantastic performances. Jacob's first fight was against Spain and both fighters started cautiously testing each other without scoring. The Spaniard eventually broke the deadlock scoring a Gyakusuki punch taking a 1-0 lead. The Spaniard then received a warning and Jacob scored off the line at the restart to level the scores. Jacob soon scored with another Gyakusuki punch and finished off the fight scoring in the final seconds to secure a 3-1 win.
The 2nd round saw Jacob come out flying and took the lead within 8 seconds scoring with a Gyakusuki punch. Jacob doubled his lead scoring another Gyakusuki but the dropped a point following a contact warning. With a 2-1 lead Jacob didn't sit back, he went out to extend his lead which he did twice more scoring two Gyakusuki's to win the fight 4-1.
Round three proved a lot closer as Jacob couldn't break down his Luxemburg opponents defence as the fight finished 0-0 and went into 1 minute of extra time. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Jacob finally found a way through and scored a Gyakusuki punch. A contact warning for his opponent in the last few seconds saw Jacob receive an extra point to seal a 2-0 victory.
The 4th round was the pool final so no pressure! A 50/50 punch with his French opponent saw the point go to France. Another 50/50 and France were 2-0 up. Jacob tried to get the points back but was caught twice more with Gyakusuki punches and lost out 4-0.
Although missing the final, Jacob was now in the repechage final fighting for bronze against a Turkish opponent. A good start from Jacob go 1-0 up early on and instantly doubled his lead firing off another Gyakusuki punch off the line to go 2-0 up. However, Jacob walked into a Gyakusuki to drop a point but once again maintained a 2 point cushion scoring another Gyakusuki. The second minute of the fight saw Jacob drop another point as he was penalised for ducking an attack reducing the lead to 1 point. Jacob didn't let himself down as he sealed his bronze medal winning fight with a final Gyakusuki score to win 4-2 and England's first medal of these championships.
What more can I say, WOW!!!
First of all I would just like to say a huge thanks to everybody involved in producing the best ever results for a Ken Yu Kai Squad at a British Championships. Ultimately, it's myself that always seems to get the praise but there is a hell of a lot of hard work from everybody else, from coaches down to parents in the background. Twelve new British titles, six runner ups, ten bronze positions and an unbelievable performance from only twenty five squad members. I don't think I've ever had so much positive feedback and praise from opposition coaches than I had that weekend. I think it is very hard to take on board what has been achieved, we will look back in years to come and talk about the golden era. I have been involved with numerous squads and believe me it doesn't get much better than this. I have been extremely happy with the build up to the competition and I knew we were on the cusp of something special, but we still had to perform, and perform we did. Before the weekend, I was looking for around five golds, but even that was going to be a tough ask with ninety two associations involved and over one thousand four hundred competitors present.
The day started extremely well with the senior ladies kata, Ashleigh Kenny once again showing her class and retaining her British title. She has been on top of the event for the past few years and I don't think there is anyone out there at present who can touch her. Unfortunately this was our only kata medal on the first day, even though Charlene Oakes got very close being beaten for the bronze but I feel she is coming back to her best and the future is very positive. The kumite was a little more fruitful, Harley Del Rio won gold, competing against Tom Hickman five - one in the final. This was extremely satisfying because Tom has taken Harley's slot on the English team for the World Championships. Certainly on this performance Wayne has got it wrong, don't get me wrong, Tom deserves his place and hope I hope he comes back with a medal but I would always have my money on Harley every time.
Probably the biggest surprise of the weekend was Adam McColgan's performance, he managed to win the boys 14-15 heavyweight section. If you would have asked me before the tournament of my predication of where he would finish, I would of said he had an outside chance of a medal, but after the former champion our very own Josh Gagon went out in the early round, the draw opened up for Adam and he never put a foot wrong.
Jake Kiernan in the boys lightweight section took silver place, this left me with a dilemma for the team event on whether I should change my original format round to slot in Adam the man in form, but I opted for experience and once again the boys made me look good because we took both gold and silver. The A team consisted of Josh Gagon, Harley Del Rio and Jake Kiernan. The B team consisted of Robin Hamer, Alex Rigg and Adam McColgan.
Our success continued in girls 14-15 lightweight section with Lauren Crawford proving she is the best in her weight once again. She also took the silver in the open weight not bad for somebody who is three stone wringing wet.
Ashleigh Kenny took silver in her least favorite event, kumite and there was also noticeable performances from Charlene Oakes and Alex Rigg who took bronze positions in their categories, what a first day beating my medal prediction by half way.
Just as a side issue I would like to put on record my worries about the new face masks which the WKF insist must be worn in the 14-15 year section. Josh Gagon took a blow to the face which didn't seem to be that hard
(the referees words, not mine) and the mask split across the nose piece. This is the second time in so many tournaments this has happened, my worry is that somebody is going to cut their face or god forbid lose and eye and there seems nothing I can do about it. It was pointed out to the members of the BKF board who were in attendance and I also asked the chief referee on the day to put it in his report. I approached the national squad coach Wayne Otto and the supplier of the mask, Adidas, and all they all seemed to pass the buck, who is going to take responsibility?
On day two after the success of the previous day my expectations had been raised and our younger members didn't disappoint. For everybody that spoke to me over the past month or so, my banker for the weekend was our girls kata team, Kelly Horsfall, Natalie Payne and Lauren Tutty, they didn't put a foot wrong, in fact they didn't even drop a flag. I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself but one day we will have the England kata team in our midst if the girls continue the high standard they have set for themselves. Not only should the girls be proud of themselves but so should Sensei Tony Tutty for all his hard work, time and dedication he has put in to produce this polished performance.
Natalie Payne took another gold in the individual kata, Lauren and Kelly both took the bronze position.
Natasha Holmes also won the gold in the under nine section and Linden Hamer was extremely unlucky with a silver placing. I believe if Linden had been drawn blue instead of red which would have meant he would have done his kata second not first we would have had another British kata champion. More golds followed in the kumite, Linden didn't make any mistakes this time in the kumite final and Lauren Tutty helped herself to her second gold of the day and later on the girls won the team kumite.
Natalie and Lauren both won three British titles in one day.... Not bad!
There always comes a part of the tournament where things don't seem to go your way. I have been very happy with the officials through the weekend for my worries at the outset that we wouldn't get a fair rub of the green from the Scottish referees. One and a half days on and all was good but this changed in the final of the nine and under when Natasha Holmes reached the final. She blocked a head kick in front of her head and nobody saw the point apart form one person in the stadium, one of the Scottish referees. Everybody apart from myself makes the odd mistake, Natasha went on to dominate the fight with two seconds to go, yes you guessed it, the same thing happened again and she lost the fight. What a joke! I don't want it to sound like sour grapes but it my opinion she was cheated and there is no more words I can say. When the girls coach apologies and the other referees apologise what can you do. Maybe it was a good thing that I didn't see Rico Kurzweil in his final having similar treatment on the opposite mat, as he opponent faked an injury and the referee fell for it. I would just like to add another Scottish referee and Scottish competitor. (I am sure it's the same for them when they come South)
Still a great achievement for Rico silver in your first major championships.
We still had a few more excellent performances, bronze from Thomas Tutty, Christopher Williamson and Raymond Kanyanga, and just to top off a great day the boys won the team event, British Champions Rico Kurzweil, Christopher Williamson and Linden Hamer. (pictured right)
Let me just reiterate one thousand four hundred competitors, I am so proud of everybody.
There was one other thing that put a shadow over the day is when I looked over to the top table, our chief instructor Sensei Terry Pottage wasn't sat in his rightful place to witness our success. Sensei Terry Pottage has been at the forefront of Sport Karate for over thirty years, both as a top class competitor and international referee. The most qualified and experience official in the country. Terry was told after twenty years of being chief referee that his contract would not be renewed and apparently for no reason, what's going on? I haven't got a clue and nobody else seems to know either so what are the board doing? The next thing is a vote of no confidence and we are all back to the bad old days again, will we ever learn? The English Karate Federation has a motto "Work on behalf for it's members" are you sure? because it looks to me it's all about power, egos and money. It's karate and everybody in the sport who suffer again. I've always tried to be non political but when people make decisions like this it becomes more difficult.
Report by Senior Squad Coach, Ian Swain.
It's with great pleasure that I would like to announce and congratulate Jacob Kiernan for his first call up to the England Squad for the forthcoming World Championships which is to be held in
It only seems like yesterday when Jake fought in his first ever competition in Weaverham, Cheshire, even then you could see the potential in this boy.
The one thing that sticks in my mind more than anything on that day was how animated and passionate his mum Julie was at that competition, probably quite embarrassing to Jake but I bet she didn't think the sport was going to take over their family life as it has and I am confident both parents are as proud today as they were on that first competition, in fact we are all very proud of Jake. I am sure there is no doubt in his brother, Aaron's mind that he is going to follow his brothers footsteps, we all know how reserved Aaron is.
After speaking to Jake's dad, he told me that Jake had previously mentioned to a teacher that he had made the selections for the England team, however this teacher insinuated that he didn't have a cat in hells chance and I believe this started the fire in Jake's belly, I hope this teacher feels embarrassed and is eating their words as I believe that if you put your mind to anything you will succeed and obviously so does Jake. Well done mate!!
Hopefully this is the first of a potential of four people who may be selected for these championships we wish them all well.
Sensei Ian Swain, 5th Dan
Ken Yu Kai Squad Coach
Ken Yu Kai Squad
Back row - Raymond Kanyanga, Brian Kanyanga, Shaun Mulai, Jake Kiernan, Robin Hamer, Joshua Gagon,
Alex Rigg, Christopher Williamson, Ami Garrod-Rodgers.
Front Row - Linden Hamer, Cameron Bryan Smith, Natasha Holmes, Natalie Payne Lauren Tutty.
Report by Senior Squad Coach Ian Swain
It always seems to take a while for the results to come through at the bigger events because of the size of the categories and this was no exception. To make things worse we had our most successful championships last year and I try to judge our success by comparing it to the previous year.
Ashleigh Kenny ever consistent took her predicted first place and hopefully this will put one foot into the England squad for the forthcoming European Championships in Zegreb, Croatia. She was told at the last England selections "win the English and the Scottish Open championships and you're in" ..... Half way there kid!
I would also like to congratulate her Failsworth team mate Blake Marley for winning his first kata English title and very unlucky for Natalie Payne who was beaten 2-1 in the final of her section. I don't think we achieved as many medals in the Kata section as last year but I also think we were a little bit unlucky with one or two of the draws.
Lots of our competitors went out around the quarter final stage so not too disgruntled. Oh nearly forgot, our girls kata team took the bronze, Charlene Oakes, Ami Garrod Rogers and Lauren Tutty, again been done by the winners Ishinryu. Come on girls we need to put a little bit more effort in.. "joking"
The fighters on the first day were more successful than the kata team, Linden Hamer, Natasha Holmes and the massive surprise of the weekend, Raymond Kanyanga all took English titles, and we probably should of had another one but with seven seconds to go and three points up, Cameron Bryan Smith managed to get beat in the final - gutted! Apart from that he didn't put a foot wrong all day and I had loads of positive comments from other coaches. On top of all this, he hadn't trained all week due to an illness, so a great effort and I am sure he will not make that mistake again.
Sometimes things happen for a reason, and because of the congestion of the individuals section, I decided to change around our boys 12 -13 teams and I will admit that I probably would not of picked the team who eventually took the gold and I must say I am still scratching my head, how the guys pulled this off because you were rubbish. Well done to Jake Kiernan, Christopher Williamson and Shaun Mulai and I don't care how you fight at the major championships as long as you win.
It's always very difficult for me to comment on a two day competition as I can't always attend both days of the event. So I can only comment by paraphrasing the other coaches and parents who attended.
"Josh Gagon is a god". Two gold and a silver, yes Josh, I would like to put this down on record, this is the first time I have ever written anything positive about you on our website. By all accounts and the feedback from everybody there, you were the best competitor of the weekend. "Just keep doing your thing mate"
Saule Del Rio retained his title once again and Harley Del Rio, Josh Gagon and Alex Rigg retained their team title. So nice to hear Alex Rigg taking silver in his individual section, he seems to have turned a corner this year.
I would also like to mention, our girls team who managed to take the bronze team with only two competitors, Charlene Oakes and Ami Garrod Rogers. The other bronze medals positions were as follows, Charlene Oakes, Lauren Tutty, Harley Del Rio and Brian Kanyanga, all in individual events.
To top the weekend off, the Ken Yu Kai officials who officiated at the event also had a fantastic weekend. Both Joanne Hill and Tom Clarke were successful with their assessments achieving England Kumite Judge 'A' and Peter Bibby got the award for 'Referee of the Championships' following nominations from Tatami Chief Ivor Thomas and Assistant Chief Referee Doug James.
Great weekend everybody.
On Sunday 19th October, the Ken Yu Kai Dan Gradings took place at Failworth Leisure Centre for all Ken Yu Kai members who practice Shito-Ryu. The successful students are pictured above with Chief Instructor Terry Pottage, 7th Dan.
L to R:- Diane Goodwin, Tony Tutty, Danny Birtles, Debbi Piper, Scott Young, Abby Davidson
On Thursday 16th October, the Ken Yu Kai Dan Gradings took place at Red Sun Dojo in Coppull for all Ken Yu Kai members who practice Shotokan. Joanne Hill, pictured above with Red Sun Chief Instructor Peter Bibby, 4th Dan successfully gained 1st Dan under the watchful eye of Ken Yu Kai Chief Instructor Terry Pottage, 7th Dan.
6th-7th September
BKF British Championships - Ponds Forge, Sheffield
How the times have changed, 8 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze, the most successful British Championships ever and the squad is still not happy. This is a huge testament to all of our coaching staff and the Ken Yu Kai squad members involved in the championships at the weekend. It was so pleasing to see our young athletes competing at such high level, and if beaten, coming off disappointed not winning the gold. In the past we would have been happy with any colour medal, not any more! This winning attitude will set these young people in good stead for the future.
Day 1
The day started off encouragingly with our newly formed kata teams both the boys and the girls took second place to a strong Ishinryu squad, the months of hard word from Sensei Abby Davidson and Sensei Tony Tutty in the back room seemed to have paid dividend. If we can keep these two teams together over the next few years I am sure we will pick up many more titles on the way.
Individual events continued through a similar vein, Linden Hamer, Natalie Payne and Alex Rigg all achieved silver placings. All bouts were very tight results, maybe with a bit more luck with could of converted these to gold. "Very frustrating" We also had other notable results, bronze medals from Lauren Tutty, Kelly Horsfall, Natasha Holmes and Robin Hamer.
Didn't need to worry though, our first gold of the day came from English International, Ashleigh Kenny, she blew away all in front of her. At the moment she is in a class of her own and long may this continue. I think overall I have been pleased with our kata squads contribution and is vastly becoming a very strong outfit and certainly one of the top squads in the country at present.
Now the time for the proper form of karate, the kumite (only joking you kata purist). We started with the boys teams 11-13 years, this was probably the low point of the day after a very disappointing selection process on the Tuesday a few days earlier at Sale Dojo, I felt our boys were a little flat and so it proved with boys teams being eliminated in the early rounds due to silly mistakes. (Like being hit too many times) Maybe a little harsh, we did take bronze, but still not good enough.
After a sulk in the cafe, I am determined to put it right next time, damn right I will! More silver, Natasha Holmes and Linder Hamer in their sections and a bronze for Aaron Kiernan but the huge surprise was a gold for our kata girl Lauren Tutty in the kumite, what's going on? She showed fantastic technique and composure, just think of the height she may reach if she didn't gab so much in the lesson! (I wonder who she gets that off Deb!)
Day 2
The day got off to the best possible start, the girls 16-17 year olds team took gold, Ashleigh Kenny, Abby Davidson took the plaudits but how nice was it to see Laura Parkes back in the line up. Another gold in the girls 14-15 team with Jessica Maitland, Charlene Oakes and Ami Garrod-Rogers and then another in the boys 14-15 with Joshua Gagon, Harley Del-Rio and the new boy on his debut Adam McColgan. Love it!!!
The golds continued in the individual sections, my tip for this weekends championships came in, certainly the sharpest in training over the past week or so must be Harley Del-Rio as he didn't need to get out of second gear for his second title of the day.
Ashley Tancock, our most elusive fighter followed the trend with a gold medal, but the only problem he had was that he was too quick and Sensei Conroy Sproul had to tell him to slow down his combinations so the referees could see them. (Ashley, please can you participate in more competitions as we would love to see more of this)
Our sixth and final gold of the second day came from Saule Del-Rio in the heavy weight section to continue his good form but he still got his butt kicked in the open weight and I and the other coaches will be reminding him in the dojo when he starts to get complacent.
Charlene Oakes and Joshua Gagon were both beaten in very close finals by only one point, very unlucky, but that is the margins at the top level.
Ashleigh Kenny and Abby Davidson both medaled out with bronzes this keeps them in the draw for selections for the European Championships in Paris in January 2009.
Once again a huge thanks to Sensei Tony Tutty, Sensei Haley Williamson and Sensei Conroy Sproul and all the parents for their help and support over the weekend which has made this such a success.
Pictured above are the students from Broughton Ken Yu Kai after their successful kyu grading.
On Sunday 9th August, 2008 selected students from Failsworth Ken Yu Kai successfully passed their Kyu Grade Examinations. The successful student are shown below with Chief Instructor Terry Pottage after receiving their certificates.
Back row L-R Tracey Holt, Keirah Spalding, Terry Pottage (Chief Instructor), Ben Lightowler
Front row L-R Harry Barclay, Ashleigh Allcroft, Lewis Hickie, Ismail Mansoor, Lucas Knight and Cassim Mansoor
Sale Dojo Kata Competition
Section 1 - Cadet Team Kata
1st Sale Dojo A
2nd Sale Dojo B
3rd Sale Dojo C
3rd Sale Dojo E
Section 2 - 7 Years old and under mix Grades Boys/Girls
1st Lucy Whitworth Sale Dojo
2nd Caitlyn King Sale Dojo
3rd Patrick Latham Prestwich KYK
3rd Emily Kirkpatrick Red Sun KYK
Section - Black belt
1st Kelly Horsfall Prestwich KYK
2nd Alex Rigg Sale Dojo
3rd Amy Garrod Godgers Sale Dojo
3rd Blake Marley Failsworth KYK
Section 3 - White - Orange Boys/Girls
1st Laura Kinsey Red Sun KYK
2nd Ashleigh Allcroft Droylsden KYK
3rd Rebecca James Simister
3rd George Brophy Broughton KYK
Section 4 - Green - Purple Boys/Girls
1st Brook Arnold Simister
2nd Victoria Raffles Simster
3rd Charlotte Tait Red Sun KYK
3rd Jessica Hill Red Sun KYK
Section 5 - Brown - Black Boys/Girls
1st Natasha Holmes Failsworth KYK
2nd Jayne Craig Sale Dojo
3rd Emma Cummings Sale Dojo
3rd Spencer Cooper Prestwich KYK
Section 6 - Cadet Pair Kata White - Purple
1st Simster C
2nd Eccles B
3rd Sale Dojo E
3rd Simister B
Section 7 - Cadet Pair Kata Brown - Black
1st Prestwich A
2nd Sale Dojo A
3rd Sale Dojo B
3rd Sale Dojo E
Section 8 - White - Brown Adults
1st Denise Shemeld Failsworth KYK
2nd Debbie Piper Sale Dojo
3rd Sarah Whitworth Sale Dojo
3rd Derek Whelan Prestwich KYK
Report by Sensei Ian Swain, 5th Dan - Organiser/KYK Squad Coach
This tournament encapsulates what Sale Dojo is all about, the coming together of old friends and a great family atmosphere and most importantly top class karateka.
We have been hosting this competition for the last four years and this is the most successful to date. It was very well supported by the Ken Yu Kai network so I would like to thank Sensei Terry Pottage, Failsworth and Droylsden, Sensei Chris Baker and Sensei Stuart Baker, Prestwich, Sensei Peter Bibby, Red Sun, Sensei David Woo, Sensei Kath Perry, Simister, Sensei Jack Fletcher, Broughton and Sensei Ricky Birchall, Eccles and all their teams.
The medals were shared through all the clubs with no club coming away with nothing a true competition. The Sale Club kicked off the best ever start taking all the places in the team kata event, this is despite the loss of Lauren Tutty from our top girls team due to sickness on the day. The most pleasing performance came from the team made up of Sophie Dalton, Sahira Hussain and Emma Cummings who achieved the bronze medal. I think with a little more self belief maybe they would have gone further.
In the 7 and under section, by far the most enjoyable event, was won by our very own Lucy Whitworth who beat her team compatriot Caitlyn King in the final. It is nice to see so many little people entering, don't know if at that age of 5 & 6 I would be able to get up and get up and do my kata in front of some many spectators.We decided to do a random draw in the black belt section, this is because all of our athletes train together on a regular basis and their ability is so close to each other. The section was won by Kelly Horsfall (Prestwich) who beat club favorite Alex Rigg in the final, Ami Garrod-Rogers took the bronze.
I knew the junior grade sections were going to be tough. The main factor was the emergence of Simister Ken Yu Kai and the hard work that David and Kath are doing down at their school and the surprise package of the weekend was Red Sun Ken Yu Kai with Laura Kinsey winning their clubs first ever Gold in a Ken Yu Kai Kata competition. Nice to see the Shotokan style introduced to our tournaments. Our disappointment carried on through the junior pairs with only one chink of light, Mia Swain and Lucy Whitworth achieving bronze, but should have been in the final. I know not very unprofessional of me!! but I can be a bit bias because I am a dad as well as an instructor sometimes.
A little better in the brown belt section, Jayne Craig took the Silver and Emma Cummings with her second Bronze of the day, the section was won overall by Natasha Holmes. I think this was the right decision to split this section from the black belts and certainly have no worries for the future in the kata if this section has anything to go by.
In the senior pairs we didn't put a foot wrong, winning three of the four places, but not the most important one, for the second year running Natalie Payne and Kelly Horsfall took the Gold an awesome display of synchronicity "yes you're starting to annoy me now!!!"
The final section was the adults, Denise Shemeld, Failsworth winning Gold, closely followed by Debi Piper, Silver, Sarah Whitworth, Bronze. We found it hard this year to attract competitors in this section. I think we may have to think again next year but I suppose this is up to you
Sale Dojo 2 gold 6 silver 8 bronze
Simister 2 gold 1 silver 2 bronze
Prestwich 2 gold 0 silver 3 bronze
Failsworth 2 gold 0 silver 1 bronze
Red Sun 1 gold 0 silver 3 bronze
Eccles 0 gold 1 silver 0 bronze
Droylsden 0 gold 1 silver 0 bronze
Broughton 0 gold 0 silver 1 bronze
ASHLEIGH KENNY SELECTED FOR WKF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Commonwealth Championships – Meadowbank, Edinburgh 30th May/1st June
It seems such a long time since the Ken Yu Kai squad has competed in Edinburgh, thinking back over twenty years "how old does that make me feel?". I've been lucky and travelled all over Europe and I still think Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities, especially on the Saturday with the sun shining down on us. It made a change travelling North instead of South to London for a major competition and certainly a lot more picturesque journey. In spite of the surroundings, a four hour drive is still a drag to compete. The venue this year was the Meadow Bank Stadium, a large venue and it needed to be because there was over 1200 competitors taking part. I knew we were in for a long weekend, despite the numbers the competition got off on time - ish !!!! and all six mats were utilized all day (and into the night!)
The EKF Referee Commissions' elections took place on May 1st at 7pm in the Sokos Hotel Viru. The 110 referees present voted for 3 members of the EKF RC who will stay in office until 2012 (4 year term). The election procedure by secret ballot lasted for 1 hour and the results were as follows: Terry Pottage (England) re-elected Robert Hamara (Norway) Giuseppe Zaccaro (Italy) The entire procedure was supervised by Mr. G. Nordahl, EKF A' Vice-President.
Ashleigh Kenny, seen here receiving her Bronze medal at the European Championships in Trieste and a member of Failsworth Ken Yu Kai has been selected to represent England at the WKF World Championships in Japan in November. The EKF National coach Ticky Donovan has pre-selected her based recent performances in Trieste and Edinburgh. Speaking to Ken Yu Kai Chief Instructor Terry Pottage, Ticky said he rates her as the best Female Kata competitor in England. She will be competing this weekend in St Maxime in the Ladies World Cup once again flying the Kenyukai flag.
At the recent EKF European Regional Championships in Slovenia, our rapidly growing association had five representatives flying the Ken Yu Kai flag. As usual, Ken Yu Kai Chief Instructor Terry Pottage was there in his newly re-elected role on the Referee commission along with Brian Noble, Vince Parker, Dave Robinson and Allan White who all officiated at the championships. After extensive theory and practical assessments followed assessments whilst officiating during the championships, the Ken Yu Kai officials put in some excellent performances with Vince Parker gaining promotion to EKF Kata Judge 'A' and Brian Noble gaining EKF Kata Judge 'B'.
With 2 World Officials, 4 European Officials, 7 England Officials and a large number of high quality Association officials, the Ken Yu Kai Referee programme provides the necessary stepping stone at grass roots level to progress to national and international qualifications.
It was nice to see so many countries coming together from the commonwealth, countries that took part are as follows: England, Northern Ireland, Wales, South Africa, Canada, India, New Zealand, Botswana and obviously Scotland. It was announced over the tannoy that this was one of the most successful commonwealth championships ever, " I don't think so" - have we forgotten Manchester so soon? but still a fantastic effort.
Now it is time for a more negative side, as a former English International, I was embarrassed with the size of the English contingency in the Elite section and the lack of quality. Each country were able to put forward four athletes in each weight group but in true English arrogance, we entered just one. Yet another missed opportunity for International Competition, just on our doorstep. This would of being a great chance to put some of our younger competitors under pressure to see if they could fulfill some of their potential. "Am I the only coach who can see this"? * (certainly Ashleigh Kenny should have been in the elite kata section as she beat all the girls in the open section - what a farce!)
Anyway, back to more important matters. Ken Yu Kai as an association performed brilliantly despite one or two of our top athletes missing these championships through school exams which I feel are more of a priority, I hate to admit! The medal count was 5 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze.
Ashleigh Kenny got us off to the usual start with a gold in the ladies kata, one of only two kata medals in the kata section, the other a silver going to Natasha Holmes in the under 9 kata section. Linden Hamer and Aaron Kiernan were both very unfortunate missing out on the bronze medal positions but they still had to perform five katas. This amount of kata would usually win most competitions so it shows the size and quality of some of the sections. Linden bounced back in the kumite with a silver with a gutsy performance.
A great day though for the Kiernan brothers, with both Jake and Aaron winning gold in their kumite sections, I think Aaron was the most impressive fighter of the whole day, I was very happy to see some of the techniques we had been working on in our one to one lessons paying off, but I can't remember teaching him that spinning hook kick to win the final. Also a touch of class at the end, as the victory was given, raising his index finger to his dad in the crowd to remonstrate that he was the number one. Not to be outdone by his brothers performance, Jake managed to overcome Shaun Mulai in the final of his section, a gold and a silver, nothing like a little bit of healthy competition within Sale Dojo. I feel now that Shaun now is taking his rightful place as one of our elite fighters in are squad.
Josh Gagon took our final individual gold but I think by his standards he had quite a lack luster performance but still managed to get the win. At major championships it's all about titles not the performance, so you cannot take anything away from Josh.
Other noticeable performances in the kumite was a bronze by Christopher Williamson, Charlene Oakes and Natasha Holmes. For those who know me, know my favorite section is always the teams, as |feel this is not just for one person but for the whole squad and parents. The icing on the cake came when the girls Charlene Oakes, Natalie Payne and Kelly Horsfall won gold in the team event - Well Done Girls.
Report by Sensei Ian Swain, 5th Dan - Ken Yu Kai National Squad Coach
KEN YU KAI DAN GRADE COURSE & GRADING
VENUE: FAILSWORTH
RESULTS COMING SOON
