Report Submitted by Jay Wise Martin on behalf of Sensei Julian Mallalieu, Tameside Karate.
Sunday the 13th proved to be a lucky day for Tameside Karate, scooping
no fewer than EIGHT awards down at Leominster Leisure Centre in
Worcester…including FOUR FIRST prizes.
The day started off at 6.30 when we all met outside the club and sorted
out who went in which of the three cars which made the journey south.
The trip took three hours, including a stop for breakfast at a service
station. Altogether there were 11 of us, including Senseis Julian and
Sharon Mallalieu and black belt Andrea Palmer. Darren Smith (‘Daz’) also
came down to watch with his daughter Toni to watch his other son &
daughter compete.
We arrived at around 9.30am and the tournament kicked-off at 10. The
atmosphere was lively and friendly but competitive as entrants from four
different karate associations got ready to do battle: those of
Shushinkai Karate School (our hosts), Mirayami Shitokai, Shito-ryu
Shukokai Union and of course Genbukai Shito-ryu UK ( us! ).
It wasn’t long before we were up. I was one of the first to compete,
along with 11 year old Shaun Smith (Daz’s son). Unfortunately, neither
of us got very far in our Kata (combinations) and Kumite (fighting).
However at the other end his sister Abi Smith (12) finished 2nd place in
the Girls Kumite after two tough fights. After a while, Julian went up
and blew away his competitors, earning two 1st prize trophies in senior
grade kata and kobudo (weapons kata) , with Andrea Palmer also finishing
2nd in kobudo, though she missed out on a place in the women’s kata and
kumite.
After these bouts we had a long wait before anyone else was up. After an
hour or so, Nick Shipley, Darren Austin & 9-year-old Kyle Gleave rose up
their respective challenges. Darren (or ‘little Daz’ ) earned another
trophy in the men’s junior grade kata and finished 3rd in the men’s
junior kumite, which experienced fighter Nick Shipley proceeded to win,
meaning yet another trophy! Little brown belt Kyle Gleave (a.k.a.
Rooney) also did well, finishing 3rd in kumite.
Overall, then, this was a fantastic day for Tameside Karate, culminating
in 4 gold trophies, 2 silver medals & 2 bronze ones. Me, Nick & Andrea
were tempted to enter for the Open Kumite Events but it was getting on a
bit, so we called it a day at 3.30 pm. Nevertheless, it was a great day
for everyone involved (despite the very long waits) & a fantastic
achievement for Tameside Karate which I hope will be one of many to
come. |
