WAKO British Championships 2007 - Full Report
WAKO British Championships 2007 – Full Report
Tournament Review, By Mr Kevin Guy …
Nineteen members of Master Wolf’s Taekwon-Do Academies (MWTA) competed in the WAKO British Championships, which was held at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, in Nottingham. The tournament was open to all styles including Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu and Taekwon-Do, allowing practitioners of the different arts to compete against one another in continuous, point and full contact fighting, as well as aero kickboxing and musical forms.
As usual MWTA took nothing for granted and all students were put through their paces in intensive training sessions! The intention was to gain more tournament experience generally, as well as competing with the best from different martial arts … for all MWTA members this tournament turned out to be extremely productive!
The events were split over two days.
Saturday 17th February was the Light Continuous sparring – akin to the ITF sparring format, but with significantly different rules.
Sunday 18th February included the Semi Contact format, basically point scoring.
Overall, very few competed in both sparring formats – with most people specialising in one – however, since we were there to gain experience the MWTA members literally dove in at the deep end and competed in both … as far as I’m concerned this says an amazing amount about this group of competitors strong sense of character and their mentality!
Joann Rolison under 16yrs, girls; under 32kg …
From the time this young lady stepped onto the mat, she captivated the audience, fighters and officials, with the way she systematically dealt with her opponents … using her tremendous kicking skills and timing. Joann won the gold in both sparring formats … quite an achievement! As far as I am aware, only one other competitor in his tournament matched this accomplishment.
Thomas Smith under 16yrs, boys; under 42kg …
This young man goes from strength to strength, and is one to watch out for in the future! At such a young age, Tom proved to be an extremely exciting competitor to watch, as he landed techniques left, right and centre, stopping his opponents in their tracks! Unbelievable fighter! He was very unlucky not to go all the way, but got the bronze and defiantly earned the respect of his fellow competitors.
In the point sparring, on the Sunday Tom again put in an outstanding performance but no medal place unfortunately.
Frankie Smith under 16yrs, boys; under 32kg …
Although no medals for Frankie, he showed amazing techniques and even greater courage … and at only 8-years old! At such a young age this young mans commitment to training and competing in his Taekwon-Do is fantastic! On both days he fearlessly took the fight to his opponents … and much like is older brother, is a hot future prospect … well done Frankie!
Lucy Wolf ladies; under 50kg …
Brilliant performance! It was speed, power and abundance of various kicking techniques that bewildered her opponents. In the final, Miss Wolf did three, two-minute rounds, as opposed to only two rounds due to an error by an official… but this worked out fine for Lucy! She pumped out technique after technique, non-stop throughout the three rounds and won the gold in the continuous sparring!
On the Sunday Lucy received the silver in the point sparring, in which she fought Sharon Gill a very experienced, world-class points fighter.
Nicholas Gardner mens; under 79kg …
Nicholas fought some very tough, matches in the mens, under 79kg division in the continuous sparring. He battled his way through hard fights against some very experienced fighters and he managed to display a vast array of very impressive kicking techniques! He came away with the gold medal for this category.
Richard Belle mens; under 84kg …
Richard unfortunately faced the eventual winner in the early rounds … but what a fight! He displayed an amazing range of techniques… but still only a fraction of his potential! Richard took the fight to his opponent relentlessly and gave it his all.
On the Sunday in the point sparring Richard again displayed phenomenal techniques … not only did he gain a well deserved bronze and valuable experience, but also respect from his opponents who I am sure would agree Richard is the man to watch out for in future tournaments.
Michael Belle mens; under 63kg …
As usual Michael started off in menacing form, and it looked as though he was set to go all the way. Unfortunately bad luck struck and he was stopped in the bronze medal position due to a back injury. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in the ring as soon as possible!
Adam Gardner mens; under 63kg …
Still considered junior in ITF tournaments, Adam really had some tough fights in this division with some very seasoned fighters and displayed great courage and heart. He fought his way through arduous rounds finally picking up the silver in the continuous section, well deserved.
On the point-scoring day Adam didn’t pick up any medals, but he had a go, and at the very least gained a bit more tournament experience.
Jamaine Hemmings mens; under 74kg …
Jamaine seems to be going from strength to strength, improving with every tournament … what a competitor! This was one of the biggest divisions, but every opponent knew they had a tough fight on their hands! Jamaine wasn’t fazed by any of his opponents, he gave it his all and earned the silver medal.
In the point scoring on the second day, Jamaine again faced a large division. Once again we saw lots of action but Jamine went out against an experienced points fighter from the Alfie Lewis freestyle team.
Chris Quenby mens; under 69kg …
One of the most exciting fighters in his category with his phenomenal kicking ability ad style … spectators from all martial arts were quick to congratulate and show appreciation for this fighters talent. Chris put on an amazing display of fast kicks and punches but he went out to the eventual winner in the quarterfinals.
Chris was eager to make up for the previous days disappointment in the point scoring on the Sunday. In the first round he was on fire, but again lost in the next round to the eventual winner. With a bit more experience he will hit the number one spot for sure … well done!
Alec Vickers mens; under 57kg …
On both days of the tournament Alec showed the fighting spirit associated with the wolf camp and did us proud. The barrages of techniques that he executed toward his opponents were very impressive, and he was a bit unlucky not to get the judge’s vote … but well done, brilliant effort!
Graham Johnson mens; over 94kg …
Graham has only recently received his first degree black belt and has lots of tournament experience to gain, but really held his own against some good fighters! The power of the kicks he landed shocked his opponent. Graham still has a lot of untapped potential … but will be an amazing heavy weight to watch out for when it’s exposed! He achieved the bronze medal in both continuous and point scoring in the men’s heavy weight division.
Victoria Clark ladies; under 55kg …
Victoria almost missed her division due to an admin error, but she made up for it when the gloves went on! She dug deep when required, and at times bewildered her opponent with her hand and leg combinations!
Victoria picked up no medals this week end but plenty of valuable experience … and we’ll give her points for effort as she travelled back from university in Paris especially to fight in this tournament!
Amber Mitchell ladies; under 70kg …
This was Amber’s first tournament in the senior division. The aim for her in this tournament was to get out on the mat and gain experience … and that she did! She fought in both the continuous and the points sparring and showed a vast improvement with regards to her determination. Hopefully we’ll now start to see her make use of those long legs!
Miles Mitchell mens; under 69kg …
Miles fought well, but the coach was forced to throw in the towel after Miles received a tough blow to the head … which resulted in a lovely black eye! Miles is another MWTA member with great potential. He always demonstrates a determined attitude in the ring and with more intense training … courtesy of Master Wolf … I think we’ll see a dramatic improvement.
Charlotte Jones ladies; under 65kg …
For someone who had not previously entered an open tournament, Charlotte kept her cool and actually looked like she enjoyed every moment … especially in the points scoring bout! She fought really well and did exactly what was asked of her. Charlotte showed great sportsmanship and fought her way to the bronze medal in the continuous sparring, which was well deserved.
Darren Fry mens; under 63kg …
Darren showed courage and heart, and had fight after fight of often nail biting rounds. He was against other very experience fighters but fought really hard and earned himself the bronze.
On the second day he was unfortunate to meet Robbie Hughes - a five-time point scoring World Champion - in the early rounds.
Ben Haile under 16yrs, boys; under 63kg …
Unquestionably one of the strongest boys in the wolf pack! Ben knocked his first opponent out within 25-seconds with a turning kick to the head! He fought his way through the rounds and deservingly won the bronze medal. In the point scoring he earned another bronze, and he did it in style … another one to look out for, especially when he gets his black belt!
Phil Haile mens; under 57kg …
Being possibly the most chilled out member of MWTA, Phil still put on a good show! He didn’t win any medals this time but showed tremendous heart and determination in the ring.
Master Wolf said, “I was extremely pleased with everyone that competed. This tournament provided invaluable learning experiences for all and I am sure will benefit them all in future tournaments. I would especially like to thank Mr Kevin Guy who did a great job on the coaching, allowing me the opportunity to stand back and analyse our fighters more intensely.”
Overall this was an amazing effort by the MWTA members … they put in an incredible performance, to which the tally of medals is testimony.
The tournament was very enjoyable, and we would like to thanks the WAKO GB organisers and officials.
In closing, on behalf of myself – Mr Kevin Guy – and all of the MWTA competitors, we would like to thank the parents and supporters; the MWTA sponsors … Hub Enterprise, Dark’n’Cold and the LSSA … and of course Master Wolf for teaching us all to such a high standard.
From Master Wolf: thank you to Mr Tom Hibbert (MBE), Mr Peter Edwards and Mrs Lucy Edwards for making all of our competitors feel welcome, and to all the WAKO umpires and referees for their fair judging and help throughout the weekends events.
MWTA RESULTS:
TOTAL: 4 GOLDS, 3 SILVER and 9 BRONZE
LUCY WOLF
GOLD - Continuous Sparring, Ladies –50kg
SILVER - Point Sparring, Ladies –50kg
NICHOLAS GARDNER
GOLD - Continuous Sparring, Mens – 79kg
RICHARD BELLE
BRONZE - Point Sparring, Mens –84kg
MICHAEL BELLE
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Mens –63kg
ADAM GARDNER
SILVER - Continuous Sparring, Mens –63kg
JAMAINE HEMMINGS
SILVER - Continuous Sparring, Mens –74kg
GRAHAM JOHNSON
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Mens +94kg
BRONZE - Point Sparring, Mens +94kg
JOANN ROLISON
GOLD - Continuous Sparring, Girls (-16yrs) –32kg
GOLD - Point Sparring, Girls (-16yrs) –32kg
THOMAS SMITH
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Boys (-16yrs) –42kg
CHARLOTTE JONES
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Ladies –65kg
DARREN FRY
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Mens –63kg
BEN HAILE
BRONZE - Continuous Sparring, Boys (-16yrs) -63kg
BRONZE - Point Sparring, Boys (-16yrs) -63kg
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