NWKA Kumite Competition
On 14th September, the North West Karate Academy hosted its annual club kumite competition, and what a fantastic day it was! We are incredibly proud of everyone who participated, from the Pee Wee category right up to the Veterans. Our youngest competitor was just 5 years old, while the oldest was 57, showcasing that karate is truly a sport for all ages.
The competition followed a round-robin format, ensuring that everyone had a fair chance to demonstrate their skills on the mat. Although there could only be one winner in each category, many of the matches were incredibly close; if we were to run the competition again tomorrow, the results in several categories could be completely different. This highlights the competitive spirit and should keep everyone motivated to keep improving.
More important than the results is the courage it takes to step onto the mat and compete. Every participant will have learned something about themselves, making this the perfect time to reflect, win or lose, and use the experience to grow as a Karateka.
We are also thrilled to have raised £128.85 for Claire House Children’s Hospice, with more donations expected to come in over the next week.
BR – Dylan Cain McComb, Jaygo Woods, Charlie Carlton, Samuel Forrester, Jelani Ndebu, Jack Taylor, Luke Francis Carrier
FR – Cameron Lyon, Jack Forrester, Thomas Greenall, Anthony Dimitri Niculae, Benjamin Glews
BR – Harrison Lees, Harry Duffy, Matthew Yu He, Thomas O’Brien, Adam Brown
FR – Harry Harvey, Thomas Devlin, Oliver Nayagam, George Bradbury, Ewan Boyd
BR – Cindrella Nayagam, Julia Wlodarz, Minahil Umair, Millie Mitchell, Mishaal Umair
FR – Arusnan Thayabaran, Francis Tam, Nathan Smith, Shayaan Umair
BR – Liam Potter, Thomas Woods, Lewis Johns, Alfie Macdonald, Ben Lucas-Artingstall, Michael Wadeson
FR – Kevin Tam, Chad Northcott, Dave Bird, Michael Willcocks
1st Place:
Dave Bird – Male Veterans
Liam Potter – Male Senior
Alfie Macdonald – Male Junior
Thomas O’Brien – Male Cadet
Julia Wlodarz – Female Cadet
Minahil Umair – Female Childrens
Jaygo Woods – Male Children’s Category 1
Ewan Boyd – Male Children’s Category 2
Arusnan Thayabaran – Male Children’s Category 3
George Bradbury – Male Children’s Category 4
Jelani Ndebu – Male Peewee 1
Anthony Dimitri Niculae – Male Peewee 2
HX Karate Cup 2024
North West Karate Academy, based in Newton-le-Willows and St Helens, recently participated in the HX Karate Cup in Huddersfield with a squad of eight members, six of whom were first-time competitors. Competing under the association banner of Karate-Do-Federation, the team returned with 2 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals. The team came 10th out of 32 other associations/clubs.
First-time competitors George Bradbury and Arusnan Thayabaran performed well in the boys’ +30kg under 10 years Kumite, winning silver and bronze medals respectively. They both narrowly missed out on their final matches.
Liam Potter (not pictured) won a silver medal in the male senior -75kg Kumite, while Alfie Macdonald competed in the under 18 years +76kg Kumite and achieved a bronze. Ewan Boyd faced an older and more experienced opponent in the U12 Kata and -35kg kumite and narrowly missed winning his first match, while Jaygo Woods gained valuable experience by competing in three rounds of Kata and narrowly missing out on a bronze medal.
After talking a break from competing due to COVID-19 and starting families, brothers and instructors Zach and Luke Scott found success in their categories. Zach won gold in the senior male +84kg category with comfortable victories in each round. Luke achieved veterans gold Kata in the same manner while also gaining the bronze medal in veterans kumite.
NWKA are no strangers to success in competitive karate. Before their competitive hiatus, they were an extremely successful club. They won countless medals at domestic, regional, national and international level and a large handful of students competing for their country at commonwealth, European and world level. This is just the beginning of their new journey towards success.
Adult Dan Grades 2024 (May)
Congratulations to the following students:
Joe Tinsley – Children’s Black Belt + Adult 5th Kyu Blue Belt
Alice Cooke – Children’s Black Belt + Adult 6th Kyu Green Belt
Paulina Szura – Children’s Black Belt + Adult 6th Kyu Green Belt
Adult Dan Grades 2024
Congratulations to Lewis Johns, Theo Pearson and Liam Potter on their 1st Dan Black Belts, the students have been training since they were very young and now in their late teens. Their grading consisted of Kata, Padwork, Kumite (sport and free sparring) Restraining a resistancing opponent, escapes, takedowns and submissions.
Instructor Luke Scott was awarded his 6th Dan for his contribution to Karate over 31yrs, ratified by Sensei Tony Gray 7th Dan Chief instructor of the KDF Karate Do Federation and Carl Lindley 7th Dan Former President of the EKF English Karate Federation (National Governing Body).
Children's Black Belts 2024 (February)
Well done to our new Children’s Black Belts, George Pemberton, Faye Mellor, Mia Rose Claber, Julia Wlodarz and Sophie Bastable, great performance and spirit. The cadets were also awarded their Adult 6th Kyu Green Belt.
Congratulations to Alfie MacDonald, Aariz Syed, Alex Bowen and Jack Regan who have now completed their Children’s Black Belt Assessment. Hard work to follow over the next few years working through their final Kyu grades towards an Adult Black Belt.
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Contact
Feel free to reach out with any questions or to schedule your first class. We’re here to support you on your Karate journey.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Contact Steve
For clubs in Newton-le-Willows and St Helens
Email:
[email protected]
Contact Carl
For clubs in Cronton, Brookvale, Whittle Hall, Hood Manor
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