Dan Gradings 2016

Congratulations to the students that attended the Black Belt gradings.

Niall Ashcroft – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Kieron Shaw – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Ruby Lamb – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Mia Bullock – Provisional Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt

Oliver Tinkler – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Matthew Tinkler – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Sean Johnson – Stage 1 Children’s Black Belt
Sam Hegarty – Stage 2 Children’s Black Belt
Joshua Broomhead – Stage 2 Children’s Black Belt
Dylan Halton – Stage 3 Children’s Black Belt

Joe Hegarty – Adult Provisional 1st Dan Black Belt
Danielle Sawer – Adult Provisional 1st Dan Black Belt
Kaitlyn Halsall – Adult Provisional 1st Dan Black Belt
Lesley Roberts – Adult Provisional 1st Dan Black Belt
Siju John – Adult Provisional 1st Dan Black Belt

This was the most technical grading in the Level 2-3 Children’s section and the most technical in the Adult section
All candidates gave it their all, the examiners were impressed with the gutsy performances and the rise in the technical abilities of the Candidates.

Those who were awarded their Provisional Belts are to resit any failed section in April 2017. The examiners have every confidence in the Student resit based on how close all were to passing all the sections.

Congratulations to all from the Grading Panel:
Steve Scott 7th Dan
Carl Massey 5th Dan
Luke Scott 4th Dan
Zach Scott 3rd Dan

North of England Championships 2016

Well done to those who took part in the North of England Championships. Great performances through out.

Nicole Beauvale picked up a bronze in the 14-15yrs Girls Kumite and silver in the 14-15yrs Girls Kata.
Rhys Daly clinched bronze in the -9 yrs Boys Kumite and showed great courage to participate in the 10-11yrs Boys Kumite.
George Malone shone in the -7yrs Boys and Girls Kata and deservedly took gold and continued his fine form to take silver in -7 yrs Boys and Girls Kumite.
To cap the day off Rhys and George picked up bronze medals in the -9 yrs Boys Team Kumite.

Well done everyone, and keep up the training. Next stop, the EKF Kyu Grade Championships in January.

Central England Championships 2016

Well done to those who took part in the Central England International Champioships.

Rhys Daly gave a strong performance in the boys under 9 yrs Kumite clinching bronze, Bradd Parfitt shone in the men’s individual Kata winning gold.

A big well done to Elliot Harris and George Malone, although they did not medal this time round, they both gave performances to be proud of and gained some valuable experience.

Next stop, the North of England championships. Let’s finish the competitive year on a high!

Keep up great the work everyone.

British International Open 2016

Congratulations to everybody who took part in the British International Championships this weekend.
Samuel Kletz performed brilliantly in the Male Disabled Kata and took Gold, Sam now has an English Title and a British International Title.
George Malone added to the day’s success by clinching silver in the under 9s Kata. This was George’s first major competition and is a great achievement.
Also, a big well done to Taylor, Harley, Rhys, Elliot, Nicole and Bradd who all performed extremely well. unfortunately, it was not their day. Overall, a great weekend and keep up the excellent work everyone.

United Styles Association International Open 2016

Well done to George Malone who competed at the UK International Karate Championship in Dudley on Sunday 11th September. George got a bronze in his Kata and he also received a silver medal in his individual Kumite section too.

United Styles Association Open 2016

First up was the Kata. Both George Malone and Elliot Harris performed strong Kata but due to some strong opposition, it would not be their day.

However in the Kumite, George Malone fought bravely to clinch a bronze medal in the under 8 yrs category. Rhys Daly put in an excellent performance in the under 9 yrs category. He won all of his 5 bouts to claim a gold medal with great spirit, bravery, and determination.

Elliot Harris showed great courage in the under 11 yrs category, winning his first bout but losing out in the second round due to an unfavourable split decision.

Then the children Team Kumite began with Rhys’s and George’s strong performances leading to a bronze.

Instructor Zach Scott also took part, he claimed a bronze in the -84kg category after a controversial 4-3 loss.

In the open weight category, he won his fights 5-2, 9-1 and 1-0 getting himself a gold.

Great performance from all involved. Well done.

NWKA Annual Club Kata Tournament 2016

Congratulations to all the Children taking part in our Kata Tournament on their brave performances. The Tournament was our largest to date. A big thank you to all the Judges, Scorers and helpers. Thank you to all our Spectators who raised £465 to be divided between Clare House and Francis House Children’s Hospices.

White- Red Belt Mixed 4-6 years
1st Leo Usta. 2nd Lucas Bradshaw. 3rd Kerem Erem.

White – Red Belt Mixed 7-10 years
1st Macy Brown. 2nd Nathan McGee. 3rd Charlie Brady.

Yellow- Orange Belt Girls 5-7 years
1st Olivia Tomazewski. 2nd Lainie Ashton. 3rd Abbie Lorenz.

Yellow- Orange Boys 6-8 years
1st Thomas Amaral. 2nd Phoenix Oliver. 3rd Luke Baxter.

Yellow-Orange Boys 9-12 years
1st Daniel Harding. 2nd Matthew Lester. 3rd Lewis Stanley.

Yellow-Orange Girls 8-10 years
1st Lucia Amaral. 2nd Fransiska Woodyer. 3rd Amy Harding.

Green- Blue Boys 7-8 years
1st Ben Blackburn. 2nd George Pemberton. 3rd Tommy Bennett.

Green- Blue Girls 8-9 years
1st Weronika Wuwer. 2nd Maya Bartlett. 3rd Molly Mills.

Green-Blue Boys 9-12 years
1st Connor McClymont. 2nd Adam Jude. 3rd William Bennett.

Purple Boys 7-12 years
1st George Malone. 2nd James Tooley. 3rd James Barber.

Brown- Black Belt Boys 8-11
1st Kieron Shaw. 2nd Harley Ray Hall. 3rd Niall Ashcroft.

Brown-Black Belt Girls 10-11 years
1st Grace Keeley. 2nd Holly Lawson. 3rd Jessica Waring.

Brown – Black Belt Girls 12-15 years
1st Taylor Greenough. 2nd Kaitlyn Halsall. 3rd Zaina Syed.

Brown-Black Belt Boys 12-15
1st Joe Hegarty. 2nd Patrick Dastey. 3rd Gabriel Bullock.

Student of the Year 2016

Congratulations to worthy winners of this years Student of the Year Award Matt Ayres and Chris Jones for their contributions to the progress of the Academy benefiting all the fellow members.

English National Championships 2016

The English National Championships took place at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge Leisure Centre On Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of April.
On the Saturday, Samuel Kletz took gold in the Physical Disability Kata Category. Sam 19 years of age has Cerebral palsy. This was Sam’s fourth attempt at gaining the English title, he took two Silvers in 2015 and one in 2014.
His determination and hard work has truly paid off and he got a unanimous decision from all five Judges. Sam trains three sessions a week at the North West Karate Academy and has done so for the last five years. He also works out at the local gym for extra strength and fitness training.
Sam is a very popular student in the adult class at the Academy. Chief Instructor Steve Scott says “Sam’s confidence is growing year by year and he is a pleasure to teach. He has become an inspiration to his fellow training partners and equally to the Academy Instructors”

That inspiration was put to good use on day two when brothers Luke Scott and Zach Scott, who were members of the Association team, took a Bronze in the Kumite despite only having three fighters in the five man team event.

North East Open 2016

Instructor Zach Scott took part in the North East Open Karate Championships and took Gold in the Male Senior Kumite.
He won his first fight 8-0 after 45 seconds, second fight 3-0 and won 0-0 (4-1 on flags) in the final.

Yorkshire Open 2016

Congratulations to the NWKA boys team (Harley, Elliot and Rhys) winning Bronze in their Team Kumite event.
Well done to all our other students who competed at the Yorkshire Open including George, Liam, Taylor and Zach.