Higashi at the Yamaguchi Invitational Karate Tournament

On the 21 November 7 members of the Higashi Karate, including Ti and Isaac from Power Dragons, travelled to Essex for a karate tournament. This meant a very early start for waking up at 6 AM.

This was the first competition the club had entered for 2 years due to Covid and the team was mostly made up for young students who were having their first taste of sport karate.

The first event was the slam man which is a popular event for younger students where they throw punches and kicks against a target mannequin and the judges use criteria to decide who was best.  Alexandria was the pick of the bunch in this case attaining a bronze medal, although Isaac and Ti both out in strong showing with their first time on the mats.

The kumite events or sparring is where the team had entered the most people with all 7 participants competing in at least 1 fighting event.

Xander and Isaac were in the under 4’3 section and according to their coach who is also a national referee had done enough to secure passage into the next round, however the judges on the day saw it differently, with both losing on a judge’s decision.  Both can hold their heads high as they showed they could hold their own against other slightly more experienced competitors and with a bit more experience they will both do well.  Ti was the pick of the bunch as he was giving away over 6 inches in height to most of the competitors winning his first fight with a kick to the body and narrowly losing the second.  A tenacious fighter Ti fought on the front foot for the entire duration of his fights.

Congratulations to Ti and Isaac at your first competition!