Amateur Shotokan Karate Association

NEWSLETTER January 2009 Issue No. 49 Free

http://www.seafordkarate.org.uk

Seaford Karate Club Championships 2008

Seaford Karate Club Championships took place at Annecy School on Sunday14th December 2008 and produced another memorable event with everybody having a great evening. All the children took part in the variety of games on offer, including the skipping rope game, kata statues, board breaking and pinyata. During the board breaking events the atmosphere grew as students went through more boards. A huge roar went up from the audience when only four students were left and they were trying to break four boards. The first three failed and then Sian Pomeroy stepped up to break them all in one punch. A truly great effort and rewarded by a cheer and a another huge round of applause. The pairs kata was hotly contested with 13 teams and the top five teams all narrowly deciding the medals. This time father and son team of Lee and Lewis Finch took the gold with a well deserved Heian Sandan. In the 3 person team kata our young team of brown belts, including Sian Pomeroy, Emily Delaloye and Chris Fleischer saw off the other 10 teams to win, performing Heian Godan. The kumite events started with the pee wee under 9 kumite and saw Harvey Burgman win his fight against James Willetts while Lewis Finch beat a good effort from Angus Lawson. The final saw Harvey victorious and take the first kumite gold medal leaving Lewis with silver. The cadet kumite possibly saw the most exciting fight of the night as Kallum Harding beat Chris Fleischer 13-8 in the semi final while Simon Ooi beat Emily Delaloye. In the final Simon had the edge over Kallum and won the fight to see him take the gold. The junior kumite saw Matthew Delaloye missing out due to a broken bone in his hand. However Sian Pomeroy beat both Damian Shepherd and Sully Mayhew to be crowned champion, while Matthew Salmon picked up the bronze. The senior kumite saw the action taken to another level as Steve Jakes in his first fight this year hit with a head kick that left everyone cheering. Big Tom Chambers beat Lee Finch in a very close encounter in his first round and then Tom went on to beat Simon Hill in the semi final. The final again saw a very close fight and a frustrated Steve was beaten by one point to our new club champion, Tom Chambers.

SKC championship 2008 Results Pairs Kata

1. Lee Finch and Lewis Finch 2. Emily Delaloye and Matthew Delaloye 3. Chris Fleischer and Sully Mayhew

Team Kata

1. Sian Pomeroy, Emily Delaloye and Chris Fleischer 2. Matthew Delaloye, Sully Mayhew and Damian Shepherd 3. Lee Finch, Tom Chambers and Jack Lee

Pee Wee Kumite (under 9)

1. Harvey Burgman 2. Lewis Finch 3. James Willetts 4. Angus Lawson

Cadet Kumite

1. Simon Oii 2. Kallum Harding 3. Emily Delaloye 4. Chris Fleischer

Junior Kumite

1. Sian Pomeroy 2. Sully Mayhew 3. Damian Shepherd 3. Matthew Salmon

Senior Kumite

1. Tom Chambers 2. Steve Jakes 3. Simon Hill 4. Jack Lee

Many thanks to everyone who helped organise the evening and all the parents who came along to watch and enjoy their children competing and having so much fun. Stephanie Fleischer – Food and drink raising £62 for the club. Referees – Jon Tompsett. Simon Lambert. Photographer Scratch. Judo Mats Lee Maskell.

Member of the Year Award 2008 After the Seaford Club Championships Sensei Martin Dean gives a quick review of the previous year, with thanks going to everybody who has helped out. This year the club has won an incredible 80 medals and an average attendance of 50 students training every night. Sensei Martin was awarded his 5th Dan and fulfilled one of his ambitions to visit Japan, training in various dojo’s and as a bonus he won his fight in a 10 man team kumite against a Japanese university team. We then got on to the serious awards for member of the year. The previous recipients all received replica samurais and then it was time to reward this years three successful students. In the novice children’s class there were a few students who stood out as possible candidates to win the award including Fenella Lea and Chloe Treagus but the award this year goes to a dedicated karateka who although not the most confident student he always puts in as much effort as he can and never makes any fuss. His attendance in the club is impeccable and I can always rely on him if I need a volunteer. The novice member of the year goes to Luke Wetherfield. In the advanced children’s class we have many students who are in the running including Chris, Emily, Damian and Simon. The award doesn’t always go to the most successful karateka because these students achieve their goals by winning competitions and passing gradings. This award has been won by a student who always tries his best to improve, sometimes struggles but is always listening and most importantly is always there. Our Junior member of the year for 2008 is Brindley Martin. In the adult category there was a three way spilt and Sensei had to make a decision. Matthew Delaloye and Lee Finch have both shown us some fantastic karate this year and taken more golds between them than the rest of the club put together. They have both passed all their gradings with flying colours as well but the award went to a student who is not necessarily a natural fighter but someone who strives to do his best regardless of winning or losing and is as happy to see his team-mates do well as he is to win himself. He is a regular member of the club who even offers to help out in other classes and he is an asset to our club. The Senior award this year goes to Sully Mayhew.

Trip to Japan 2008 Our two week trip began on 3rd November 2008 as Sensei Martin Dean and Dave Morgan boarded the 14 hour flight bound for Narita airport in Tokyo. Another short connecting flight and coach journey later and we had arrived at our destination of Kobe City. This was just the start of our journey around Japan, with over 100 enthusiastic karateka from England and Poland, which was to take us to some of the most wonderful and magical places that the ‘land of the rising sun’ has to offer. After four days in Kobe we would take the bullet train to visit the city of Hiroshima, which was devastated by the American A-Bomb in the second world war. We saw the Memorial Peace Park and took a tour of the museum before listening to a survivor talk about her experiences. On the way we would get to see the famous Himeji Castle before experiencing the mystical and spiritual Miyajima Island. We spent a day in the mountains at a 1000 year old Buddhist temple and ate the vegetarian food to get a real feel for their way of life. We then visited an authentic ninja museum that took us off the usual tourist path and gave us an insight into the true Japan. The City of Kyoto gave us plenty of opportunity to see religious temples, shrines and a glimpse of the old culture of Japan, while in contrast Tokyo’s modern buildings glistened and rose majestically into the sky. Finally we would get a chance to train at Hyogo University in Kobe and then compete against a karate team from Sensei Fujita’s dojo in Osaka, before seeing magnificent views of Mount Fuji and then watching four days of world class competition at the Nippon Budokan. Although England failed to achieve any medals at the competition we got to see some excellent kata, team kata with bunkai and exceptional fighting. After the long journey home we were absolutely shattered from the relentless pace of our excursions. This visit was billed as a “trip of a lifetime” and we both agreed it was certainly worth the effort.

Sensei Martin winning his fight at Sensei Fujita’s dojo in Osaka

Tokyo World Championships 2008

The 19th W.K.F. World Karate Championships were held over four days at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. The best of the best compete for supremacy and can become crowned the out right World Karate Champion regardless of styles. The England karate squad were being led for the last time by Ticky Donovan, one of the worlds most successful karate coaches before he hands over to Wayne Otto. On the first day the highlight was watching the team kata and bunkai where the Japanese men were beaten 3-2 by the French team with Italy taking the bronze, while in the ladies event Japan won leaving France with the Silver. This was followed by the opening ceremony performed in spectacular style in the huge arena. All the countries were paraded around with their countries flags and the atmosphere was starting to build. Unfortunately the England team failed to deliver and they returned home empty handed. The highlight for the England team saw Jon Mottram finish in fifth place just outside the medals, losing to Luca Valdesi in the semi final and was then beaten in the repercharge. Natalie Williams looked sharp in the ladies U63Kg kumite but was edged out of the medals along with Alton Brown and Rory Daniels (former World Champion) who both came close. In the team kumite our men started well by beating Benin and Serbia before losing to France 2-0 in the third round. Looking around the VIP area it was a who’s who of karate with all the top Japanese instructors there including Hirokazu Kanazawa Sensei (Shotokan) and Moiro Higoanna Sensei (Gojo Ryu) both 10th Dan as well as the legendary French fighter Dominic Valera while Kagawa Sensei and Sakamoto Sensei were coaching some of the Japanese team.

England Kumite Team at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo

Jory Chather Davin Pack Loxley Simmonds Alton Brown Rory Daniels

A.K.A. Karate Championship On Sunday 30th November 2008 Seaford Karate Club took a squad of thirteen competitors to A.K.A. Wadoryu / freestyle Karate club in Hastings. The full time dojo is a bit ʻspit and saw dustʼ, and what should have been a short day turned into a long drawn out affair with all the fighters fighting against each other and certain changes to the rules that did not suit our style of fighting. However our first two fighters produced some great displays. Tom Chambers, in his first ever competition, faced four other fighters in his section. After winning his first three fights and leading the fourth one with only seconds left on the clock he dropped his hands and was caught by a head kick that not only left him dazed but saw him lose the fight and finish with a splendid silver medal. Hopefully not a mistake he will repeat. Lewis and Angus were up next and despite a few nerves our boys did very well with Lewis winning a brilliant silver medal. Next up was Oskar in his first real outing and saw him have 8 fights against some big opposition. Oskar fought bravely and scored a few points to gain some fantastic experience. In the cadet kumite Matt D, Sully and Matt K. all fought eight times each finishing outside the medals with Matt K winning four fights, Sully winning three and Matt D winning two. In the junior section Sian and Chris fought 12 times over three hours in a long drawn out affair that saw Sian win 6 fights and Chris win five fights. This tournament gives the fighters a lot of experience but is probably too much for the young competitors. The kata events saw Seaford dominate this section. In the novice-green belt kata Lewis Finch took gold with Oskar Langley winning silver and Angus Lawson finishing fourth out of a group of 12. In the intermediate section purple and brown Seaford took all the places with Emily Delaloye winning gold, Chris Fleischer in Silver and Matthew Delaloye taking Bronze closely followed by Matthew Killick, Sully and Lorna Sholl in a group of 15. We didnʼt have anyone in the senior section but in the Team kata our purple belt boys of Matt D, Sully and Matt K beat the other 10 teams including black belts to win the final gold of the day. Tom Chambers Kumite Silver Lewis Finch Kumite Silver Kata Gold Angus Lawson Sian Pomeroy Emily Delaloye Kata Gold Chris Fleischer Kata Silver Matthew Delaloye Kata Bronze Team kata Gold Sully Mayhew Team kata Gold Matthew Killick Team kata Gold Lorna Sholl Oskar Langley Kata Silver 3 GOLD 4 SILVER 1 BRONZE = Total 8 medals Competitor of the day - Lewis Finch.