CompetitionWest Coast Classic, Sunday 7th July, Blackpool
Shuko Freestyle Karate and Protea Kickboxing joined forces again to take a team up to the West Coast Classic. We all did brilliantly well and brought a total of 4 trophies back to Macclesfield / Congleton.

click pictures to see full size images		 Matt ( Shuko Freestyle ) & Dan ( Protea Kickboxing )
Unfortunately Matt and Dan met in their first round and the fight could not have been closer. Although Dan probably has a greater choice of techniques, Matt kept banging out his reverse punch. After time the scores were 3 / 3 and after a further 30 seconds the scores were 4 / 4, after going to sudden death Dan won on a split decision, a really good fight. Matt won an equal third trophy.
Dan went onto lose in the final, unfortunately I did not witness the fight.

Amy ( Protea Kickboxing )
Amy looked a little tense through her fight and unfortunately lost in an edgy contest. She hardly used her kicks and that's a shame as her round house is one of her best techniques.
I think she was a little disappointed, but I made the point that this was her first fight and the greatest thing is having the gutts to step on the mat.

click pictures to see full size images

click pictures to see full size images 		James ( Protea kickboxing )
Well what can you say. The sign of a good fighter is when they start stringing victories together. We can all win one fight ( even me ), but to win a tournament we have to win all our fights. James defeated two handy looking lads, but then unfortunately met the eventual winner. He was cagey and skillful using axe kicks and roundhouses followed up by punches, but eventually lost to a great fighter.
He was really unlucky not to get a trophy, but he was in a really big section and lost in the quarter finals.

Chloe ( Protea kickboxing )
Chloe was really brave to enter her first competition. I think she was a little surprised at the size of the event and i'm sure it was a little daunting, however she did really well and fought well against a bigger and more experienced fighter.

 

click pictures to see full size images

Alastair ( Instructor at Protea Kickboxing )
Alastair fought really well, scoring with a head kick and a punch. His opponent was a good fighter, but scored with an illegal kick to the back in the last five seconds taking the fight 4 / 3. Alastair was disappointed, but shouldn't have been as the fight could have gone either way and there is always next time.

click pictures to see full size images



click pictures to see full size images

Myself ( Jon Tilley Instructor at Shuko freestyle )
I had three fights on Sunday, two in the over 35 years veterans, +75kg and one in the senior under 80kg. I won my first fight in the veterans against a Tae kwon do instructor, which I was really pleased about, because I hadn't won a bout for quite some time. My opponent was warned for excessive contact, but I have to say it didn't feel excessively hard and I seemed to catch him reasonably easily.
 I then fought a monster of a man, my opponent was 6'4" and approaching twenty stone. He had a good guard and it was very difficult to catch him. He caught me with back fists from a great height and eventually won 5 / 1.
Finally I fought in the seniors and came up against another tall opponent. I couldn't believe it but scored with a head kick and a punch and was up
3 / 2 I then lost my composure, changed my stance and lost 3 / 9. I learnt from the experience though and that is what it's all about.

Jamie Goulding
Our friend from Shorai Freestyle karate association Jamie, was fighting at the West coast classic, reaching the final, but unfortunately losing to one of
Sensei Alfie Lewis's fighters, Jamie Hughes who is a current world champion. I thought he could of won, but as we know scores change in a fraction of second and I think the final score was 4 / 3. Jamie is fighting in the world championships in Italy later in the summer, so good luck Jamie.

click pictures to see full size images

SHORAI FREESTYLE KARATE OPEN TOURNAMENT
Karthik Ravi and Matt Beardmore both from Shuko Freestyle Karate entered the open tournament in Bolton. Matt fought first and after following his fight plan of keeping techniques simple, he won his first fight. It was fantastic to see simple effective techniques ( five reverse punches ) working so well against a good kicker. He then faced probably the best fighter in his catagory and unfortuanately couldn't win the second round, but he scored several times and should be proud of his achievement. The fighter who beat him won through to the final, we don't know whether he won or not as we all had to leave at 4.30 and the tournament was still in full swing.
Karthik was up next and he fought well, but he experienced the deabilitating effects of nervous tension and his usually great kicks were looking a little tense and heavy. It was a very even battle with the scores at two points each for a large proportion of the fight. Once again Karthik was fighting an eventual finalist and it's nice to think, that although he was beaten, as you can see from the pictures below, he definetly dominated the fight and could have won if only he had taken a page out of Matt's book and taken the chance for easy points when they were available. I told Karthik on our journey home that there is a victory on the horizon and he will start winning his fights, I guarantee it.
Four of Alastair Hall's Protea Kickboxing team fought at the tournament. Simon, Mark, James and Nigel all fought well, but need to work on the same areas as Karthik, picking up those easy points when they are available. After all
a straight punch is an easier technique to score with than a roundhouse to the head. I know Alastair was proud of his fighters and we are all hoping to have a day up to Blackpool for a tournament and a team day out to the fun fare on July 7th. If you are interested in joining us please contact us at SHUKO FREESTYLE.
Matt vs finalist Karthik side kicks Matt looks in control Karthik on the offensive