CHKA Karate Chmpionships Success
We took 7 competitors to Hornchurch, Essex on Sunday 2nd April for the 1st CHKA Open Championships. This was a fantastically organized competition with a very professional feel that attracted a good number of elite level competitors.
The team performed brilliantly, coming away with 7 well earned bronze medals.
First off was kata, starting right after we’d walked into the venue, the with 30+ category. Both JF Carniaux and Colin Holyoak both did excellent katas, with Colin performing a very strong Bassai Dai to take bronze, only losing out to the eventual gold medallist. Wendy Heycock won her first round unanimously, before bowing out to an eventual finalist, earning a bronze medal. Oskar Lambert then overcame some opponents doing higher level katas than he was to take a Bronze in his category, not letting the other’s abilities phase him, performing both Bassai Dai and Heian katas. Hunter Enslen was in a very tough age 14-15 category. Whilst storming his way through his semi final, the slightest of slips on the mat harshly prevented him from reaching what would otherwise have been a final (one referee still judged him to have won), but earned him a bronze medal. Everyone performed strong katas with excellent form.
Kumite began with the 30+ categories. Colin Holyoak drew an ex England international in the first round and held his own using some of the elusive movement that he is becoming known for, but his opponent’s experience shone through. JF Carniaux had a tough fight but dictated the action, only succumbing to some well placed counter strikes, earning himself a bronze medal.
Wendy Heycock and Amanda Stewart both had tough fights but gave it 100% and put constant pressure on their opponents, utilizing good feints and movements. Wendy narrowly lost 3-2 in a fight that could have gone either way. Oskar Lambert fought hard in the 12-13 years kumite. He won his first match by drawing 2-2 but winning due to the new Senshu (first to score) rule. He then held his next opponent off with some excellent distancing work, losing only 1-0 in the last seconds of the match. Hunter Enslen fought a very heated first round, taking a very hard blow to the face and eventually winning by disqualification due to persistent lack of control shown by his opponent. He then used his height to make it very difficult for his next opponent, who managed to work his way in to score past Hunter’s considerable reach. Wendy Heycock was then in the -61kg category and built on her first performance, doubling up techniques and holding the line, earning herself a second bronze medal for her efforts this time.
Amanda fought in +61kg kumite against a WIKF England international and kept her under pressure throughout, holding the centre of the tatami and only losing to some counter strikes. JF Carniaux and Ryan John both fought in -75kg kumite. Ryan got off to a great start, moving well and showing good timing, only to lose out 2-0 at the very end. He also got a bloody nose, the treatment for which being what can only be described as a tampon stuck up his nose. JF fought England international, multiple English and British champion Ryan Jay in the first round. Due to 3 awesome head kicks, JF was unfortunately vanquished rather quickly. The day finished off with open weight kumite, both male and females being stacked categories. Amanda was charged with fighting the same opponent that she had in her weight category. She showed vast improvements this time round and asked even more questions of her opponent. As well as that, due to receiving an earlier bye, Amanda earned a well deserved bronze medal. Ryan John fought well against English international Sam Day, but the bop on the nose from earlier as well as growing fatigue from a long day seemed to have taken their toll. Luck of the draw struck again for JF Carniaux as he came up against another highly decorated England elite team member, The incredibly fast Ross Mathieu. This, however, was a contender for performance of the day. JF controlled the distance against his much smaller opponent, leaving Ross’s techniques often falling short of their mark. It took a lot of experience, speed and know how to work his way in to score and cut down the distance that JF was keeping get the eventual win.
We had a brilliant day at a fantastically run competition, everyone worked their hardest and the squad are always improving. Team spirit was also very high today.
This was Hunter Enslen’s last competition with CDMA before he goes back to America. It’s been awesome having him with us and we wish him and his family all the best for the future.
Tom Phillips