Bristol Open 17th October 2010

A team of 8 fighters went out to compete at the Bristol Open another great success for the team picking up 1 x 1st place, 2 x 2nd place and 2 x 3rd place.

The Team: James Harris, George Harris, Kelly Thaxter, Laura Fitch, Sean McCarthy, Lisa Boardman Petra Janakova, Wojciech Pulawski

Results:
Tag team 1st Place James & George Harris
George Harris 3rd place
Lisa Boardman 3rd place and 2nd place
Kelly Thaxter 2nd place

Belgium Open 2010
Kickboxkarate students went out to the Belgium Open on the 2nd and 3rd of October 2010. A team of 5 fighters 4 from Kickboxkarate and 1 from the south east academy. Accompanying the fighters were parents, coaches and supporters. The team went out in blaze of glory picking up some great results.

Results:
George Harris 1st Place - GOLD!
James Harris 2nd Place - SILVER!
Sean McCarthy 2nd Place SILVER!
Sean McCarthy 3rd Place - OPEN WEIGHT!
Lisa Boardman 3rd Place - BRONZE!
Raj Chiripal 2nd Place – SILVER!

To see a video of all the fights please click on my you tube page: CLICK HERE

Dorking Superleague 2010

On the 3rd October 2010 Students went out to compete at the Dorking CIMAC Superleague 2010.

Fighters: Lewis James, Tom Mountney, Chloe Tullett, Petra Janakova, Wojciech Pulawski, Kelly Thaxter and David Wickenden.

Results:
3rd Place Lewis James
3rd Place Chloe Tullett

Super League Maidenhead

The super league series of tournaments are the national level of events for sports martial arts. At each event all different martial arts styles and disciplines from all over the country compete to crown champions. The SKF had some of its members compete at the event on Sunday 12th September at Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Amongst those who took part young Miana Still came second in her fighting divisions narrowly beaten by a competitor from Stoke in the final. Miana with her continued commitment had shown great improvement and sets her sights on 1st place next time. Also in the kids divisions Sam Gales fought well to come home with a 3rd place and other juniors who took part showed great improvement but it wasn't their time to take home a trophy this event, they included Lewis James, George and James Harris.

Not being out done by the kids the adults had their fair share of results with Raihan Shafiq winning 1st place in the mens beginner division. Rai had a tough fight in the semi final winning after extra time but stepped it up in the final to convincingly beat his opponent from a London based club. Laura Fitch put a a good fight in the ladies losing her second fight by only 1 point to a competitor from Wales. In the same division Lisa Boardman just missed out on a placing in the medals yet is currently preparing for the European championships to be held in November so this event was a good warm up for her. Sean McCarthy who also is preparing for the Europeans won 2nd place in the mens advanced black belt division.

All in all a great day and well done to all those who took part, the next event is in Dorking so watch this space. Anyone interested in tournaments or competition training look to attend the next squad training coming up this month

Team Spirit Squad Training

Team Spirit Squad training was held on the 22nd August 2010. The squad trainings are open to all Kickboxkarate and SKF students the session is for those who wish to do tournaments and take part in the competitive side of martial arts. If you would like to get involved please get in contact with your instructor.

Cimac World Cup

A team of four fighters went to compete at the CIMAC World Cup on the 18th July. Lewis James, George Harris, James Harris and Lisa Boardman went along to compete for Team Spirit fighting squad along with other fighters from SKF. Lewis James had a real close fight losing the British champion by one point a close fight. Lisa Boardman picked up 3rd place in her category. Well done to all who fought.

Italy Bestfighter Wako World Cup

A team of four fighters and two parents went to Sunny Rimini located across the coast of Italy. The team consisted of Kelly Thaxter, George Harris, James Harris and coach / fighter Sean McCarthy.

George Harris was the first to kick off in the tournament entering in two divisions George narrowly missed out on the medals reaching the quarter finals in his smaller division he then went on to his higher division losing by one point in the first round. James came 3rd in his division and had a close fights in his higher division. Sean received 3rd place for his efforts in his weight division in Sean’s higher weight he unfortunately did not place but he and also received 3rd place in the Mens Open Weight Division. Kelly Thaxter was due to fight in both points and light contact but she had to pull out of the light contact due to medical reasons she did fight her points but missed out on getting a place.

Not only was the tournament was a great experience for the fighters but we also had the time to relax and bond as a team. Well done all you did a great job. Thank you to Sue and Richard for your continued support to the squad.

CIMAC Superleague Windsor May 2010

Kickboxkarate fighters went over to the CIMAC Superleague in Windsor on Sunday 16th May 2010. Well done to Daniel, Jacob, Lewis, Tom, George, Sam, James, Christian, Kelly. Also well done to SKF members Massimo, Brittanie and Luke. Five of the fighters from Kickboxkarate received 4th Place. The team did really well considering allot of the fighters have now moved from the novice section into the Black belt section which is a big step up. Well done all and thank you to all who supported the fighters on the day.

Yokoso Dutch Open 2010

A win all round and more for a small team of three who went to Holland and came back with five medals. Kickboxkarate students and brothers George and James Harris both travelled with instructor Sean McCarthy to fight at the Yokoso Dutch Open along with the support of Richard Harris.

George Harris picked up 1st place in his division and fought well in his second division. James Harris picked up 1st place in his division and received 2nd Place in his other division. Instructor Sean McCarthy won 1st place in his category and just missed out on 300 euro’s in the Mens Open weight receiving 2nd place for his efforts. This is the first international win for the Harris brothers. The first of many to come.

Kickboxkarate would like to say thank you to the Dutch national team for their hospitality while we were in Holland. Well done team great fighting!

SKF Inter club and South East Team Challenge

Well done to all who fought at the interclub on the 11th April 2010. Some great results on the day I hope that everyone enjoyed the event. Well done to: Jade, Aiden, Lewis, Thomas, George, James, Sam, Chloe, Kelly, Petra, Wojcheck, Moe, Antony and Steve. The team received many different 1st, 2nd and 3rd places but due to the nature of how many students were competing I was not able to keep a record of results. The Inter club event is not about results it is about gaining experience in competitive fighting and I am sure you all came away happy with how you fought.

I would also like to say well done to those who fought in the team challenge against the South East Academy. Keep up the good work!

Team Spirit Ready 2 Rumble Fight Night

On the 27th March 2010 Team Spirit hosted the first ever Ready 2 Rumble Fight. The aim of this night was to raise funds for the squad to allow them to compete nationally and internationally at different tournaments. It also provided a good starting ground for beginners to gain great experience from the event.

Irish Open 2010

FIGHTERS from KickboxKarate enjoyed a fantastic weekend of fun and fighting when they took part in the Irish Open tournament – the largest competition of its kind in Europe.

The event, held at City West Conference Centre, Dublin, outshone previous years at the National Basketball Arena with its sheer scale and quality of competitors.

A staggering 15 areas were set up in the huge conference centre and an impressive 2,150 competitors from 31 countries, including the cream of the crop from the United States of America, descended on the conference centre to battle it out against some of the best in the world.

The prospect of taking part in such a huge event was overwhelming for even the most experienced of fighters, so for relatively new fighters Kelly Thaxter, George and James Harris, it was a daunting task.

Kelly, bravely entering herself in the novice light contact section, was first to fight on Saturday and showed real sprit against some tough opponents and continued to shine in her points section on Sunday, winning her first round – a real achievement at a tournament of this size and calibre.

The two brothers fought well in their junior divisions on the Sunday, showing improvement and confidence. George showed real spirit against a tough Irish competitor and James experiencing some bad luck by twisting his ankle and being forced to pull out of the fight.

Both boys looked like they enjoyed the event, watching and learning from some of the best fighters out there.

KickboxKarate instructors Sean McCarthy and Lisa Boardman also threw themselves into the mix taking part in the male and female grand champion sections and two different weight categories each.

Lisa started off slowly in two of her sections, but found her pace in the -65kg, enjoying a good fight with a Canadian fighter.

Sean continued his winning ways, cruising through the early stages of his individuals and only being stopped by one point by a much heavier USA fighter in the open section.

As well as some good performances, the team enjoyed a fantastic weekend away with the Harris and the Cashman family, who were 100 percent behind the team. And we can’t forget Jacey, who although not competing this year, was noted for his sterling job referring some of the toughest fights of the tournament. 
 

Team Spirit Training Sunday, February 28

Time: Kids – 11am -1pm. Adults 12pm – 3pm
Venue: The Ashcombe School, Dorking
Coaches: Sean McCarthy, Tony Cashman, Guy Hamilton, Lisa Boardman, Paul Taylor, Grant Gibson, Luke May
Purpose: To train hard!

THE first Team Spirit training session of 2010 got off to a flying start on Sunday with fighters adapting well to some tricky techniques. Team Spirit has re-launched this year under the leadership of WAKO pro world champion Sean McCarthy and there was a definite buzz building within the team as fighters were given a range of new and exciting techniques to try. For the younger squad members a few conditioning drills, including pushing off while in a chamber position, kicked off the session and warmed them up for the rest of the morning.They were then split into beginner and advanced groups and got to work on some basic fighting drills on the focus mitts including a new style of blitzing – keeping the chest up – and some counter backfists and sidekicks. Then it was time to let them loose on each other with some point sparring! It was encouraging to see lots of improvement from the juniors, particularly those in the less experienced groups. By the time the adult session was up and running, condensation was dripping of the walls and windows – a sure sign that people were working hard! Lisa Boardman started the adults session with a light warm up followed by some movement drills, including the use of jokers, angles and turning - leading into some reaction exercises to get the brain and the limbs working in tandem. Next the fighters were taught the importance of pushing off the front leg when blitzing by Guy Hamilton who led the power phase of the training. As with the younger members, the group was spilt into groups with Tony Cashman leading the light contact section, Paul Taylor and Guy Hamilton heading up the novice fighters and Sean McCarthy taking the advanced group. Sean explained a new technique to make blitzing more successful, followed by some techniques to utilise the length of your legs when kicking – a few things he had picked up from a recent Italian training session! He also enlightened the group into how to read the rhythm of a kicker, and put into practice ways to fight kickers using movement, angles and shutting down the leg. Meanwhile on the light contact area, Tony Cashman was working his group hard sharing his wealth of experience to help them improve with their light contact skills, while Guy and Paul were stressing the importance of basic attacking and counter drills with their group. A quick chat about jokers and pressure fighting led into point sparring with the whole group, followed by a ‘winning stays on’ fight off, won by Grant Gibson. Well done to everyone who took part. Roll on the next session! If you are interested in joining Team Spirit speak to one of the coaches. Report by Lisa Boardman

TEAM SPIRIT Website Launch

http://skfteamspirit.webs.com/

Soon all Kickboxkarate Competition results will be posted on the Team Spirit website. TEAM SPIRIT is a non-profit squad aimed to help Kickboxkarate students develop in competition all the funds received will go directly back into the fighters.

WAKO British Championships

On the 21st February four fighters from Team Kickboxkarate went to Nottingham. James Harris, George Harris, Sean McCarthy and Lisa Boardman all fought on the day. Lisa , James and George all fought exceptionally well but all went out to winners of their divisions in the first round but their focus now lies on winning the Irish Open all of them have the ability to do so. Sean received Bronze in the -63kgs and then went on to win Gold in the -69kgs making him the current Wako British Champion. Well done to team Kickboxkarate you all did well.


6th – 7th February 2010 Kickboxkarate go to battle
Eleven fighters went out to battle on the 6th and 7th of February at two very different tournaments. Three fighters were at The Athens Challenge in Greece. Eight fighters were at The CIMAC Windsor Superleague in the UK.

Results:
1st Place x 2
2nd Place: x 4
3rd Place x 3
4th Place x 1

CIMAC Windsor Superleage
Christian Hamilton won his division receiving 1st Place. Joshua Hamilton, Dylan Knight and Jacob Scott made it into the finals taking 2nd place. George Harris and Tom Mountley secured a 3rd place. James Harris got 4th place in his division. Lewis James just missed out on the medals losing to the winner of his category in the first round.

The Athens Challenge

Kelly Thaxter secured 1st place in the light continuous and 2nd place in the point fighting. Lisa Boardman received 3rd place in the team event.
Sean McCarthy just missed out on the medals but had some great fights.

The WON Watford Open Nationals

31st Jan 2010

Results:

1st Place x 2

2nd Place x 1

4th Place x 1

 
Well a great result considering some fighters were unable to compete due to illness! Here are our results from 5 fighters on the 31st January 2010.

 
Kelly Thaxter despite it being the first time she has fought in Light Contact Kelly did extremely well to get 2nd place.

 
Instructor Sean McCarthy won his division in the Black belt section.

 
Christian Hamilton with this being only his 3rd tournament he managed to get 1st place in his section and also pick up 4th place in a harder division.

 
James Harris and Joshua Hamilton fought extremely well but were unable to get placed. They have many tournaments to come so watch this space as they will win the next one.

The tournament is a great test for all if you won or lost all the fighters that took part should learn from their experience and come back better.