7 Golds, 9 Silvers and 14 Bronze Medals at the JKS English Nationals

On Sunday 19th November Walsall Karate Dojo were at the JKS England National Championships in Nottingham. The event is the final event of our squad calendar in the year. Squad members have been working extremely hard in preparation for this event. Yet again the event was superb and  a credit to JKS England. A big thank you to Alan Campbell, Wendy Preston and chief referee Geoff Dixon for all the hard work in making the day happen.

As always we entered our full squad and everyone showed exemplary attitude and behaviour on the day. There were some superb performances on display in some very tough events. We finished the day with our best ever results of 7 Golds, 9 Silvers and 13 Bronze Medals. Congratulations to all medalists:

Gold

Johann Santos – Senior Male Kata, Dan Grade

Ean Pabinguit - Male Kumite 11-13 yrs, Dan Grade

Isabella Wilkes - Female Kumite 11-13 yrs, Dan Grade

Kris Orthodoxou – Mixed Kata 11-13 yrs, Kyu Grade

Gabriel Angeles – Mixed Kumite 8-10 yrs, Kyu Grade

Johann Santos, Sharaf Ebrahimi, Lewis Bradbury – Senior Team Kata

Isabella Wilkes, Joshua Meade, Panashe Mangwawa - Team Kata 8-11 yrs

Silver

Tanya Handley – Senior Female Kumite, Dan Grade

Johann Santos – Male Kumite 16-17 yrs, Dan Grade

Isabella Wilkes - Mixed Kata 11-13 yrs, Dan Grade

Marlon Amulong  – Senior Male Kata, Kyu Grade

Haaris Husmani – Mixed Kumite 8-10 yrs, Kyu Grade

Amelia Stanley, Tanya Handley, Cara Hopkins – Senior Team Kata

Johann Santos, Ben Peach, Callum Hulse – Male Team Kumite 16-17 yrs

Ynno Angeles, Ean Pabinguit, Thomas Elmore – Male Team Kumite 11-13 yrs

Isabella Wilkes, Maisie Sears, Graciela Amulong – Female Team Kumite 11-13 yrs

Bronze

Amelia Stanley – Senior Female Kata, Dan Grade

Cara Hopkins – Senior Female Kata, Dan Grade

Anthony Wilkes - Male Veteran Kumite 40 yrs +

Sydney McAleenan-Marks – Female Kumite 16-17 yrs, Dan Grade

Amelia Stanley – Female Kumite 16-17 yrs, Dan Grade

Ynno Angeles - Male Kumite 11-13 yrs, Dan Grade

Thomas Elmore - Mixed Kata 11-13 yrs, Dan Grade

Emily Harper – Mixed Kata 11-13 yrs, Kyu Grade

Graciela Amulong – Mixed Kata 11-13 yrs, Kyu Grade

Panashe Mangwana - Female Kumite 11-13 yrs, Kyu Grade

Lewis Bradbury, Andrew Large, Anthony Wilkes - Senior Male Team Kumite

Joseph Stanley, Ynno Angeles, Ean Pabinguit - Team Kata 12-15 yrs

Emily Harper, Luanna Roque Henriques, Panashe Mangwana  – Female Team Kumite 11-13 yrs

Darius Rahmati, Gabriel Angeles, Haarus Husmani – Mixed Team Kumite 8-10 yrs

Our competitors of the day were Johann Santos and Isabella Wilkes who both came away with two Golds and two Silvers each both showing there immense ability in both Kata and Kumite as well as their ability as team players. Two superb young competitors and role models at the dojo. A special mention must also go to Lewis Bradbury who just narrowly missed out on bronze in Senior Male Kumite having made the kick of the day with a perfect Ushiro Mawashi Geri to win an earlier round match with one second on the clock. Having dominated Cadets and Juniors at this championships for 3 years this was a big step up to Seniors and a great way to make a mark.

A massive thank you to Mark Turner, Paul Stanley, Bob Piggott and John Santos for managing and coaching the team on the day. Also well done to Steve Spence, Darren Rushton and Steve Clarke for judging all day long. Finally a big thanks to all parents, partners, family and friends who made the effort to travel and support the team. It was such an honour to be a part of the Walsall team on the day!