Fantastic results from the BKF 4 Nations

On the weekend of weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May, eight Walsall squad members travelled to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield to compete in the BKF British 4 Nations Karate Championships, the premier karate event in Britain.

All eight, Amber Bannister, Lewis Bradbury, Sharif Ebrahami, Tanya Handley, Ben Peach, Johann Santos,  Amelia Stanley and Isabella Wilkes were part of the JKS England team who were competing against seventy-seven other teams from across the British home nations.

The event is of the highest standard and attracted 1215 entries. JKS England eventually finished in a brilliant 4th place on the medal table.

We are very proud that Walsall Karate Dojo had a number of notable successes. All results are listed below. In particular we are extremely proud of our two individual newly crowned British Champions Johann Santos and Lewis Bradbury.
Johann Santos became British Champion in Junior (16-17) Male Kata for a second successive year and a third in total including his cadet (14-15) Male Kata success back in 2015. Johann is also English Champion and this cements his position as the best Britsh Male kata exponent in his age group. Well done Johann.

Lewis became the British Champion in Under 21 Male Kumite (-75KG). Lewis only recently moved up from Juniors having only turned 18 a couple of months ago. The draw saw some very strong and experienced fighters in this hotly contested category but Lewis defeated all before him taking the gold medal. This is a great achievement and well done Lewis.

We are extremely proud to have British Kata and Kumite champions in our ranks at Walsall Karate Dojo. These two along with all our competitors put in hours of dedicated training to get where they are. A big thank you also to all their families for the ongoing support they give to these superb role models. Finally, a big thank you goes out to everyone at the dojo and in JKS England who have been involved in helping our squad develop and progressively achieve their goals.

Gold
U21 Male Kumite (-75kg) – Lewis Bradbury
Junior (16/17) Male Kata - Johann Santos
Girls (7-10) Pairs Kata – Isabella Wilkes (With Maisie Redgrave)

Silver
Junior Female Team Kumite - Amber Bannister (With Charlotte Haxby & Sarah Howarth)

Bronze
Veteran Male Kata – Sharif Ebrahami