Five members of Carnalea Karate Club have just returned with the Northern Ireland team from the prestigious TKA International tournament which was held in London on Sunday 7 November. The event was attended by over 600 competitors from England, Scotland, Malta, Germany, USA and France. As always it was hotly contested both in the kata (patterns) and kumite (fighting) events.

The star of the show this time was Levi Kane, who, after a very physical final collected silver in the girls U12 kumite event. Her instructor, David Brashaw added “This is a remarkable achievement in a competition of this quality. I am absolutely delighted for Levi.”

Neil Bailie, who is fast becoming one of our top athletes both in kata and kumite lost out narrowly in the quarter final of the boys U14 individual kumite. Following on from their win at the Carlow International last month, he and brother Glen, along with Stephen Quantril from the Esporta club, who make up the Northern Ireland Boys team, lost out narrowly in the quarter final to England ‘A'.

There were also performances to be proud of from Kurtis Kane and Victoria Lindsay, who although did not collect any trophies, gained a considerable amount of useful experience from the tournament.

As this is the first time juniors from the club have represented the club and Northern Ireland abroad.

Instructor David Brashaw added “As this is the first time juniors from the club have represented the club and Northern Ireland abroad they have a lot to be proud of.”

Squad kumite coach, Jeff Hillis commented “Given the financial support that athletes receive in other countries, the overall performance of our young people has been terrific. Unless you actually attend these events, or see them on satellite television, many people throughout Northern Ireland do not realise the quality and demands of this type of competition.”

The next event for the Carnalea athletes is the forthcoming Ulster Championships, which will be held in L/Derry on 28 November. Guest teams from Carlow and Louth will also be attending.

Meanwhile back in the club the following juniors achieved their next step toward becoming future black belts in Wado-Ryu Karate: GT Wright, Dale McCall, Sophie Stewart, James Cameron, and Sarah Shields all achieved their red belt; Charlie Edgar and Thomas Watson achieved their Yellow & White and Yellow belts respectively; and Alexander Burgess and Jamie Casson achieved their Orange belt.

Forthcoming events at the club include the Family Open Day and the annual Christmas party. To find out more about karate in your area contact David Brashaw at wadodave@yahoo.com