ISKA English Nationals 2012 Kata/Forms
It is that time again and hasn’t it come round fast. We were back at Stockland Green Leisure centre for the ISKA Nationals 2012. This was a landmark event for the newly forms ISKA Amateur team, they have been together just over year. After months of preparation and promoting, D-day had arrived.
The doors were open and competitors swamped the sports hall, both myself and Amateur director Clifton Findley said to each other “it’s the big one.” As a Forms director my job is a simple one but a hard one at the same time. I must compile an unbiased, knowledgeable panel of judges and get the best forms competitors from all over country to attend. Did I succeed in doing this? Well let’s see.
The panel consisted of Jeff Scott, Junior Anderson, Simon Michael, Alistair MacDonald, Mike Scoble and myself. Job one ticked off the list. Now we saw great turnout with competitors from Team Stagetrix, Team Resurrection, Team Infinity, Team Pro Kickz, Team Evolution, Team Elite, Personal Best, Sheffield Dragons, SFK, Elite International, Seven Stars, Warral &Colchester TaeKwonDo, Cobra Kan Karate and Stealth. Number two ticked. Wiping the sweat from my brow I began the proceedings.
Starting with the traditional sections, which believe me are not dead; there are more Traditional Martial Art clubs in the country than Freestyle but they want quality and fair judging, so that is what ISKA is giving them. From the forming of the new ISKA categories entry has risen annually and will keep doing so.
Stealth Martial Arts students Jack Wardell, Harry Holman and Kian Gauble battled it out in the -13 Kids Japanese Hard Style. All competitors executing strong and powerful katas, leaving little fault for judges to make a final decision. Experience won with Harry Holman taking the 1st with Kian in 2nd and Jack with the Bronze. These three boys will make a great addition to the ISKA UK squad. In the Korean style -13 a little 7 year old Lewis Bates stepped on the mats and introduced himself to judges without nerves getting the better of him. He kicked very high and strong which won him the gold medal. In the above sections ISKA regular Adam Parker won the Junior Boys Japanese. This goes to show his hard work is paying off, clearly showing improvement every time. It was the battle of the sexes in the Japanese Adult division with Tanya O’Donnell and Craig Canning. Each performed to the best of their ability and more with aggression and low stances. It was a split decision from the judges meaning it could have gone either way but Craig took the win with Tanya in Silver. Like Father like son with Steven Bates giving a good account of himself in the Adult Korean style against Jason Leung, taking Gold. It was nice to see some veterans dusting off their gis and entering, showing they still have it. Bryan Chatten won the Korean Style and Mr Dave Morris won the Japanese style with an exceptional kata with all the elements he will need for a gold medal win in the Worlds, only time will tell.
Time for some weapons, with a fantastic array of them from Nunchakus, Samurai and Broad Sword being demonstrated. Connor Allen won the Junior Boys Traditional Weapons with a fantastic display of the Samurai, something you would see in a movie. Lani Bruce is taking the tournament scene by storm with her soft style forms, winning her first gold medal of the day with a broad sword form that showed Martial Arts can be beautiful too. She then went on to win the kids soft style section making it a double whammy. Jason Leung took a gold in the adult Traditional Weapons division displaying great speed and power with the weapon.
That concluded the Traditional sections of the nationals. With a short break for the judges, this meant warm up time for the competitors in the Extreme and Creative sections. Watching everyone warm up you could see so much forms talent is here in the UK, We as a promoters and coaches need to hone them and help them achieve competition greatness.
First up -13years Kids Creative open hand with Jacob Riva taking gold with strong Martial Arts with his own creative take on moves. In the above section Infinity team member Connor Green won over Adam Parker showing more aggression and showcasing more advanced moves compared to Adam who settled for Silver. In Creative weapons Lani Bruce made it her third Gold medal of the day proving she is one to watch out for in the future. Chloe Michael won the Junior Girls Creative Weapons with her signature Bo Staff routine that always seems to get faster and stronger each time she performs. Now it was the boys’ turn to show the judges what they have got or more specifically who had the better Bo Staff skills. Each competitor performed before the judges made the vital decision. Each Boy showed that you don’t need to spin and become a majorette to win, they kept Martial Arts strikes adding creative flow. Adam Parker took the bronze, Connor Allen with silver and Team Res member Jack Underwood won the gold after a flawless routine.
On to Extreme now with Team Evolution rising supreme in the Kids open hand Theo Hall upped his game with a high Roundoff Flash Kick, with Holly Bagshaw loosing out on the top spot by 0.2 receiving silver and Jack Farnsworth and Jacob Riva in joint bronze position. Stagetrix’s Jack Wade showed he has been training hard when he stepped on the mat in the Junior boys open hand winning over Connor Green with more complex Tricks and nailing every move on point. Megan Abel, reigning ISKA World Champion is gunning to defend her title but first she had to qualify. And she did exactly that in extreme style and I believe she could easily hold her own against the male competitors in that age group. It was great to see Team Elite’s Scott Elliott and Anton Simpson Tidy in attendance. They met new comer to the Extreme sections Craig Canning. This section proved you can flip and trick all you want but if you haven’t got them nailed and balanced with quality Martial Arts you will not stand a chance in ISKA. Anton’s cleanness took the gold with team member Scott in a close silver and Craig with bronze, not bad for his first attempt.
Three more sections to go and they were Extreme Weapons starting with the kids. Team Evo’s Theo Hall once again took gold over team members Holly and Jack after a great display of body rolls and releases. The next category was a tight decision between both the Jacks (Wade/Underwood), Both lads proving they wanted that top spot. When the results were in, they were split by 0.1 between them. Jack Wade won gold with Jack Underwood in silver and Connor Green in Bronze position. This is why I love forms, you can never guess who will win until the very end. Last but not least Hao Ly took gold when he revived the Extreme Nunchakus with a form that with extra practice I would be proud of.
That concluded the most successful ISKA National championships of the newly formed Amateur Team. As Forms director I can clearly say that we will be bringing a strong squad to the World Championships in Holland at the end of the year. Everyone who received a medal on the day is part of the squad and any spaces available will be filled at squad trainings. All that is left to say is thank you to all the judges and officials that helped out keeping the forms area running smoothly throughout. I am looking forward to the first squad training of 2012. If you would like to be part of the squad and did not qualify you can contact me via or phone 0786 506 2234.
6 April 2012
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