East End Stars Shine In World Championships

In the middle of October, Italy hosted the 13^th FSKA World Championships at their first capital, Turin. Seven members from the East End were called up to represent Great Britain and they didn’t disappoint; bringing home 10 of the team’s placings.

Dominik John, 18, proved too much for his division; including a much fancied competitor from South Africa, when he got gold for his kata (cadet brown belt). The kata competition consists of the performance of prearranged forms and is judged based on difficulty and execution a little bit like gymnastics. Kata is something Dominik has been working hard on over the past couple of years and he has finally seen the rewards for his efforts. He is attempting his full black belt next Summer and he is really showing his true potential.

Marie Tanabalan, 30, finished a credible 4^th place (earning her a medal and an official ranking place on the podium) in kata. She did however get through her opposition to earn gold in kumite, point fighting. This means she made good on her promise of doing one better than last year where in Poland she lost out to a woman from Ukraine.

Her husband Indran Tanabalan, 31, fought hard in the men’s 3^rd Dan and above black belt division but lost out in the quarter finals to an Italian by one point. He did better in the kata (forms) competition where he came second in the first round and finished with a 4^th place medal overall. He did compete in the team kumite competition but the team went out to a very strong Kazakhstan group in the first round. France became the eventual winners.

Emmie Brown, 23, also gained 4^th in her division for kata (women’s 2^nd dan) and was thrilled with her performance in kumite. Her rounds went well and her most memorable moment was in the semi final against a woman from Ireland where she dominated the fight and used strategies she had been developing with her coaches in training.  In the final she narrowly missed out against an Italian, finishing with silver.

Vicky Phillips, also 23, got a bronze in kata (women’s 1^st dan) and silver in kumite. Her results are more impressive considering she has only just recovered from an ankle injury that has compromised her training for the preceding 2 months. With her sparring practise only up to speed one week before flying out to the tournament Vicky’s preparation was a concern for her coaches. But you can’t argue with a silver medal, can you?

Sunit Jogia, 12, also shone when he earned a bronze in kata and silver in kumite in the junior black belt division. Sunit’s progress has been tremendous, picking up countless medals in the last couple of years, but it wasn’t always like this. It took well over a year of competitions for Sunit to even get past the first round in tournaments. Through a combination of support from his parents and coaches and gritty determination to train harder Sunit has developed into a competitor with real potential for the future.

The final member from the East End is local hero Tyrone Briscoe, 15. Despite strong performances and real leaps forward in his skill level, he had to leave Turin without a medal. Tyrone has faced many of the lads in his division in previous competitions and he has beaten them soundly with his devastating left leg and perfect timing. An under the weather Briscoe found the going difficult on this occasion and got knocked out of the quarter finals by a lightning quick punch from his opponent. However, the result has only made the youngster even more determined to train harder to make the team for next year’s competition.