East End students fly at the Nationals!

Members of the Kaizen Ryu club in Bow and Bethnal Green competed at the TKF National Championships on Sunday at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The team picked up an unprecedented 24 medals, including 10 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze. The most impressive part of the result is that the team scored wins in a quarter of all the divisions available; something that has never happened in the competitions history!

In kata, the prearranged forms section of the competition, Ciara Coyle (9) from Bow kept her cool through the rounds to place 3^rd. Winning a podium at such a high level at such a young age is particularly note worthy; are we looking at a star for the future? Fellow students who train at both the Bow and Bethnal Green clubs, husband and wife Marie and Indran Tanabalan, became National Champions by winning the both the women’s and the men’s divisions. The pair met through karate and, with some 30 plus years of training between them; including visiting Japan annually for training, dominated the rounds beating the best contenders from around the country. Marie also won the women’s team kata competition with her training partners Vicky Phillips and Emmie Brown (both 23). The trio have been training together for over 2 years for this competition and their preparation paid off in the most spectacular way as they emerged victorious with their display of superior technique.

Kumite, point fighting, followed and the team found another level as they went on to gain more podiums. Ciara redoubled her efforts and beat all the girls from her division to get 1^st place giving her a nice collection of silverware from the weekend. 8 year old Zakki Roe, who trains with Ciara in Bow, used his speed and reflexes across many rounds against boys much bigger than him to get a bronze. He lost out narrowly to the overall winner but put up a brave fight and is determined to do even better next year. Marie got through the opening rounds and into the final in the women’s lightweight division only to lose out by only a single point in overtime. The feeling is that she could have beaten her opponent if she wasn’t still feeling the fatigue of getting gold in the World Championships only last weekend in Turin, Italy. She, however, was absolutely overjoyed to get silver as it secured her place in the Great Britain Team for next year’s World’s in Tokyo, Japan. Indran picked up his second gold of the day in the men’s middleweight division. The final was also decided in overtime and both fighters went for the same move after the restart, a thrusting jab to the head. The East Londoner’s got through first and the top step of the podium was decided in a fraction of a second! He then followed his captain, Tony Knight (who fought in the KUGB England squad) to victory in the men’s team event.

Gold and silver medal winners from the Nationals, which saw around 400 competitors attend from all regions around the country, earn a spot on the Great Britain Team that will now train together toward the World Championships in Japan next year. We should all be proud that students who train in these humble clubs in the East End have made the grade to represent their country at the highest level on the sport. If you would to follow the team you can check the club’s website www.kaizenryu.com or follow the GB Team through www.tkfnationals.wordpress.com