East London based karate club: Kaizen Ryu, sent a small group to Sheffield at the weekend (16-17^th February 2013) to compete at the AMA International Championships, which was well attended by clubs across the country and from Europe.

Held over two days at the prestigious Ponds Forge venue, the tournament attracted over 400 competitors. Day one was the kata (pre arranged forms) competition. First one to pick up a medal for the day was young star and community role model Tyrone Briscoe Jnr, who placed Bronze in the 13-17yrs Boys Kata Goju Ryu. The ladies did well in their division too where Jasmine David and Gina Boot placed Silver and Bronze respectively in the  Women’s Goju Ryu Kata category, narrowly losing to an outstanding performance by the Romanian competitor. Indran Tanabalan picked up a Gold medal in his division Men’s Goju Ryu Kata. Indran’s kata: Seisan and Suparinpei, was just that bit more outstanding compared to his closest competitor, who also did the same kata in the preliminary round and finals.

Yamaguchi Goju Kai Competition

On Sunday 20th February, two Yudansha squad members and their team of coaches and family, headed off to the Yamaguchi Goju Kai tournament in Grays, Essex. 

This competition was a junior kumite only tournament, and both kumite fighters; Tyrone Briscoe and Gina Boot were able to represent the club at this event. Gina made her debut for the first time at this competition, entering the girls 3^rd kyu above + 40Kg division against some very talented kumite fighters. 

Despite the long wait the pair stayed focused and by 3pm they were on the mat.

It's a knockout at the Spring Championships!

Review by: Vicky Phillips & Emmie Brown

A huge congratulation to all competitors of the Yudansha and Team Kaizen Squads for their amazing results at last weekend’s Kaizen Cup Spring Competition held at Dagenham Park School, Dagenham. The day saw the Yudansha Elite Team come away with 6 Golds, 9 Silvers, and 3 Bronze medals while the new Team Kaizen took an impressive 9 Golds, 3 Silvers and 7 Bronze Medals! 

 Kaizen Cup Spring 2011 - KATA RESULTS

Junior Kata Events

5-7yrs old (8^th-5^th Kyu)                 Gold: Zakki Roe (Kaizen Ryu)

                                                                        Silver: Nayan Gondalia (Kaizen Ryu)

On Thursday 17^th February 2011, members of Kaizen Ryu Karate Do joined other young athletes from East London at the 10^th Annual Sports Personality of the Year Awards, sponsored by Canary Wharf Group. The prestigious event was held at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, and the awards were presented by Perri Shakes-Drayton; former winner and current Olympic hopeful in athletics.

We were privileged to have been asked to put on a display as part of the evening’s celebration. Excitement, nerves all played a part, and after only four hours worth of rehearsals both squads, ‘Yudansha’ and ‘Team Kaizen’ had massive fun as they took to the stage and showcased a display that was met with a rapturous applause!