Tekki Karate Club has been awarded ‘Best Club in Wales’ for the second year running! Members from the club travelled down to Merthyr Tydfil to compete in the Welsh Championships on Saturday 21st June, dominating the finals with a total of sixteen positions in both individual and team events; an effort that shows the club is going from strength to strength.

The Welsh Championships, run by the Karate Union of Great Britain, is one of the main events in the Tekki calendar. As in all KUGB competitions, it consists of two main events; Kata, which is a performance of a set routine of moves – there are twenty-six Katas in Shotokan karate, ranging from the basic white belt level to those of extreme complexity. The second event is Kumite, or freestyle fighting. These events are split into junior, senior, male and female categories. Team Kata (routine) and Kumite (fighting) events are also held. Competitors are judged both by the technical standard of their performance, and the strength and determination of their attitude.

The junior members of Tekki demonstrated a high level of skill and spirit that is well reflected in the results – there were finalists in almost every category. Nine-year-old Vivianne Watson Smith had a very successful outing, gaining joint third place in Ippon (basic) Kumite with Tomos Dylan, 11, who recently gained his black belt. Vivianne also came second in the under 10s Kata. Newcomer to competitions Kelly Jones, 14, fought her way to third place in her Kumite category.

Sisters Alice and Sophie Griffiths made a formidable pair; Sophie, 12, came second in Junior Girls Kata, and joint third in Kumite along with 15-year-old Angharad Jones. Alice won both her Kata and Kumite events, and together with Sophie and Victoria Roberts-Burt, 14, also won junior team Kata.

Alice, a Second Dan Black Belt at just 14 years old, is a member of the Junior Welsh Squad and of the British Kata Squad, and proved on Saturday that she just keeps getting better – a force to be reckoned with!

Chief instructor Simon Thompson said he was particularly impressed with both Alice Griffiths and Vivianne Watson-Smith who demonstrated such a strong martial attitude and determination, which was rewarded with high rankings in all their events.

Senior members of the club also put up a fantastic display, the highlight of which was 20-year-old Xenia Holstein retaining her title as ‘Welsh Female Champion’ for the second year running. She won her Kata event, and narrowly missed first place in Kumite. Xenia has been a member of the Welsh Squad for the last 6 years and is now on the British Kata Squad; she reached the Kata semi finals at the European Championships in Cyprus earlier this year.
John Childs, 20, and Mark Legget, 19, put up a strong fight in the under 21s Kumite, each gaining joint third – Mark was unlucky to be knocked out by the under 21s champion.
Mark, John and Xenia later joined forces to give an excellent performance in team Kata, gaining third place overall, and Kaley Lewis, 16, competing for the first time in the senior categories, did extremely well to get fourth place in Kata.

Members who showed plenty of determination and potential but did not make the finals include Jon Griffiths, 9, and JD Farmer, 13, both of whom performed with a very strong attitude but were competing against others well above their level. Eight year olds Erwan Izri and Ben Labrosse, Philip Roberts-Burt, 10, and Huw Chandler, 12, showed great potential in the quality of their Kata technique, but again, were up against much higher grades. Erwan, Ben, Phillip and Huw are certainly prospective champions to look out for! In the Senior events Sarah Blewer, 23, fought with indomitable spirit, only to be knocked out in the second round by Xenia Holstein!

Lindsey James, 20, who in a further achievement for Tekki was the only non-black or brown belt to be selected for the Welsh Squad this year, faced Aber University’s Ann Herlihy in the opening round of Kumite, only to have a contact lens knocked out half way through! Ann went on to gain third place in Kata, while the university’s Karate Club Sensei Paul James won the men’s Kata event. Their team also won Senior Team Kata; and together with Tekki, make Aberystwyth the Karate Capital of Wales!

Everyone from Tekki who entered the Welsh Championships gave their all, and against stiff competition came home with a total of twenty two trophies, and the prestigious, well-deserved award for Best Club in Wales. This achievement would not have been possible without the dedicated support of Chief instructor Simon Thompson and Assistant Instructors John Childs and Euros Edwards. Simon said, “I must congratulate everybody who entered for the spirit and effort which they demonstrated. I can honestly say that I was proud to nervously watch each and every club member in their events, even if they we unsuccessful it was only by the smallest of margins.”

Unfortunately Euros Edwards was unable to attend the event as he is currently in Australia with Sarah Lane, who was awarded ‘Best Female Competitor’ at the National Kyu Grades (below black belt) Championships last month – another testament to the continued and constantly improving standard of the club.

Lindsey James

Tekki Karate Club