As always, the day started with the Kata events and first up on the mats was the girls Kata Team event. Hunisha, Nuri and Kim pulled an excellent performance out of the bag to take the Bronze medal! Individuals were quickly under way and next on was Bethany in the Mixed Kata, 15yrs and under, 4th Kyu and below. Those of you that have seen 6th kyu Bethany training in the dojo will know that she has been working incredibly hard on her kata in recent months and that hard work paid off. After 4 hard fought rounds, she took the Gold medal to become British Champion! As a club, we are very proud of her acheiving her first major win and this was just the start of an Ashin-do Kai storm in Kata events.
	As Beth's category was reaching its conclusion, Kieran was starting his challenge for the title and what a challenge. The Boys Kata open grade, 10-12 years has some very impressive young men  competing and is a real taste of what the future of karate holds. Kieran showed what hard work in training can achieve, even at this age, and once again, the Gold medal landed at the Ashin-do Kai door, another British Champion.
Navin was also competing at the same time as Kieran and since he recently turned 13, has now moved up a category to Boys Kata Open Grade 13 to 15yrs. 'SatNav' was totally undaunted by this and despite the high level of skill shown by many of the boys in this category, Navin kept his head and his style to finish in the Gold medal spot. Another British crown to add to the growing collection in the Ashin-do Kai kit bags.
	Nuri was next in the Open Grade Girls Kata 13 to 15 yrs, and once again, it was no walk in the park. The level of competition in this category is very high but Nuri focused on the job in hand, performing some beautiful and powerful kata and we had another British Champion for her efforts. This is also Nuri's first major championship Gold and will give her a huge confidence boost as our AMA students head to Sweden for the World Championships next weekend.
The last of our Kata competitiors was Hunisha, who has also moved up a category following her 16th birthday last week and now competes in the Senior Ladies against some of the best female exponents of the art that Britain has to offer. This was a tough category and Hunisha showed incredible power and poise, eventually taking the Bronze medal.
	The Kumite Categories were soon underway and I think it's fair to say that this was where the students missed Sensei Rickys influence and support the most. Nuri and Bethany found themselves in the same category [Kumite categories at these major competitions are based on age and weight, not belt] and both came up against incredibly seasoned and tough competitors, with Nuris opponent finally taking the group win and Bethany's taking third place. They both worked very hard and got a serious taste of what they will face for the next couple of years. Both girls are determined to train harder and beat these girls next time! Meanwhile, Kieran and Navin were doing their best to keep the fires burning for Ashin-do Kai and our boys didn't let us down! Kieran fought incredibly hard through several rounds, finally taking Silver after a very close final. Navin, once again having moved up a category due to turning 13, worked his Gi off against some of the toughest teenagers you have ever seen. Bronze was his prize for that work and very well deserved it was too! Hunisha also found herself facing some pretty tough ladies in her category and again, it was a step up for her into the senior ranks. She was unfazed by this and despite carrying a training injury still managed to take a Bronze medal. Last event of the day was a girls under 16 team event and the AMA decided to enter a squad that included Nuri. The team events are always good for a bit of needle and the pressure is on not to let your two team mates down. The three girls fought hard and Nuri came away with yet another Bronze medal. As well as all these medals, Sensei Marc had entered 4 of his senior students and they also bagged an impressive tally of medals, cheered on by our kids, so we took home some considerably heavier luggage than we had arrived with!

The results are wonderful and as a club we want to congratulate all our competitors and thank them for their commitment and determination. What a fantastic day and great results for everyone!! Hunisha, Nuri, Navin and Kieran now move on to the World Championships where they will represent their country and of course our club. We wish them all the very best for their trip to Sweden next weekend.

 Well Done Everyone!! We are very proud of all of you.

The kids and parents would also like to say a big thank you to Sensei Anthony and Sensei Marc who both spent the day working very hard coaching and encouraging and did an admirable job in the absence of Sensei Ricky.

Also big thanks to Jo and Yvonne for once again being the 'engine room' staff, doing all the pre-event organization, being there on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly, supporting all the students, doing the photography and generally ensuring these events are as stress free as possible for the competitors.