Congratulations to the selected athletes, with 4 Uechi fighters going!!
Kata:
Natalie Payne, Aimee Sell, Emma Lucraft
Navin Patel, Kieran Nunkoo, Alex Gardner
Kata Team:
Melissa Williamson, Kelly Horsfall, Kira Munns-Charlton
Coach:
Jonathan Mottram
Kumite:
Chloe Sheldon, Lauren Crawford,
Hannah West, Charlotte Wastell, Phillipa Morris, Stephanie Thorndick, Sophie Santillo, Rebecca Croly, Lauren Tutty
Ryan Jay, Ashley Taylor,
Jack Lowe, Joshua Farrand, Michael Burke, Callum Holmes, Thomas Hickman,
Jamaal Otto, Alfie Ambrose, Joe Kellaway, Ryan Lambert
Coaches:
William Thomas, Davin Pack
Willie and Davin
The Final medal position
The Final say:
On the 8th October 2011 the England Junior squad flew out to Malaysia to compete in the world championships, the Squad was made up of the elite hand picked fighters from across the country. These fighters are from a number of different styles and clubs from across England.
We are proud to say that we had four fighters from Uechi –Ryu GB representing England at these championships – Jamaal Otto (East London), Jack Lowe (Essex) , Alfie Ambrose (Essex) and Hannah West (Essex).
Jamal Otto showed his pedigree, fighting his way to the quarter finals, to meet a Turkish opponent. This was perhaps the most exciting and spectacular bout of the whole Championships. Trailing 7-4 at the end of the allocated time, Jamal scored with a magnificent spinning back kick to the head to take the scope to 7-7. The Turkish officials protested, but the point was deemed to have been scored on the bell and not after. At 4-4 in the extension, the bout went to the Turkish competitor. There were a total of six 3-point scoring techniques in this magnificent contest! In the reperchage, Jamal fought through to the bout before the Bronze Medal final and sustained a back injury against his Japanese opponent. Jamal actually won the bout, but because he had been on the ground more than 10 seconds, he was disqualified. It was a shame as he looked very capable of winning a well-delved medal.
Jack Lowe was fighting a German opponent in the first round and it was 0-0, with each seemingly cancelling each other out. With one second to go, the German attacked and scored. His opponent did not make the final so no repercharge. This was a hard way for Jack to go out of the championships considering he looked the fighter in control for the whole fight.
Alfie Ambrose made the last 16, losing out to a Greek opponent. Alfie won a Bronze at the Europeans in February and continued to show his pedigree.
Hannah West also looked very good. She is only 14, yet showed great maturity, using her height and long kicks. She battled her way into the last 8, then fought a French competitor who closed the distance and denied Hannah the possibility of using her reach advantage. The French competitor then lost unluckily to a Bosnian, denying Hannah the repercharge.
I attended the championships in support of our Uechi fighters and the rest of the squad.
I was totally impressed with the attitude and commitment of our representatives. I have watched and worked with our gang this last few years and I would like to point out how proud I am of you all. From seeing your faces when you were picked for this great achievement to represent your country, to seeing you stand out on the tatami wearing your England badge with pride, was nice to see your hard work pay off.
Was so happy I was able to witness this special time for you all.
Good luck for the future and may Uechi Ryu in England and across the world continue to grow and achieve.
Sensei
Dean Lowe
