W E L L D O N E to all the students who took part in our Club Championships on Sunday 15th July. Remember you either WIN or you LEARN. Not everyone can win a medal. To those who did, we say congratulations and keep up the excellent work. But what we are always the most proud of is participation, spirit and sportsmanship. Thank you for being a part of our day and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Everyone is fighting their own little battle not only against their opponents, but also against themselves. Believe me when I tell you - having a go is BRAVE. It is HARD. It takes as much out of you mentally as it does physically. The younger you can start it, the easier it is I suppose and through experience you become comfortable being uncomfortable. We have categories for everyone here from 5 years old to the Vets and it is heartwarming to see everyone trying so hard, representing their dojo and trying to SMASH IT!

We also love to see so many people waiting to watch our higher grades, who are always inspirational. Some of these teenagers/adults have started karate with us in their early childhood and are now exceptionally talented karateka. Not only are they highly skilled, they all show great sportsmanship, impeccable ettiquette and are great ambassadors for sport karate. If you don’t train in their classes, you won’t see how amazing they are. But come to the Championships and you can watch and appreciate them.

Our Club is one family and we leave it all on the mats. Our comp is about spending the day together, doing what we all love. Ok we are kicking and punching each other but we are doing it in the safest and most enjoyable way possible. Our Officials are volunteers and we put these events on for you. We are gaining experience each time and hopefully getting better.

Decisions were accepted and parents were supportive. Praising the effort not just the results is the right way to do it in every sporting environment.

We hope you enjoyed our day with us, meeting new families from other parts of the Club and showing off your skills to parents and relatives who probably don’t normally get the chance to come and watch you. Being a sporting parent has it’s highs and lows. We definitely go through it with them which can be hard. But it is all worth it because events like this are beneficial in many ways. When they win, it builds confidence and links direct effort with reward. When they are disappointed, it builds character, instills determination and encourages perseverance.

If you have any great action shots or pictures of happy students and their medals feel free to share on our Social Media Page - Facebook Group - Red Tiger Karate (it's members and family members only, please request to join if you haven’t already) or on Instagram. Michelle Baron kindly took photos for us on the day and we will share them with you when they are ready. Thank you Michelle for giving up your time, we appreciate it.

We saw students coming back getting flags and progressing through the Kata rounds who didn’t get a single flag last time. There were kumite competitors who didn’t get a single point last time who were not only winning points, but also winning matches.

It’s all about Individual progress. What progress have you made?

We can’t all win at the first attempt, or even the second or third. But what we can do, is keep trying. Effort, determination and perseverance is within everyone’s power. Keep going and keep learning. Experience counts. We’ve all been there. Winners aren’t necessarily the best, they are people who carried on, learned from their mistakes and never gave up.

How do you go from beginner to Champion? It’s a simple system. A constant cycle of Practice - Test - Evaluate

Practice in class or at home, do you put in effort everytime you train? Are you a good team player?

Test yourself through competitions and the grading system.

Evaluate your performance - what went well, what could be better? How can you improve? Then practice again…….

Once you are Champion, it is so hard to stay there. Children move up in categories because of age/grade and then you are chasing it again. Perhaps others have started training more than you do, perhaps you have become a little too relaxed? Set some new goals and get back at it. November will be here before you know it.

Before we reveal the results and the Dojo Championship Winners, the biggest THANKS must go to our Team. Our Instructors and team of officials who helped all day and the day before. You really are the heartbeat of our Club. We had plenty of people helping for the first time which was fantastic. And it’s not just our Sensei’s who are stepping up, it’s new Sensei’s Katie, Assistants like Jane, Linda, Michelle and Andy, Instructors children; Lilly, Liam + Thomas, Xander, Grace + Izzy, Lola + Kyle, parents like Julie and highly experienced students like Courteney, Alex M, Dave, Lori-Ann and Ellis. Your help is so important because every Championship is getting bigger and we need you to make it work. We are one team and you’re all kind and generous people who care about the Club and our students.

If we didn’t have a group of such dedicated, hard working and talented people around us, we would not be able to host events like this. They work you hard in classes and motivate you to have a go. They prepare you for what to expect. They learn and revise the rules, then teach you the rules. Scorekeep, timekeep, judge and referee. Watch endless rounds of Kata and Kumite, share the joy of the winners, commiserate the disappointed, help the injured, set up and put away.

The list of their duties is endless and we are so appreciative. THANK YOU all. It couldn’t be done without you.

Paul Sensei and I often get a lot of the credit but it is true team effort. Massive respect to Mike Beckwith Sensei, Leesa Beckwith Sensei, Mike Baron Sensei, Teresa Withington Sensei, Jo Sysum Sensei and Rob Head Sensei who all stepped up when appointed as Tatami Managers and did a brilliant job.

Thanks to Mike Baron Sensei for lending us his monitors and all the Instructors who brought laptops so that we look like a professional outfit!

Mark Jepson is also a huge help on the administration and technology side. Thanks Mark your contribution is much appreciated. From the booking process to the sorting of categories, he makes it so much easier and we are grateful. Thank you.

The staff at the venue were great and a huge thank you to Helen Wolstencroft, Queen Jean Treadgold and Jessica Willis for providing the refreshments and selling the merchandise.

We do a little competition among the Instructors for who can motivate their team and win the most points. Instructors were awarded 1 point for each entrant. Then additional points are earned by their students. A gold medal is worth 3 points, a silver medal is worth 2 points and a bronze medal is worth 1 point.

***TWICE IN A ROW***

The winning Sensei’s are Mike Baron Sensei and Grace Baron Sensei + Izzy and their Standish Dojo. The talent in this class is exceptional. There is great teamwork going on and this is where you are picking up all the points. For those chasing - get your pairs together and enter some team events! Congratulations - we will crown the Champions AGAIN at Senior class tonight.

Between them they achieved the grand total of 61 points. Huge congratulations to Team Baron and their students for their medals and participation.

November’s Champions Rob Sensei’s Stretford Dojo followed in second place with 41 points and Daryl Sensei and Gary and Jo Sensei in joint 3rd place with 37 points

Well done to you all!

Full results for Tatamis and Dojo Championships follows:

Results Table

Instructor Results