The BUCS Karate Championships took place on 19th and 20th March and the University of Kent Karate Club was there as usual, taking part in almost every category with a big squad. They had been training up to 5 times a week for months for this competition, and they certainly didn't return empty-handed.
As usual the competition was at a high standard and many competitors participated from many universities across the UK. In the first day of the competition, UKC Karate Club performed amazingly well. Vivian (Hui Wei) Lee, who was a first time competitor, went through many rounds in the Women's Novice Kata (series of synchronised movements) category and managed to achieve the third place earning a bronze medal. Fatma Salahioglu, on the other hand, got through all the rounds without losing and achieved the first place in the same category. Him Wai, another first time competitor who was competing in the Men's Novice Kata category, managed to get the fourth place. In Women's Intermediate Kata, Deniz Kayimbasioglu competed very successfully and went all the way to the finals and got the second place, bringing back a silver medal.
The Team Kumite fights also took place on the same day. Here there were two categories: Men's and Women's Team Kumite. UKC Karate Club had both the female and the male teams competing. The UKC Female Kumite Team (Fatma, Deniz, Rose) competed against other female teams. Despite one of the members getting injured in the first round and another one being ill throughout the fights, the team put up great fights and only lost at the semi-finals by one point after getting a draw in the overall match. Nevertheless they won their repecharge and got the third place, earning bronze medals. Although the Male Kumite Team (Mohammad, Mahdi, Robert, Dominic, Him, Wilson, Sam) did not win any medals, they did fight well, giving it their best.
In the second day of the competition, James Tolson and Him Wai competed in the Men's Novice Kumite (under 70kg) and James got the third place while Him got the fourth. Mohammad Reza on the other hand fought really well in the Men's Senior Kumite (under 75kg) and achieved the fourth place.
All the other UKC Karate Club competitors competed really well too and, although they didn't win any medals, they definitely gave it their best and the UKC Karate Club is very proud to have such talented and enthusiastic members.
Members who took part in the competition: Katie Richards, Vivian Lee, Fatma Salahioglu, Azana Rahman, Deniz Kayimbasioglu, Rose Curtis-Marof, Maddie Dorey, Him Wai, Wilson Ding, James Tolson, Alessandro Ferri, Robert Bellchambers, Dominic Robeson, Sam Grinter, Mahdi Shamsi and Mohammad-Reza Nasiri-Avanaki.
