Saturday 21^st of June was not a bad day for Ikkyo Aberystwyth, bringing back home 9 medals from the KUGB Welsh Region Championships.

Read the full report……

A group of competitors travelled to Merthyr Tydfil with their Chief Instructor and Welsh Squad Kata Coach, Paul James, 5^th Dan, and Instructor, Toni James, 1^st Dan. The competition kicked off at 10am with the Children’s categories starting first. Fergus Tiddeman, Sioned Exley, Cerys Scott, Lowry Scott, Sophie Jones, Nathan Jones and Charlotte Smith competed in Kata, all performing very well. In Kihon Ippon Kumite, Sioned Exley and Cerys Scott did their best, with Cerys (3^rd Kyu, brown belt) doing exceptionally well and winning the 3^rd place to the podium and the bronze medal.

In the Senior categories, the competition was fierce. The competitors had their mind in winning, and winning only they did. In the Individual Men’s events, Christopher Davies, Rostislav Revako, Bernard Tiddeman, Steven Bailey, Peter Ainsley and Nathan Theopanidies, competed against strong opponents in Kata and going one round after the other, Steven Bailey won a hard-fought place in the finals where he performed the Kata Unsu, winning the 3^rd place. Rostislav Revako, Bernard Tiddeman and Steven Bailey, also competed in Individual Kumite. Some spectacular fights for strong nerves were fought by our competitors, narrowly missing a place in the semi-finals.

At the Senior Men’s Team Kumite, on the other hand, our team, comprising of the same three karate-kas, turned the odds in their favour, beating the opponent team and participating in the finals and taking the 2^nd place on the podium, leaving with silver medals and an air of achievement. The victorious team for the Senior Team Kata event of the night brought back to Aberystwyth some more bling, with Steven Bailey, Katharina Hone and Christopher Davies taking home the bronze, winning the 4^th place in the finals in this very challenging event.

In the Senior Ladies’ Individual events, Katharina Hone and Stefani Dritsa competed in both Kata and Kumite. At her first round, Katharina Hone performed against the final champion. The very strong Kata she did certainly convinced some referees, but unfortunately not all. Stefani Dritsa, despite being a 4^th Kyu (purple belt/white stripe), took out all the opponents in her way to the finals, earning the 4^th place and the bronze medal. Katharina and Stefani, also, entered the Kumite event, performing well under some of the finalists.

Congratulations to all competitors for carrying proudly the name of their dojo, Ikkyo Aberystwyth and for bringing some “shinies” back to Aberystwyth.

Article kindly written by Stefani Dritsa