A small squad from Mushin Karate travelled from Belfast to Burnfoot, County Donegal for what would be for some, their first ever competitive experience and for others another competition that had a superior standard to that which they had competed in before. The children’s events were to start in the afternoon and the squad consisted entirely of children so a lie-in for the parents.
The young warriors who represented the Mushin squad were: Jenna Haddick, Jade
Haddick, Sean Doyle, Shannon Richmond, and Meabh McSherry.
First event was the kata (forms) - this is a display of set techniques put together in a pneumonic format to record the concepts and principles of fighting that the old masters had developed. All competitors performed well showing good technique, focus, weight distribution in stances but the higher graded competitors with more experience won through on the day but good experience of competing and being judged in this environment will stand the competitors in good stead.
Next up was the fighting, with some competitors with no experience at all and some who were youngest in their category it showed the mental strength that all of the Mushin Juniors exhibited by stepping onto the mats to display their skills against others. Head contact was strictly forbidden for juniors and seen some disqualifications on the day which is a welcome addition from the old days were people were coming away with injuries which should could have been avoided.
Jenna Haddick, Meabh Mc Sherry, and Sean Doyle unfortunately missed out on moving through to the second round but performed well and used some good techniques to score. The experience itself will only whet their appetite for more fights. Jade Haddick who was the youngest in her category fought a bigger opponent to make her way through to the next round scoring with some good hand combinations but in the next round her opponent had that more experience and used it wisely. Shannon Richmond also competed well in her first fight and made her way through to the next round through using combinations of kicks and punches. Unfortunately, her opponent in the next round managed to score more points and her day was over.
Mushin assistant coach John Haddick stated “all competitors on the day, given their experience performed fantastically well, done themselves, their parents, and the association proud. This competition with the high standard that was exhibited will benefit our young squad and encourage other members of the association to test their skills in a safe and fun environment. Well done to you all.”
If anyone is interested in learning applied, pragmatic karate and self protection
you can contact Eric on 02890604769 or visit our website on www.mushinkarate.com.
Alternatively, you can come to our classes, which are on a Monday night from
7-8 p.m in St Lukes School for adults and advanced juniors or a Wednesday night
for everyone else. Everyone welcome.