Bristol Karate Academy

An excellent outing yesterday at the North East Open, where the JKS England squad competed at the North East Open in Sunderland. Bristol’s JKS England squad members were in amongst the action, competing both individually and as part of JKS England’s kata and kumite teams.

The North East Open is the furthest WKF-affiliated tournament that it’s possible for us to travel to in England and it’s the first time we’ve had competitors enter the event. It’s also exceptionally well-run, which meant that despite having 1,100 entries, almost all tatamis ran to time – no mean feat for the organisers!

With an overnight stay required, club members had a little while to take in the sights before an early night, especially with clocks changing the night before the tournament.

From the very first events, medals came for JKS England and Bristol Karate Academy competitors, with the first of the day being a bronze medal for Luke Mashford and Benjamin Griffiths in 10-11 years Pairs Kata. Throughout the morning, the top-class performances – and the medals – kept coming. And it didn’t stop there.

With kumite taking place in the afternoon, all was to play for. A huge congratulations to all of our kumite medallists, but especially to Oli Hulbert (gold in Cadet Male Kumite) and both Liam Mashford and Benjamin Griffiths, who put in gold medal performances with their JKS England team mates, Harrison, Zarana, Jonty and Charlie.

As the last event finished and the mats were being pulled up, every single Academy competitor had a medal around their necks to take home. In all, Bristol competitors walked away with 19 medals, across all ages and categories, contributing to an incredibly successful day for the JKS England team.

Here’s the full list of medals for Bristol’s JKS England squad members:

GOLD for Liam Mashford in Junior Team Kumite, with Harrison Frear and Zarana Gilthorpe
GOLD for Benjamin Griffiths in 10-11 years Male Team Kumite, with Jonty Price and Charlie Farmer
GOLD for Oli Hulbert in Cadet Male Kumite
GOLD for Tim Griffiths in 35 years+ Male Kata
SILVER for Evert Collard and Olive Davies in Junior Team Kumite, with Adam Clayton
SILVER for Liam Mashford in Junior Male Kumite, -67kg
SILVER for Lucie Tarr and Nephele Metsiou in Cadet Team Kata, with Anastasia State
SILVER for Lucie Tarr and Nephele Metsiou in Cadet Pairs Kata
SILVER for George Tarr in Senior Male Kata
SILVER for Dan Salter in 35 years+ Male Kata
BRONZE for Oli Hulbert in Cadet Male Team Kumite
BRONZE for Josh Mashford and Juan Rodrigues in Senior Male Team Kumite
BRONZE for Luke Mashford in 10-11 years Male Team Kumite, with George Terry and Jack Harrison
BRONZE for Tim Griffiths in Male Team Kata, with Anthony Halsall and Jason Lam
BRONZE for Tim Griffiths in Senior Pairs Kata, with Anthony Halsall
BRONZE for Benjamin Griffiths and Luke Mashford in 10-13 years Pairs Kata
BRONZE for Juan Rodrigues in Senior Male Kumite, -84kg
BRONZE for Juan Rodrigues in 35 years+ Male Kata
BRONZE for Lucie Tarr in Cadet Female Kata

Thank you to the JKS England coaches and admin team for helping our team members throughout the day. Thank you to the North East Open Championship team for hosting such a high quality event and thank you to the parents and supporters who made sure our team members felt truly supported throughout the day.

The next tournament up for Bristol Karate Academy competitors is the Murayama Cup in Gloucester, where the team look forward to bringing their best performances.

Full squad: Evert Collard, Olive Davies, Benjamin Griffiths, Tim Griffiths, Oli Hulbert, Josh Mashford, Liam Mashford, Luke Mashford, Nephele Metsiou, Juan Rodrigues, Dan Salter, George Tarr and Lucie Tarr.

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