Bristol Karate Academy

There were medals of every colour for Bristol Karate Academy competitors at the English Karate Federation’s Championships on Sunday 4th February in Sheffield.

The event was a combination of three: A kyu grade championship, a children’s championship and a veterans championship. And it was a big event – 1,200 entries in total, with the day running for 12 hours beginning-to-end.

While our competitors were competing under the banner of JKS England, it was fantastic to see our club medalling in all three sections.

In the children’s event, Academy members picked up two medals. The day started with a well-earned silver for Benjamin Griffiths in the 8-9 years kata (below 3rd Kyu). Benjamin improved through each of the rounds and looked exceptional in the gold medal match, narrowly being beaten by the 2023 Central England Open kata champion.

The second medal of the day came from Nephele Metsiou, who followed up the silver she earned at the JKS England Nationals with another in the 10-11 years 3rd Kyu+ Kata. Nephele earned three wins against both Shito Ryu and Shotokan competitors, growing in confidence in each round.

In the Kyu grade division, Scarlett Jones took silver in Female Junior Kata with a competent and spirited performance, narrowly missing out on gold. Scarlett can take confidence into her next event that she has the ability to hold her own against a national gold medallist.

The final two medals came in the Veteran section, with club mates Tim Griffiths and Dan Salter competing in opposite sides of the Male Veteran Kata event. After a fantastic start, Dan was narrowly beaten in the race to the final, but can be proud of an excellent bronze medal performance.

Tim was looking to start off the year in the way he left the last. After working through the rounds, he won the final 3-0, making him the EKF national champion in Male Veteran Kata.

Aside from the medals there were a great many other excellent performances, with improvement showed by everyone on the mat. Well done to everyone that gave their all – you did yourselves proud at what was a fantastic event.

Thank you to JKS England for coaching our team throughout the day.

Full medal summary:

GOLD for Tim Griffiths in Male Veteran Kata
SILVER for Benjamin Griffiths in 8-9 years Children's Kata (below brown belt)
SILVER for Scarlett Jones in Female Junior Kata (below brown belt)
SILVER for Nephele Metsiou in 10-11 years Female Kata (dan grades)
BRONZE for Dan Salter in Male Veteran Kata

Full Squad: Olive Davies, Benjamin Griffiths, Tim Griffiths, Scarlett Jones, Nephele Metsiou, Dan Salter and Caroline Walton.

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