JKF Junior Tournament

JKF National Championships 2010

Around 23 National Squad members contested the 2010 JKF Gojukai National Championships in Brisbane for the first time. The goal was to qualify for the Australian JKF team, thus earning the honour of competing at the 2010 All-Japan Karate Titles. These are being held on July 31st and August 1st at Takamatsu City, Japan. It was a very successful debut, with squad members winning 14 National titles, 8 second places and 6 third places. Just about every squad member qualified as some events were combined for competition on the day. First and second place winners are automatic qualifiers for the team.

National Squad members dominated the Male Kumite with Jeremy Thompson winning the Open Weight division, with Daniel Tregenza second, and Zachary Forster third. Dean Gould won the Over 75kg event, Lachlan Carr was second, Daniel Tregenza third and Seb Nazar fourth. Alan Gillert won the Under 75kg division from Zachary Forster and in the Under 65kg division, Jim Ziogas won the event, with Antony Ball third. The Female Kumite was an Open event only, with Jessica Lomax taking out the title. Our other competitors, Shari Lembryk and Lisa Beasley were DQ'd for contact in the early rounds but should still qualify for the weight divisions in Japan. In Male Open Kata, Dean Gould won the event with Lachan Carr third. Shari Lembryk won the Female Open Kata, Jessica Lomax was second and Lisa Beasley placed equal fourth. In Veterans, Kata was combined, with Slava Komzic placed second, the first placed female, with Rosie Mahood the third placed female. Slava won the Veteran Female Kumite, with Rosie third. Issabelle Carr competed in the 1-4 kyu grade division and placed second in Kumite.

Junior competitors also did very well, with many placing and qualifying for Japan. Pece Naumovski won both Kata and Kumite in the Under 13 age group. Cody Carruthers took out the Male Kumite in the Under 14 section. The Under 16 division saw Ryan Abramczyk take out the Male Kumite, with Jacob Purcell third. Issabelle Carr made the final of the Female Kumite but placed second. Kristina Smith took out the third place bout. Samantha Figgins took out the Kata final in Female Under 18's from Issabelle Carr. In Kumite, Issabelle placed third, with Samantha losing in the 3rd round. In the Male Kumite for this age group, Jordan Carruthers placed second and Ryan Abramczyk third. Due to some issues with Kata preparation, both Sean Hampstead and Jacob Purcell competed in the Open Male Kata competition. Sean made the final but was unplaced. Both boys have qualified for Japan for their age groups on the basis of their performances in the Open Division.

While the Sunday competition was the main event for the weekend, many of the interstate competitors joined the Queensland squad for a 2 hour Saturday afternoon session with National Squad Head Coach Sensei Anthony Ryan. Whilst the session was not specifically orientated towards the Sunday Tournament, it was an opportunity for all the competitors to train together before the event. Kancho Robert Sullivan was a keen spectator at the Tournament and joined squad members for an after tournament dinner at the Chinese Restaurant on Sunday night. He was very pleased with the performances of the squad. There will be a National squad Training Camp in Japan for 2-3 days prior to the Tournament with any National squad member welcome to attend and support the Australian competitors at the Tournament.