York | Archive | 2006 | March | 9
From the archive, first published Thursday 9th Mar 2006.
THE York Martial Arts Academy crowned four British champions at the National WAKO Kickboxing Championships.
Luke Burks, Jay Spain, Charlie Foster-Vigors and Gary Kelly all won gold medals in Nottingham with YMAA team-mates also claiming a silver and four bronzes.
The results mean that British title-holders Burks, Spain, Foster-Vigors and Kelly will now join silver-medallist Cara Sandford in representing their country at October's World Championships in Croatia.
About his pupils' success, delighted chief instructor Craig Long, a four-time champion himself, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for our academy.
"Our students train hard and put a lot of effort in and have been justly rewarded. With results like these and a fast-growing membership of more than 200 students, it is no idle boast to say that York provides some of the best martial arts tuition in the country."
Probably the most astounding victory at Nottingham was enjoyed by ten-year-old Foster-Vigors who, having only started kickboxing just over a year ago, won a British title during his first taste of competitive action.
The Woodthorpe School pupil fought four opponents over ten two-minute rounds on the road to victory.
All Saints School pupil Burks, 13, won YMAA's first gold medal which was a great reward for his five-days-a-week training schedule.
Spain, also 13 and from Oaklands School, became a two-time British champion by clinching the over-60kg honours.
The full-contact division saw a victory for 35-year-old Kelly, whose opponent in the final received standing eight counts in the second and third rounds.
Oaklands' Sandford narrowly missed out in her final, while YMAA's bronze medallists were 12-year-old Scott Baines (Millthorpe), eight-year-old Reece Rushworth (Hobmoor), 12-year-old Jordan Hughes (Oaklands) and 15-year-old Amy Parkes (Oaklands).
Henry Gorman, 19, was also unfortunate to be drawn against three-time world champion Brian Liverpool, from London, but gave a gutsy performance before losing his first-round contest while ten-year-old Woodthorpe Primary School pupil Ryan Baines lost by a narrow margin in his first fight to a more experienced opponent.
YMAA's fighters are preparing for a March 17 show in Wakefield, where 15 members will pit their skills against nationwide opponents.
The academy would also like to hear from any local businesses wanting to sponsor new kit and help fund the fighters' trip to this year's World Championships.
Anybody interested or wanting to take up martial arts should call Craig Long on 07766 545972.
Updated: 10:39 Thursday, March 09, 2006
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