Ilkley Karate Club members are top-ten hits (From Ilkley Gazette)

Ilkley Karate Club members are top-ten hits

Ten members from Ilkley Karate Club won a large number of trophies at the All England Karate Championships at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre in Bradford.

Ilkley Karate Club members with their trophies from the All England Karate Championships at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre

Ilkley dominated the kata (set moves) events but trophies were also picked up in the kumite (free fighting) events.

Club newcomer Tanya Donkin, 13 and a current WKF Commonwealth kata champion, won the mixed 13-15 years’ brown and black belt category, despite only starting training with Ilkley (and this style of karate) last month since moving from South Africa.

Competition debutant Phil Jamieson took the honours in the men’s junior grade kata, and ten-year-old green belt Piers Walton came third in the children’s junior grade kata.

Elly Field, 12, was runner-up in the mixed brown and black belt ten to 12 years kata, while Ashley Woodhouse got a bronze in the men’s senior grade kata.

In kumite, Jamieson won the men’s junior grade (up to purple), and there were second places for Donkin (girls open grade 13-15 years) and Andrew Johnston (men’s senior grade under 18-21 years) and bronzes for Field (girls open grade ten to 12 years) and Sam Davison (boys senior grade brown and black belt 13-15 years).