Sil Lum Kune represent England

          The British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (B.C.C.M.A) had organised an International competition for Sunday 2nd June at Arborfield Barracks near Reading. Several countries had accepted this invitation, including athletes for England, Scotland, Wales, Germany and Belgium. The Sil Lum Kune clubs had been asked to provide seven juniors and four adults to form part of the English squad.

          After a traditional Lion Dance performed by Iain Armstrong’s Nam Yang Pugilistic Association the competition began with the juniors first. I, David Richardson (instructor of the south Birmingham clubs) watched half of the fights from the judges’ seat, and the other half from the coaches’ bench. I was impressed with the performance and, more importantly, the results. The juniors from Sil Lum Kune achieved six medals in the sparring category and two in the Traditional Southern Open Hand Form category. 

Sparring                                    Traditional Southern Open Hand Form

Samantha Davies       = Gold                  Samantha Davies    = Gold 

Todd Flanagan-Jones  = Gold                            

Nathan Hill                = Silver 

Rebecca Pritchards      = Gold             

Stephen Hill               = Gold 

Chelsea Baker            = Bronze 

Lloyd Baxter               = Bronze 

          In the afternoon the adults took to the mats and again the medals flowed for Sil Lum Kune. 

First on was Taryn Elwell in the Women’s under 60kgs category. Taryn is the instructor for the Nuneaton club and showed her students what she was made of by taking a Silver medal in this category. While William Burbury also took a Silver medal in the Men’s under 70kgs, Chief Instructor Paul Burkinshaw achieved a Bronze medal in the Traditional Southern Open Hand Forms category. In the Men’s over 100kgs category Sil Lum Kune’s 6 foot 8 inch Steven Webb also achieved a Silver medal.

          The most exciting category had to be the Men’s under 85kgs event. As he had been chosen to represent his country, and also because the competition was staged over the Golden Jubilee weekend, Paul Burkinshaw had decided to wear his Union Jack suit to this event. Paul had spent the last six weeks preparing for this competition and this was evident by his performance. The judges were left in no doubt as to who had won and Paul took the Gold medal. 

Sparring                                   Traditional Southern Open Hand Form

Paul Burkinshaw    = Gold                 Paul Burkinshaw    = Bronze

Taryn Elwell          = Silver 

William Burbury     = Silver 

Steven Webb         = Silver 

Anyone interested in Kung Fu or Chinese Kickboxing can Contact Paul on 07973 421860. Local clubs in Coventry, Bedworth, Nuneaton and Bulkington. 

Written by David Richardson.