B.C.C.M.A National Championships 2008
The British Council for Chinese Martial Arts held their National Championships on Sunday 7th March at the Moorways Sports Complex in Derby.
The Sil Lum Kune club took 21 squad members to compete in the various disciplines on offer including Qingda (Light Contact Sparring) and Shui Chiao (Chinese Wrestling) as well as traditional hand forms and weapons routines. On top of this other members of the club were in attendance as officials and judges to help the day run smoothly.
This was my first competition of any kind and a certain amount of nervous anticipation meant that I got to the venue bright and early before all but one of the squad. Gradually the rest of the group arrived and the first job after dumping the kit bags was to get weighed in. Then it was a question of waiting for other competitors to register and get weighed in before the schedule for the day could be announced.
The hall was laid out in to four sections with one area each for Qingda and Wrestling and two for the forms. The forms section started up first and David Richardson and Andy Watson were soon in action having entered several categories each. The rest of us watched on as we waited to hear the running order for the Qingda sparring.
When the sparring schedule was announced, I was pleased to find out that the veterans would be up first meaning there would be less waiting around and so less time to get nervous. I was due to be on in the 5th fight.
Watching from the sidelines you could see how it was much easier being an armchair commentator then actually being out on the mats, I got the impression that most people had arrived with a plan but that putting it in to practice wasn’t going to be easy as of course your opponent has no intention of going along with it!
Finally it was my turn to fight and having drawn the first round and won the second it went to a 3rd round decider. It’s surprising how long a minute can last! I felt dead on my feet but had done enough to win. More training required I think! I guess the only way to train for sparring is to do sparring.
Having done my bit it was time to get my breath back and watch the other competitors, with Matt Reynolds in particular showing us all how it should be done. His sweeps looked almost effortless, something you only get from a lot of practice and hard work.
It was interesting to watch the different competitors, with clubs from as far a field as Dundee and even Germany. Most clubs seemed to have a particular focus, so some were there just for the forms and others just for the wrestling whilst we of course were mainly competing in Qingda. All in all it was an enjoyable experience and one I hope to repeat next year
The successful squad returned happy to Warwickshire with 18 individual medal winners and 24 medals in all (6 gold, 14 silver, 4 bronze).
Highlights of the day included David Richardson with a gold (Southern Traditional Twin Weapons), a silver (Qingda Sparring) and a bronze (Southern Traditional Long Weapon) and Andy Watson with 3 silvers (Southern Traditional Form, Southern Traditional Long Weapon & Qingda Sparring) and a bronze (Northern Traditional Form).
All of the squad members competed well, in what for many members was their first taste of competitive action.
Full Results
Male Qingda Sparring: Andy Watson - Silver (under 60kg), John Burke – Silver (under 70kg), Jim McGuigan – Gold (under 70kg), Matt Reynolds – Gold (under 75kg, David Richardson – Silver (under 80kg), Chris Mee – Silver (under 90kg), William Leach - Bronze(under 90kg), Lee Walford – Silver (over 90kg).
Vereran Male Qingda Sparring: Sean Krauth – Gold (under 80kg), Lee Lynam – Silver (under 90kg), Andrew Docker – Silver (under 90kg), Darren Lynam – Gold (over 90kg), Simon Graham – Silver (over 90kg).
Female Qingda Sparring: Sam Broadaway – Bronze (under 70kg), Amy Walford – Silver (under 65kg), Kimberley Condron – Silver (under 70kg), Emma Bates – Silver (under 90 kg), Katie Morrison – Gold (under 90kg).
Shui Chiao Wrestling: John Burke – Silver
Northern Traditional Forms: Andy Watson – Bronze
Southern Traditional Forms: Andy Watson – Silver
Southern Traditional Long Weapon: Andy Watson – Silver, David Richardson – Bronze
Southern Traditional Long Weapon: David Richardson – Gold
About Us
Sil Lum Kune is a multi style association encompassing Black Tiger Kung Fu, Chinese Kickboxing and Grappling as well as thriving under 8’s section (The Little Tigers) and has members of all ages and abilities.
Sil Lum Kune boasts its own purpose built academy in George Street, Bedworth and has many other venues across the area. Please see our website for more details: www.sil-lum-kune.com
Written by Sean Krauth
The Sil Lum Kune club took 21 squad members to compete in the various disciplines on offer including Qingda (Light Contact Sparring) and Shui Chiao (Chinese Wrestling) as well as traditional hand forms and weapons routines. On top of this other members of the club were in attendance as officials and judges to help the day run smoothly.
This was my first competition of any kind and a certain amount of nervous anticipation meant that I got to the venue bright and early before all but one of the squad. Gradually the rest of the group arrived and the first job after dumping the kit bags was to get weighed in. Then it was a question of waiting for other competitors to register and get weighed in before the schedule for the day could be announced.
The hall was laid out in to four sections with one area each for Qingda and Wrestling and two for the forms. The forms section started up first and David Richardson and Andy Watson were soon in action having entered several categories each. The rest of us watched on as we waited to hear the running order for the Qingda sparring.
When the sparring schedule was announced, I was pleased to find out that the veterans would be up first meaning there would be less waiting around and so less time to get nervous. I was due to be on in the 5th fight.
Watching from the sidelines you could see how it was much easier being an armchair commentator then actually being out on the mats, I got the impression that most people had arrived with a plan but that putting it in to practice wasn’t going to be easy as of course your opponent has no intention of going along with it!
Finally it was my turn to fight and having drawn the first round and won the second it went to a 3rd round decider. It’s surprising how long a minute can last! I felt dead on my feet but had done enough to win. More training required I think! I guess the only way to train for sparring is to do sparring.
Having done my bit it was time to get my breath back and watch the other competitors, with Matt Reynolds in particular showing us all how it should be done. His sweeps looked almost effortless, something you only get from a lot of practice and hard work.
It was interesting to watch the different competitors, with clubs from as far a field as Dundee and even Germany. Most clubs seemed to have a particular focus, so some were there just for the forms and others just for the wrestling whilst we of course were mainly competing in Qingda. All in all it was an enjoyable experience and one I hope to repeat next year
The successful squad returned happy to Warwickshire with 18 individual medal winners and 24 medals in all (6 gold, 14 silver, 4 bronze).
Highlights of the day included David Richardson with a gold (Southern Traditional Twin Weapons), a silver (Qingda Sparring) and a bronze (Southern Traditional Long Weapon) and Andy Watson with 3 silvers (Southern Traditional Form, Southern Traditional Long Weapon & Qingda Sparring) and a bronze (Northern Traditional Form).
All of the squad members competed well, in what for many members was their first taste of competitive action.
Full Results
Male Qingda Sparring: Andy Watson - Silver (under 60kg), John Burke – Silver (under 70kg), Jim McGuigan – Gold (under 70kg), Matt Reynolds – Gold (under 75kg, David Richardson – Silver (under 80kg), Chris Mee – Silver (under 90kg), William Leach - Bronze(under 90kg), Lee Walford – Silver (over 90kg).
Vereran Male Qingda Sparring: Sean Krauth – Gold (under 80kg), Lee Lynam – Silver (under 90kg), Andrew Docker – Silver (under 90kg), Darren Lynam – Gold (over 90kg), Simon Graham – Silver (over 90kg).
Female Qingda Sparring: Sam Broadaway – Bronze (under 70kg), Amy Walford – Silver (under 65kg), Kimberley Condron – Silver (under 70kg), Emma Bates – Silver (under 90 kg), Katie Morrison – Gold (under 90kg).
Shui Chiao Wrestling: John Burke – Silver
Northern Traditional Forms: Andy Watson – Bronze
Southern Traditional Forms: Andy Watson – Silver
Southern Traditional Long Weapon: Andy Watson – Silver, David Richardson – Bronze
Southern Traditional Long Weapon: David Richardson – Gold
About Us
Sil Lum Kune is a multi style association encompassing Black Tiger Kung Fu, Chinese Kickboxing and Grappling as well as thriving under 8’s section (The Little Tigers) and has members of all ages and abilities.
Sil Lum Kune boasts its own purpose built academy in George Street, Bedworth and has many other venues across the area. Please see our website for more details: www.sil-lum-kune.com
Written by Sean Krauth