On the very auspicious weekend the York team descended upon the Main Sports Hall to compete against the karate club. With the ascendancy of 2 points lead including 2-1 in Womens Kata and 2-1 in Mens Kata for Lancaster, York’s female Kumite team bounced back but failed to get the team on the right track, when the male team suffered 3-0 heavy defeat.
The day started with Female Kata, in which the competitors are required to show off the choreographed patterns of movements on their best. It was an undoubtedly smooth start for York, whose first player took the first bout by three flags which was the unanimous decision. Despite falling behind early, Red Rose ladies blasted to take the lead and won two consecutive rounds for the vital one point.
The Mens Kata held on with 2-1 victory over York in one of the most thrilling and exciting games at Roses. The squad captain Jonathan Londen ultimately overpowered his opponent with 3-0 flag decision and managed to lead his team ahead at 1-0. Despite the subsequent defeat, Anton Haynes’s tremendous efforts and more precise routines outclassed his rival, sealing the victory 3-1 and earned another point for the club.
After a seemingly promising start, the female Kumite team was taken aback by the incredible aggression from York. In the Kumi games the player has to strike the opponent’s head, abdomen and groin to gain point(s) for every hit. Charlotte Askey’s perseverance led Lancaster to hard-earned draw in the closely fought first round. Nevertheless, York began to pile pressure on the team with a comfortable win in next round and narrowly escaped in the third game with 2-0 in the final score.
The day culminated in the Men’s Kumite that see the home players shatter their rivals an impressive 3-0. After opening the campaign with a 8-1 victory, Gareth Dunkerley once again astonished his enemy by scoring seven points within a minute. Followed by the thundering applause, both Dunkerley and Aaron Melayu claimed 8-0 victories in second and third games with flawless punches.
The Womens Kumite winning team member Elizabeth Usher, revealed her excitement about the match: “I strongly believe the enthusiasm and energy from all players here drive me to fight for success.”
Her fellow Helen Houghton was totally impressed with the friendly sportsmanship yet could not conceal her disappointment at her team performance in Men’s Kumi.
As one of the key men, Dunkerley could no longer conceal his eagerness towards the team’s future, “I hope after today’s amazing success, we could recruit more members and make the team stronger than ever.”
Longden was very ecstatic about the club’s massive victory against York and told SCAN that he had high hopes for Lancaster in other sports games.
