February 5th - 1st day of competition

The first day of competition at these European Cadet & Junior Championships here in Izmir, Turkey, and England have already gained their first medal by way of a Bronze for Jacob Kiernan in the Cadet U52kg event. But the day started off with the two Cadet Kata entrants, Jack Newey and Aimee Sell.

Jack Newey – Male Cadet Kata

Jack started proceedings against a Slovakian opponent who performed Kanku-Dai whilst Jack performed Seienchin.

It was the Slovakian that took the flags 5-0 leaving Jack in a possible repechage round but unfortunately the Slovakian went out himself later on.

Aimee Sell – Female Cadet Kata

Aimee Sell completed her first round tie against her opponent from Montenegro. It was Kanku-Dai versus Aimee’s Bassai-Dai and Aimee took all 5 flags. The 2nd round saw Aimee against a German opponent who also performed Kanku-Dai. This time Aimee performed Seienchin and won the round 4-1. The quarter-finals pitted Aimee against the current European Champion from Slovakia. Aimee performed Unshu but her opponent’s Paiku proved too strong winning all 5 flags. The Slovakian went on to make the final leaving Aimee in the repechage semi-final against a French opponent. The French girl performed Unsu with Aimee performing Chatanyara Kushanku. Close but unfortunately for Aimee the French girl won 3-2 leaving Aimee 7th overall.

Jerome Brown – Male Cadet U57kg

The fighters were on next with Jerome Brown making his England debut (finally) after missing out on the World Championships due to injury. Jerome started off his campaign well after winning his opening round 1-0. It was a cagey start but Jerome counter-punched his opponent to score a Gyakusuki punch to secure the point. Jerome fought the rest of the fight well performing two take-downs but neither scored and the match finished 1-0.

Jerome’s 2nd round fight saw his European campaign end prematurely after suffering an agonising 1-0 loss in extra time. There were contact warnings for both fighters in the opening seconds of the fight but the fight soon settled down. Nether managed to score and the fight went into 1 minute of extra time. Jerome picked up a contact warning whilst his opponent picked up a non-contact warning. With 2 seconds left on the clock Jerome caught his opponents face. With a penalty against Jerome it was game over as he bowed out early.

Jacob Kiernan – Male Cadet U52kg

Jacob’s first fight was against Spain and both fighters started cautiously testing each other without scoring. The Spaniard eventually broke the deadlock scoring a Gyakusuki punch taking a 1-0 lead. The Spaniard then received a warning and Jacob scored off the line at the restart to level the scores. Jacob soon scored with another Gyakusuki punch and finished off the fight scoring in the final seconds to secure a 3-1 win.

The 2nd round saw Jacob come out flying and took the lead within 8 seconds scoring with a Gyakusuki punch. Jacob doubled his lead scoring another Gyakusuki but the dropped a point following a contact warning. With a 2-1 lead Jacob didn’t sit back, he went out to extend his lead which he did twice more scoring two Gyakusuki’s to win the fight 4-1.

Round three proved a lot closer as Jacob couldn’t break down his Luxemburg opponents defence as the fight finished 0-0 and went into 1 minute of extra time. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Jacob finally found a way through and scored a Gyakusuki punch. A contact warning for his opponent in the last few seconds saw Jacob receive an extra point to seal a 2-0 victory.

The 4th round was the pool final so no pressure! A 50/50 punch with his French opponent saw the point go to France. Another 50/50 and France were 2-0 up. Jacob tried to get the points back but was caught twice more with Gyakusuki punches and lost out 4-0.

Although missing the final, Jacob was now in the repechage final fighting for bronze against a Turkish opponent. A good start from Jacob go 1-0 up early on and instantly doubled his lead firing off another Gyakusuki punch off the line to go 2-0 up. However, Jacob walked into a Gyakusuki to drop a point but once again maintained a 2 point cushion scoring another Gyakusuki. The second minute of the fight saw Jacob drop another point as he was penalised for ducking an attack reducing the lead to 1 point. Jacob didn’t let himself down as he sealed his bronze medal winning fight with a final Gyakusuki score to win 4-2 and England’s first medal of these championships.

Harley Del-Rio – Male Cadet U63kg

Harley’s opening round fight saw him doing most of the work, pressing his opponent within the first minute but could find a way through his opponents defence. After a minute Harley began to back off to draw his opponent out but neither fighter broke the deadlock. Extra time saw stalemate as the fight finished 0-0. The judges were called into vote for the winner and all flags went Harley’s way.

Harley’s 2nd round match saw another tight encounter but with 50 seconds left on the clock he finally broke the deadlock scoring with a Gyakusuki punch to go 1-0 up. With 25 seconds left he doubled the lead and secured the win in the final 10 seconds scoring another Gyakusuki to finish a 3-0 victor.

Round three for Harley and although he had a good sharp opening a 50/50 punch decision went to his opponent. Another 50/50 went against him a second time leaving him 2 points down. Whilst trying to reduce the deficit Harley forced his opponent to step off the mat within the last 10 seconds giving Harley a much needed penalty point but it was too late for him to score again as he bowed out 2-1. Unfortunately his opponent lost in the next round leaving Harley out of repechage scuppering his chances of a bronze medal.

Charlotte Wastell – Female Cadet U54kg

First up for the girls was Charlotte making her European debut. Charlotte showed no nerves as she took on her Macedonian opponent with both fighters showing some good techniques. However, Charlotte dropped the initial point caught by her opponents Gyakusuki punch. Charlotte soon levelled with her own Gyakusuki. Charlotte then once again dropped a point to a Gyakusuki before levelling once again with her own and the fight finished 2-2. The 1 minute of extra time saw Charlotte finally take the lead as her opponent was penalised for contact on the bell awarding Charlotte with a decisive extra point and victory.

The 2nd round saw Charlotte against host nation Turkey. This fight proved a step too far this time round as her Turkish opponent opened the scoring with a Gyakusuki punch to take a 1-0 lead. With 50 seconds left on the clock the Turkish opponent scored another Gyakusuki to double her score and lead the fight 2-0. Charlotte chased the fight down trying to score but couldn’t get passed her opponents defence.

Charlotte’s Turkish victor went on to make the final leaving Charlotte with a chance for bronze entering the repechage rounds. Charlotte faced a Greek opponent in her 1st repechage fight but went 1-0 following a Gyakusuki punch from her opponent. With 16 seconds left on the clock, the Greek fighter received her 2nd contact warning giving Charlotte a point to level the scores 1-1. Extra time ensued with Charlotte doing most of the pressing but in her attempt to win she was caught by a Jodan Mawashigeri kick giving her opponent 3 points. Charlotte saw the deficit reduce at the end following the award of a penalty point following her opponents contact warning but it wasn’t enough to see Charlotte progress any further.

Lauren Crawford – Female Cadet U47kg

Lauren’s opening round fight was.. wow. Fighting a taller Croatian opponent who used her legs well, Lauren went 3 points down early on being caught by a Jodan Mawashigeri kick despite being the most aggressive fighter out of the two. Lauren didn’t let up and had soon reduced to deficit to 1 point following Gyakusuki punches. Lauren was caught once again with a Jodan Mawashigeri kick but started to fire in her own and scored with them twice to secure an amazing win 8-7.

Lauren’s 2nd round fight saw her really start sharp and both fighters had to be warned for contact within the first 30 seconds. Lauren’s Bosnian opponent managed to open the scoring following a Gyakusuki punch. A warning for Lauren and another Gyakusuki saw Lauren 3-0 down. Lauren pulled one back and gained another point following a contact warning to her opponent but time ran out with the scores 3-2 against her.

Heidi Jay – Female Cadet +54kg

Heidi was another squad member making her European debut. Heidi made a shaky start going a point down but soon levelled the score with her own Gyakusuki punch as she found her range. However, her Ukrainian opponent regained the lead with a Gyakusuki leaving Heidi to once again level the score with her own Gyakusuki. At 2-2 the fight went into extra time. A close fight ensued but it was the Ukrainian that came out the victor after scoring a decisive Gyakusuki before the end to knock Heidi out early. Unfortunately the Ukrainian lost out before the finals scuppering Heidi’s chances at repechage.

Thomas Hickman – Male Cadet U70kg

World bronze medallist Tom was making his European debut and was looking for silverware but this was one strange encounter with the scores completely messed up. Tom did lose but I’m not 100% sure what the final score should have been even though it was scored at 5-1 against Tom. Tom’s Spanish opponent gained the initial point following a 50/50 Gyakusuki exchange. Tom then landed a Ura Mawashigeri on his opponent who landed on the floor but was eventually warned for feining. Both fighters were then warned for holding resulting in Tom giving a point away but he also gained a point? Then Tom was floored but also penalised for feining injury and lost 2 more points. By this time the scores were not being processed properly and there was some discussions. Another warning and another 2 points given away and Tom bowed out at the first hurdle.

Jake Langley – Male Cadet +70kg

Jake was the last fighter up for the day and although yet another European debut for the squad. Jake showed no lack of experience though as he secured a 2-0 win in his opening round fight to claim a win under his belt.

The 2nd round saw Jake Pitted against a Ukrainian fighter. Both fighters stared well showing some good techniques but not clear enough to score. The fight soon went into extra time after finishing 0-0. Extra time saw Jake take the fight to his opponent but once again the deadlock wasn’t broken and the decision went down to the judges votes. All flags went Jakes way to see into the next round.

The 3rd round had Jake against a home nation Turkish opponent who quickly went 1-0 against Jake. Jake tried to level the score but was caught once again by the Turkish Gyakusuki to go 2-0 down. The tied began to turn after Jake received a point following a penalty warning to the Turkish opponent and soon levelled the score to 2-2 with his own Gyakusuki. Jake then took the lead with another Gyakusuki punch and finished the fight 5-2 victor following yet another contact warning to his opponent.

The 4th round pool final saw Jake nearly fighting for gold but his momentum ran out as he suffered a 2-0 defeat. Jake went down to a Gyakusuki punch and although he tried to level, he was finally caught once again in the dying seconds doubling the lead for his opponent.

Jake didn’t get the chance to fight for gold but he did get the chance to fight for bronze as he made the repechage final against a Serbian fighter. However it wasn’t going to be Jake’s day as he conceded an early point and then 2 more going 3-0 down As he chased the fight the Serbian caught Jake with a Ura Mawashigeri kick to go 6-0 up. Jake then walked straight into another to end these championships in a good 5th place overall, just missing out on a medal.

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