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16th
Canadian Elite Kyokushin
Karate Championships
March 22, 2008, Montreal, Quebec |
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Friday March 21st. Sensei and I
met up at the Trudeau airport in Montreal. Michi didn’t arrive
until late at night so we met him at the hotel. After checking
in to our hotel in downtown we headed to Shihan Andres dojo to
weigh in. Afterwords I headed back to the hotel to get
some rest in anticipation for the big day ahead.
Saturday March 22nd. On the morning of the big day Sylvain and
Diane were so kind to pick up Sensei, Michi and I up from the
hotel. After stopping to get some snacks and water we headed off
to the Claude Robillard Sports Complex. We weren’t scheduled to
fight until much later in the afternoon so I slept for a bit,
and managed to eat some lunch. I felt pretty good. Well rested,
mentally prepared, and more excited than nervous.
My first fight was against Jessica Buteau of Montreal. The first
round and first extensions were fairly even. I was landing lots
of uchi mata while Jessicas attack consisted of mae geri and
punches to push me back. In the second extension I was finding
it hard to breath as I had taken a hard blow to the throat. I
could hear Sensei and Michi yelling and I knew I had to push
myself even harder. Like Sensei says, even when your body and
your mind want to give up your spirit keeps you going. I was
able to gain an edge over my opponent and drive her back.
In the finals I fought Ewa Wizimirska also from Montreal. Though
I was able to push her out of bounds several times, her fast
combinations and
impressive high kicks gave her the victory. Even though I lost
it was a great learning experience. My goals for my next
tournament will be working on speed, using combinations more
effectively, better defense and delivering sharper kicks. |
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Michi was up first in the afternoon fights. His first opponent
was a fighter from Chicago. During the first half of the round
Michi remained fairly calm and had good defense blocking many of
his opponents kicks. In the second minute he released his attack
and drove his opponent back with fast shita tsuki combinations.
Michi also defeated Thierry in the second round with the same
game plan.
Once again Michi had another chance to achieve his ultimate goal
to beat Dominic. In the first round Michi charged Dominic
aggressively but many of his kicks were blocked. As the fight
moved into the first extension Michi kept charging with a flurry
of shita tsuki and Dominic was landing lots of gedan mawashi
geri and hiza geri. Neither showed any sign of being tired and a
second extension was called. The fight was so close, but in the
remaining seconds Dominic was landing more techniques than Michi
and the decision was made in favour of Dominic. It was
definitely the best fight of the day and a true display of
Kyokushin spirit. We all enjoyed the Sayonara party after. It
was a great time to create stronger friendships, and unwind and
have some good laughs at the end of the busy day. We ended with
Senseis traditional kihon on the street after. It was my first
time traveling outside BC to fight, and I had
such an awesome experience.
I would like to thank Shihan Andre and his dojo for putting on
such a great event. Thanks to Sempais Sylvain and Diane for all
their help and support. And a big thank you to Sensei Tats for
training me and constantly pushing my limits, and for coaching
me at the tournament. I would never have been able to do this
without you, Sensei. OSU!
Esther Nathe
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate
Highlight Video (WMV, 6.2MB)
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Official results
and more photos will be posted at the organizer's web site.
www.karate-andregilbert.com |
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