Sunday 3rd February 2008

Bai Lang Martial Arts in association with the BLCC
are pleased to present the
2008 Bai Lang championship Series Event 1
A light continuous ring event

Sunday 3rd February 2008

On the 3rd February 2008 the USKA team of 13 fighters set off to compete in their first Light continuous outing of the year at the BLCC Bai Lang Championship series event 1.
The event at the fabulously equipped Bai Lang Martial Arts Centre in Telford is growing in popularity now and with over 100 pre entered fighters and over 300 spectators it was looking to be a great start to the calendar of BLCC 2008 events.
All matched with the exception of Mushtaq younis in either competitive or learning demonstration bouts it looked on paper like some tough asks from the USKA team with many fighting more experienced or older talented named fighters that we were very familiar with from previous competitions.
Top of the bill on the day would see USKA 10 year old fighter Harun Khan go in against the very talented 11 year old Declan Buckland from Dudley's Black Country Combat Kickboxing team to contest the BLCC 10-12 years 35-40kg boys Midland Area title over 5 rounds. They had met previously at the ISKA British Championships last year were Harun dropped a close decision and with Declan's only loss coming against the now 13 year old BLCC British Champion Thomas Wilson from Liverpool he was heavily favoured to beat Harun on this occasion also.
The fights went ahead on time with USKA having a mixed start with wins for Ryan Bayley and Amie Bayley in well matched fights, a very close 1 point loss for Isa Hanif against Jesters gym's Josh Spencer and a well deserved draw for Noor Muhammed against Ace Kickboxing's former Midland title contender Zeeshan Khan.
Megan Kelly jumped in and showed improvement in her demonstration bout and then it was time for the main event of Harun Vs Declan.

Round 1 : A good start from Harun landing fast combinations and a good mixture of punching and kicking technique. Declan opting just to maraud forward with straight punches and neglecting his kicks. First round on all three score cards to the USKA fighter. Round 2 : A very aggressive start from Declan in the second round puts Harun on the back foot and takes him out of his stride. Declan is throwing more kicks now and the referee seems happy with his power but the USKA corner has concerns of it being too heavy. The second round on all three scorecards to Declan evening up the contest. Round 3 : Harun meets fire with fire centre ring and seems to be outscoring Declan but having to do it for the most part going backwards due to Declans superior strength. Nearer to the end of the round Harun's work rate drops allowing Declan again to push forward not landing but creating the impression that he is in control. The round ends with two of the judges scoring the round even and the other favouring Declan's aggression. Round 4 : Somewhat of a messy round in the 4th with both fighters starting to show signs of tiring. Harun seems again to be landing more but with fatigue setting in and Declan ploughing forward with his straight punches his balance lets him down on a few occasions making the round more subjective to score. Two judges scored the round to Harun and the other opting to score it even. Round 5 : The final round saw Declan at his most ferocious, maybe feeling he was behind in the contest he looked to be punching full contact and to the amazement and dismay of the USKA corner referee Dale Wood seemed to be letting the power go with Harun under heavy fire and pinned to the ropes even at one point being pummelled under a succession of big swings dropping him to the canvas with the punches continuing while he was on the floor. The fight ends with many people including the ringside paramedic shaking their heads on just how much contact was allowed in the contest. With the last round being scored to Declan on two of the cards with the other judge scoring it even it was time for the totals to be added and the result to be read.

With score totals of 49/47 Harun, 47/49 Declan and 48/48 even the bout was declared a draw.

A disappointed Harun walked away without the title but with the respect knowing that he had just done 5 hard rounds in his first title fight against a very tough opponent. A rematch between the two will be discussed and arranged providing they can both stay in the weight division so watch this space for details.

See the fight in full here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxcpZTi2LUM

Mark Sedgwick and Solihull kickboxing's Callum Hawthorn treated the crowd to a excellent demonstration of kickboxing going a little more at it than in previous meetings and Ridwan Khan gave away two years in age and a lot of height dropping a points decision to Bai Lang's Byron Crump, unable to close the distance and deal with the reach of the older lad. Solihull's Callum Hawthorn kept busy with his third visit to the ring of the day in a demonstration bout against Aahdam Amjad who also was left without a suitable opponent.
Adam Ejaz performed well and picked up a nice win against Rajab Hussain from Ace Kickboxing and then it was time for Jake Richards in a rematch of a previous contest at Bai Lang against home fighter Vishav Partap Singh. Jake who has been training for a forthcoming full contact fight had to go back into light continuous mode after a close first round to outwork Vishav in the 2nd and 3rd to take a unanimous points decision in a good competitive fight. The final fight of the day for USKA saw the ever improving Zakir Rahman take on former BLCC Midland Champion Jai Meyrick from Bai Lang. This would be yet another step up in class for Zakir giving away age, weight and experience. Zak however rose to the challenge as he has done every step of his career so far out landing the Bai Lang fighter over three to emphatically take the judges eye.
Zakir's win alongside Harun's title effort draw equally well deserving of the USKA fighter of the day accolade.

Congratulations to Lee and Dave Whitfield and the Bai Lang team for yet another good show and we look forward as a club at attending the next one scheduled for Sunday 18th May 2008.

The full results for bout featuring USKA fighters are as follows...

Isa Hanif (USKA) v Josh Spencer (Jesters) – win to Josh