A 9 man USKA fighting squad
consisting of Ridwan Khan, Jay Collett, Mark Sedgwick,
Usmaan Ali, Azad Khan, Jake Richards, Reiss Larvin, Murdock
Kellyman and Qasim Nisar headed down to Tamworth Snow Dome
on April 23rd to take part in the first Battle Ground open
competition hosted by tournament organisers Lance Manyer and
Rob Raymond.
First impressions on arrival was that it looked busy and there
seemed to be a nice selection of new opposition for us to
sink our teeth into.
Although on paper the categories were not great for most of
the USKA team it was time regardless to employ our new fight
anywhere policy and get on with business regardless.
First up representing USKA was the steadily improving Ridwan
Khan in the under 135cm category.
Ridwan in his first fight was
matched against a very tall opponent from Black Country Combat
Gym. We later found out that he was indeed over 135cm and
should not have even been in this category at all. Ridwan
had a very slow start allowing his opponent to press forward
but mid way through the round warmed to the task and stepped
on the gas to power down the straight for the rest of the
fight.
A close decision that we felt the tidier Ridwan should have
got went to the BCC lad and unfortunately Ridwan's day of
competition was over.
Also in the under 135cm category was young Jay
'SugarFoot' Collett. Jay in the first stage of
the competition was matched against very game but limited
opponent from Alf Loves BBA gym in Manchester. It was a case
of brawler against kicker with Jay's superior skills making
him a clear winner and seeing him advance to the second stage
and semi final of the competition.
In Jay's
semi final fight he was matched against another one of the
Manchester BBA boys.
This lad had a little more about himself than the first but
still from the opening whistle it was clear that there was
only going to be one winner.
Interestingly about 15 seconds before the final whistle to
end the fight Jay sustained a nose bleed that needed attention
from the medic.
After getting cleaned up and dusted down Jay produced a flurry
of techniques worthy of anybody's highlight reel and showed
a glimpse of how good Jay really can be.
Another round in the bag and now onto the final for Jay
to face Ridwan's victor from the Black Country Combat club.
Again with a massive weight and height disadvantage Jay was
going to have his work cut out for him to make his presence
felt on the mat.
Jay started well but was falling victim to the height and
reach advantage of his opponent.
As if that wasn't his only problem, Jay's bleeding nose was
again giving him trouble and the bout was constantly being
stopped to have it cleaned up and unluckily for us also giving
his tiring opponent a rest.
Jay was working hard but the feeling was his bigger opponent
might just be ahead due to the fact he was pressing forward
more using his weight advantage.
Our suspicions were confirmed at the end of the bout with
the Black country fighter winning the close decision. As i
mentioned before it later transpires that Jay's final opponent
was in the wrong category and due to his height should have
been in the next division up.
With his height and weight advantage being the only thing
in my opinion that he had on Jay i know for a fact that Jay
would have won the division had the registration of the fighter
been done correctly.
All said and done Jay had to settle for the silver medal but
knew that he had indeed beat everyone under 135cm in height
that he had faced that day in fine style.
Time now for our only competitor in the
Under 145cm category Mark
'The Killer Kicker' Sedgwick.
Mark matched against a very pumped up opponent from BBA Manchester
looked to be one of the shortest in the division but with
the attitude of the bigger they come the harder they fall
did not look at all concerned.
The pumped up lad soon looked deflated when he realised how
well Mark kicked.
Mark moved well and systematically took his man apart in text
book fashion.
Excellent kicking technique broke his opponents heart and
Mark breezed to an easy win and place in the final.
Mark's final saw him
matched against a fighter from West Bromwich E.C.K.A club.
Again giving away a little height and weight Mark proved that
if you are good enough you are big enough out punching, kicking
and lasting his tiring opponent to secure yet another 1st
place trophy for his mantle piece at home and also another
1st place position for the USKA team.
Next up saw the Over 155cm Category that had four of the USKA
lads in it.
A crazy category that saw the lightest of our lads Usmaan
Ali at 37kg potentially have to mix it with the heaviest of
the USKA lads Reiss Larvin who was weighing in at 62kg.
If that wasn't bad enough there were some guys in the division
that looked a good 10kg heavier than Reiss as well.
'Relentless'
Reiss Larvin was first up for our boys matched
against his smaller opponent Matthew from the Black Dragons
club. Reiss accessing that Matthew was not going to be much
of a threat compassionately and very controlled coasted, doing
just enough and without expelling much energy and cruised
to an easy first round victory.
Next it was time for Jake 'Rattlesnake'
Richards to take to the mat in his first round
fight against his team T.K.A opponent.
The T.K.A man looked like he
knew his way around the mat as both lads exchanged good combinations
with Jake just getting the edge on volume and cleaner kicking
technique.
As is very often with mat fighters his opponent started to
tire just as Jake seemed to be warming up and Jake turned
up the heat to make the decision an easy one for the judges.
Jake as Reiss had done before him was too through to the second
round of the competition.
Time now for Azad 'The Wrath Of'
Khan who too was matched against a team T.K.A
opponent. The match started and both fighters looked well
matched in size and skill.
The referee however seemed to dislike Azad's style for some
reason and was calling him on pretty much everything he was
doing.
Azad did not let this bother him and as the match went on
he stuck to his style and broke away on the scorecards. A
comfortable win to Azad making it three out of three through
to the second round for the USKA boys.
The last of our guys to go
in the first round was Usmaan 'Lightning'
Ali matched against the biggest guy in the division
Lewis Paul from the Wolves freestyle club.
Usmaan knew from the outset that he was going to have to move
if he was going to have any chance of not winning the fight
but simply not getting killed.
No sign of Lewis showing compassion or fighting at range against
his younger, smaller, lighter, less experienced opponent as
he powered forward and forced Usmaan off the mat with powerful
techniques that earned him a contact warning from the referee.
Usmaan at this point on the instruction of his coach was told
to keep moving and stay out of trouble. The referee however
felt that usmaan was not making enough attempt to make a fight
of it and called it off enforcing the outclassed rule.
In my opinion it was clear from the opening whistle that Usmaan
through to physical disadvantage had absolutely no chance
of winning the contest.
He was however ok, not hurt and putting up a great account
of himself and should have been allowed to see the fight through
the end that only had 10 seconds left to go on the clock.
Usmaan even in defeat earned himself some stripes today and
showed that he not only had lightning footwork but the heart
of a lion.
The second round match up for Reiss
looked like a tough assignment. Matched against an excellent
prospect and W.K.A World title contender from the Manchester's
BBA gym who had destroyed his first round opponent within
the first 30 seconds.
Reiss was confident that would not happen to him and although
giving away nearly two years in age and what looked like a
little weight was as always ready and raring to go.
In an excellent dust up that often boiled over with both fighters
so eager to win the judges were left with no alternative to
award the bout a draw and order another 30 seconds of combat
to split the two on points.
Reiss knew what he had to do and sensed his opponent tiring.
Constant pressure and a beautiful side kick to the head from
Reiss seemed to have comfortably took the round but to our
surprise the judges were again split and awarded the extension
a draw.
A final 30 seconds were ordered with this time the judges
told that they had to absolutely find a winner from the action.
Reiss was now cooking and had no intention of leaving the
decision in any doubt against his by now very tired looking
opponent.
30 seconds of constant pressure and 3 clean head kicks later
from Reiss even Stevie Wonder couldn't deny him the victory
and although a very tough bout Reiss had come through it with
flying colours and he advanced through to the semi final stage
of the competition.
Jake back on the mat
now and matched against the other monster in the division
this time from the ECKA West Bromwich club.
The ECKA fighter looked to have at least 15kg on Jake and
a good 5 inches in height.
Snakes don't scare easy though and Jake did not looked fussed
or fazed at the job in hand.
Good lateral movement, accurate technique, kick rate and staying
power saw Jake out last his man in the stamina department
to get a close but worthy decision.
The boys were having to come through some David and Goliath
situations today but in fairness to them they were doing it
and doing it well.
Jake by winning the fight had earned his place to meet Reiss
in the semi final.
Also looking for a place in the semi final was Azad
this time matched against a fighter from the Solihull kickboxing
academy under the instruction of Paul Gilmore.
Azad very early realised that his opponent was not really
in his league and listening to cornerman NeiL kelly just done
enough to secure the victory.
Azad as Reiss had done before him showed good skills and control
against opponents who did not need to get beat up in order
for them to know they had lost.
Compassion is a quality that very few fighters have but is
one of the qualities that i believe makes the difference between
a good fighter and a great fighter.
Time now for Reiss and
Jake to touch them
up and in true USKA fashion put on an excellent display of
controlled varied technique in their semi final match.
With the power never escalating and both lads relying purely
on accurate technique to be the deciding factor of the match
it was always going to be a tough one to call.
Judges decision however went to Reiss and with his place in
the final secured he would now face the winner of Azad Vs
Giant Lewis Paul. Jake not overly disappointed having have
gone out to one of his own team mates proudly took home the
bronze medal in his
first ever mat competition.
Azad as Usmaan was before
him looked up against it against Lewis. Knowing already that
Lewis relied heavily on his aggressive forward fighting style
it was now up to Azad to try and find a formula to negate
that and impose his own strategy to tally up the points.
Azad was coping remarkably well against the bigger man.
Using side steps to neutralise his forward pressure and then
attempting to hit on the counter attack. A good strategy but
one that was physically taking it's toll on the lighter Azad.
Even when Azad was taking shots onto his guard it was knocking
him half way across the mat and draining him of energy.
With the better technique from Azad but the higher work rate
and pressure from Lewis the judges were split at decision
time and an extra 30 seconds were ordered.
By this point in the game both fighters were extremely tired
but once again the physical advantage of Lewis helped him
to once again push forward and earn himself the decision against
his second USKA victim of the day.
It was now onto the final bout of the category with 'Relentless'
Reiss Vs 'Long Leg'
Lewis.
It was now time to see if Reiss the strongest of the USKA
fighters in this category could contend with the weight and
pressure of Lewis that had seen him successfully overpower
and overwhelm all his previous opponents.
It's not often we see Reiss in reverse gear but that is what
was happening in the first 15 seconds of the match. Lewis
again true to form piling forward and smothering Reiss's own
work.
Reiss knowing he had to change to flow and direction of the
fight was instructed to move first from his line before the
big man could set.
This was seeing Reiss have more success but he was still having
to work extremely hard for his openings.
Reiss landing the cleaner kicks but again Lewis brawling and
scraping away had made this a close encounter and one that
the judges would have to split.
Thankfully the judges were suitably impressed by Reiss's technique
and he was awarded the win and the first place position.
It was time now for the senior category under 75kg that would
feature both Murdock Kellyman and team mate Qasim 'The Dream'
Nisar.
Murdock was first up
against an opponent a good bit older and heavier.
Murdock has really matured in his fighting of late and was
not fazed by the prospect of the fight that was in front of
him.
Murdock worked well against an opponent who was no push over.
Murdock just beating him to the shot and out kicking his man
to earn a well deserved decision.
Qasim next against an
opponent that we really did not know what to expect from.
Dressed in traditional Karate Gi and weighing in what must
have been close to the 75kg limit compared to Qasim's lean
and mean 60kg.
The match started with Qas having to work around an awkward
unorthodox style but hitting enough in singles to keep ahead
on the score cards.
Mid way through the round Qasim realised that the Karate man
did not offer that much of a threat and decided to up the
output and work more in combinations.
An even stronger finish to the round left the judges with
even less doubt and Qasim cruised to a comfortable first round
win.
Murdock's second round fight had him matched against a very
good mover from the Black Dragons gym.
The first half of the round saw both fighters stay at range
waiting for the other to press the attack in order to mount
the counter fight.
Murdock sensing that he needed to make this a little more
conclusive started to close down the mat and pushing the Black
dragon man back.
This strategy was seeing the referee have to hand out area
warnings to Murdock's opponent and the change in direction
of the fight had Murdock grow in confidence with the way he
was fighting.
A strong finish again from Murdock secured him yet another
win and a place in the final against the winner of Qasim's
next fight Vs Ricky Massey.
Ricky Massey from the Black Country Combat gym was an experienced
full contact fighter that we had seen fight many times and
knew with Qas giving away at least 6kg that he would have
to work hard not to get outworked by his foe.
The match started with booth fighters let go shots at a very
high pace.
Qasim landing the cleaner and more accurate but Ricky more
than still in the fight with good style and classy technique.
Qasim did not look overwhelmed in the slightest and the weight
advantage to Massey was not really evident with Qasim being
the aggressor and forcing the action.
Half way through the round Qasim's superior fitness seemed
to be taking over as Massey started to tire.
He was being hit by even cleaner shots now and was unable
to mount any meaningful counter fight to keep Qasim at bay.
The round ends and again Qasim is awarded a comfortable decision
and a passport to face team mate Murdock in the final.
The final between Murdock
and Qasim was another
typical USKA match. Good technique, excellent control and
as always maximum respect for each other allowing speed and
skill to be the deciding factor between the two.
Both fighters took the opportunity to work on a few new moves
and gave the spectators a good show to finish the day.
Judges decision went to Qasim and Murdock awarded the second
place position in the competition.
As Reiss and Jake had done before them both Qasim and Murdock
had been a credit to the USKA gym showing that it is all about
skills.
All in all a very enjoyable day showing that the USKA crew
are now too finding their feet on the mats as well as the
square ring.
Jack of all trades, Master of all trades! That is the plan
from now on and although we might have to win some, lose some
in the pursuit of the bigger picture of becoming complete
fighters this is a sacrifice that we are more than willing
to make.
Well done to all involved, on to the next mat....ring...cage...whatever!
