On 3rd April 2007 a team of 45 competitors and a further 20 spectators, officials and coaches from Great Britain travelled to Szentes Hungary to compete in the 2007 ISKA European Championships. Within the ISKA GB contingent were 8 fighters from the USKA gym hoping to add International honours to their list of achievements, Haris Khan, Haroon Khan, Ridwan Khan, Mark Sedgwick, Reiss larvin, Azad Khan, Jake Richards and Qasim Nisar.
They had all qualified and earned their places to compete by being placed 1st or 2nd in the ISKA British Championships in October last year.
The European Championships in Hungary was well attended with over 20 countries taking part at the very highest level in all the disciplines, semi contact, Light Continuous, Full Contact, Kickboxing (leg kicks), Thai Boxing and Forms (Kata's).
USKA Chief Instructor Neil Kelly travelled with the team in the capacity of Great Britain head coach for the Light Continuous.
On arrival to Szentes it was straight to the weigh in and registration of fighters. Once everyone was successfully registered a tired team made their way to their accommodation to spend a few hours chilling out before having to be at the Szentes town hall in the city centre for the Championships opening ceremony early that evening.
At the opening ceremony it gave the team a chance to see all the other countries competitors and a chance also to look around and speculate on who would be in who's category come the next day when the competition began.

 

Bright and early next day the British team made their way to the Szentes sportshall for the start of the championships.
After an extended delay due to computer registration problems of people being entered into the wrong categories we were at last ready to go and win some medals.

First up for the Great Britain team from the USKA gym was Haris Khan in his first round match against a fighter from the host nation Hungary called David Varga. David starts well and sets the pace high with Haris unable to keep up with him for the first quarter of the bout. David clocks up a good lead but Haris is continuing to press forward irrespective. David seems to hit a wall and looks to be getting tired but manages to still land against Haris on the counter although less convincingly. Entering the last quarter of the bout now and Haris is starting to find his target more pressing the action and forcing the Hungarian lad off the mat to score an area warning. Just as it looks as Haris is at last starting to break through the whistle blows and the bout is over. A good effort by Haris but no doubt about the decision as the Hungarian fighters hand is held up in victory.

 

Next up for USKA Great Britain we have another junior this time in Haroon Khan. Haroon is matched against a Turkish fighter that looks to be a little bigger in frame than himself. Haroon is holding the Turkish lad off with his lead leg and try as he might the Turkish fighter could not seem to get past it. Haroon is looking very compact in his defence and has now got the Turkish lad on the retreat landing well with good combinations. The action slows up in the last quarter and although the Turkish lad was trying hard he could not seem to find his range and Haroon cruises to his first round win to move onto the next stage in the competition.

Haroon Khan in his second fight and semi final of the competition is matched against a very tall and rangy fighter from Hungary. We have seen him in his first fight and know he is technically very good and also very strong. Haroon somewhat intimidated by his size straight away goes on the retreat and allows his opponent to pick up momentum coming forward. Haroon is also turning his head on the defence stopping him from seeing the angles of the Hungarian lad's attacks and also losing his counter attack position.
Waiting far too long to get his shots off Haroon is throwing his technique out of range and falling victim to the Hungarian lad's attacks, starting to fall well behind on points.
Things go from bad to worst as Haroon starts to come apart backing away and steps off the area on more than one occasion earning himself area warnings from the referee.
The Hungarian fighter is growing more and more in confidence as Haroon is losing his and you can see he is moving through the gears not allowing Haroon back into the fight. The whistle could not have come soon enough for Haroon and he knows his European Championships ends here.
As expected the decision goes to the Hungarian fighter and Haroon has to be content with the Bronze medal.

 

Ridwan Khan now and he would be facing a heavier looking Turkish fighter that had engaged in a little eyeballing with Ridwan before the fight after learning that he was his match. They met centre mat and it was time for the eyeballing to stop and the serious business of the fighting to start.
The bout starts and the Turkish lad straight away goes on the attack with a two fisted attack with Ridwan having to cover up and ride the storm. The referee steps in and warns the Turkish lad for brawling and waves the fight back on. Ridwan finds his flow now and mixes up his punch kick combinations well making the Turkish lad have to go on the defensive this time. The Turkish fighter ploughs forward with straight left right punches and although his scoring kicking technique is none existent he is making it difficult for Ridwan to get his own shots off as effectively as he would like. The pace is taking it's toll on both fighters now and Ridwan is getting caught with heavy punches to the head. In ISKA scoring there is no minimum kick rule and the fact that the Turkish lad has not landed a kick in the round will have no bearing on the scoring. The one that lands more will win it and at this point it is close Ridwan landing all the kicks and the Turkish lad stubborn in his straight punch volleys A really strong last 10 seconds in the fight from Ridwan puts him in good standing but we take nothing for granted as both fighters are called to mat centre for the decision.
And the winner..........Turkey!
So not the result we were looking for and an early exit from the championships for Ridwan.
Ridwan can take consolation knowing that in any competition in Britain he would have got the decision for the fact that his opponent did not land any kicks. This is something I believe is being addressed by ISKA and hopefully with any look it will be different at next years championships.

 

Mark Sedgwick to the mat now and another disappointment at the fact that due to a lack of entrants in his weight class he had been put up a weight division where he would be giving away up to 8kg against his European class opposition. This was a real shame because Mark in his own weight class is near on unbeatable and he had probably the strongest chance of all the Great British fighters to regain the European title that he had won last year in Germany.
So a tough ask and measuring up to his first round opponent from the Czech Republic he looked like he was giving away the full 8kg along side significant height and reach disadvantages. Mark though has a never say never attitude and would give it his very best shot to cause an upset and deal with the job at hand.
The fight starts and straight away we see to add to Mark's troubles that he is up against a phenomenal kicker. Mark's usual long looking legs are looking short and out of range in comparison to the Czech fighter's lower limbs. Mark however is still putting the heat on his man finding it harder than usual to get close but once he got there was letting rip with good punch and kick combinations.
Mark then unintentionally lands a low kick as the Czech is high kicking and a little unfairly as it is his first warning earns himself an official warning from the referee.
The action resumes and amazingly it is Mark who is now exclusively pushing the heavier lad back but is still finding it hard getting past the long arms and legs of the Czech fighter.
The Czech Republic lad is starting to tire now and incredibly Mark is getting stronger clawing back the points and the fight looks dead even with not long at all left on the clock.
The whistle blows and it is anyone's guess as to who is going to get the decision.
Fighter's go to the centre and the decision is announced to the Czech fighter. Was it the low kick warning that cost Mark the fight? We would never know but Mark could be happy with the fact that he gave his all, pushed him close and was way out of his own division in the first place. Mark also for his efforts earned himself a Bronze medal in one of the quieter divisions of the competition.

 

Time now for another one of last years Champions Azad Khan to try and regain his title in a straight final against a fighter from Sweden. Azad as everyone knows is incredibly strong for his weight and event though he had come up in weight for this years championship he looked much the stronger of the two as they sized up mat centre. One of Azad's biggest problems when he fights is always having to watch his power and not get disqualified and in Europe this was even more of a concern.
Azad finds his flow straight away and scores a beautiful round kick to the head. A very relaxed looking Azad picks away manoeuvring the Swedish lad into position and forces him to move around the outside of the mat conceding a few area warnings. Azad lands a counter jab that knocks the head back of the Swedish fighter and the ref jumps in and awards Azad with his first warning of the bout. In fairness to Azad it was timing more than power but nevertheless it was a warning all the same.
Azad goes back to picking away scoring his points and going into somewhat of a sparring mode showing his skill. His counters are working well now and the harder the Swedish fighter tried the more mistakes he was making and leaving gaps for Azad to manipulate.
A counter jab again lands fast onto it's target and to Azad's surprise the referee stepped in again and issued his second warning. Azad was treading dangerous ground and any more warnings would cost him points and potentially lose him his title. He would have to be extra careful. The whistle blows to end the round and Azad makes his way back to coach Neil Kelly. In the corner Neil told him to pick away and let his skill do the talking. Extra careful with his contact and a safety first approach to round 2.
Round 2 and just Azad's presence is forcing the Swedish lad back, straight away forcing an area warning for his back peddling. Azad is picking away and looks much the better of the two fighters, scoring more and in total control. A left leg round kick to the body from Azad that sounded harder than it actually was again seen the referee interject and this time seen him deduct a point. That meant that we would be fighting this round for a draw comfortable that we had done enough in the first.
extra extra care now though as another point deduction would be pretty much disastrous.
Azad finishes the round landing well and consistent and it was up to the judges now to decide who was the worthy winner and how much the point deduction for Azad would play in it.
Fighters to the centre, and the winner is
......and new ISKA European Champion 2007.......Azad Khan.
A few sigh of relief from the british contingent but you would have to say beyond doubt that even with the point deductions that the right winner was found.

 

To the ring now and USKA / ISKA Great Britain team member Qasim Nisar was in ready to rumble in his first round match up against his opponent from Belgium. Qasim another European champion from last year is hot favourite in his division and eager to impress on route to regaining his title in this his semi final match up. both fighters square up at the centre of the ring and for a change Qasim has not got a height advantage over his confident looking opponent. The fighter from Belgium has good legs but Qasim is quick to close them down and throw combinations of hands and legs on the inside that his opponent does not seem to like.
The Belgium lad is happy at distance but looks very panicky indeed when the fight falls into close quarters.
A right hand from Qasim bloodies the nose of his opponent and the referee stops the action to allow his corner to clean it up. After a quick word from the referee for contact the action resumes and again Qasim goes about closing him down and putting the kind of heat on him that he does not seem to like.
Qasim is positioning his man well and measures and hits the Belgium fighter with a rear leg axe kick that clips his headguard but drops his man to the canvas. Qasim goes to the neutral corner as instructed by the referee as he picks up the count waiting for the lad to get back to his feet. The lad from Belgium was rolling on his back and we could not work out why he was not getting back up to his feet given that the axe kick was just a glancing blow. The referee reached the count of 10 and waved the lad out and Qasim returned to his corner happy enough thinking that he had won the contest due to stoppage. Next thing we see the Referee go to all three judges and tell them that it was excess power and that he was disqualifying Qasim.
ISKA British president Andrew Hennessy who was at ringside was furious at what he deemed as play acting from the Belgium fighter and immediately went through the motions of appealing the decision. To win an appeal is very rare and it costs 100 Euros which is not refundable if unsuccessful on review by a panel of officials and chief referee there and then at the ringside.
Mr Hennessy's decision to appeal proved to be the right one though when all three judges were spoken to by the European president and the decision from the referee was overturned in favour of Qasim. He was declared the winner and reinstated into the competition and his final would be fought at the following days competition.

No time to catch our breath after the drama of Qasim's fight as Reiss Larvin took to the same ring to take on the favourite in his division from Germany. Reiss's opponent had already taken part in the adult thai boxing division and won it had made the final of the adults full contact and not that we knew it at this time would win a silver medal in the adults light continuous at the next days competition. This kid was one serious fighter and as he vaulted the top rope to get into the ring we knew that Reiss would have to be top of his game if he was going to defeat him.
The chants of 1..2..3..GERMANY! started to be shouted out and this kid had got the attention of the whole German and Turkish squad so he was obviously one of their star fighters.
A tear up commenced with fast hand combinations at a blistering pace. This kind of fight is a referees nightmare because there is so much leather being thrown. He calls the two fighters two the centre and has a word with them in an attempt to diffuse the tension between the two. The fight resumes and Reiss scores first with his legs landing two good lead leg side kicks to the body. The German lad answers with a blitz of straight paunches but Reiss slickly evades most of them and returns fire with an excellent side kick to the face that sends his German opponent off balance and into the ropes. The pace is very high and the awkwardness of both men seems to be cancelling out each others work. In a testament to both men's fitness the pace did not drop in the slightest from start to finish and if either had been any less conditioned they would have been found wanting in such a high intensity affair. The bout finishes with Reiss pinning the German man to the ropes and now it would be the judges job to find a winner from the two in what was a close and highly competitive fight.
Both fighters are called to the centre and the winner announced as Reiss Larvin from Great Britain. A great win for Reiss against one of the strongest competitors in the division.

Reiss Larvin would not have much rest before his next fight. This his semi final fight against a tough Czech Republic fighter that we had seen earlier in the day. The Czech was leggy and he would pose a completely different set of problems than the German presented in his first round battle. Reiss started well getting past the fast lead leg of the Czech and flurried his fast hands as a counter response. Reiss was doing a good job making his man miss but in ISKA rules defence does not score and it is all down to who lands the most on the offence. Reiss is keeping the pressure on and alot of what is being thrown on both sides is hitting the gloves and arms of the other. As the end of the round approached Reiss receives a contact warning for a right hand which was a little unfair as both sides were letting rip at the time. Reiss then goes straight back on the attack to break away on points and does well to find the first head kick of the round landing his lead leg side kick. The Czech fighter tries to respond throwing a big axe kick but Reiss slips his head and takes it on his shoulder. The round finishes again with Reiss on the attack.
We are confident in the corner that we have done enough to win. The Czech fighter was technical and had some nice moves but quite frankly was not landing them. Reiss on the other hand was not pretty all the time but without doubt was the more effective of the two.
To our surprise the decision was awarded to the Czech fighter by split decision. Reiss would have to settle with a Bronze medal but could be happy knowing that he had beaten the highest quality opposition in his bouts and had been more than unlucky not to proceed to the final.

Jake Richards first fight of the day was a tough one against the reigning European Champion of the division from Denmark. Other members of the British team had seen him win his title in Germany last year and the reports we were hearing were good ones. He also looked fantastic warming up and we knew it was going to be a real test for Jake. The Dane goes straight on the attack and backs Jake up to the edge of the mat. Jake is giving up ground and is probably showing the Danish fighter just a little too much respect. Jake starts to warm to the job at hand and opens up with his first flurry finishing with a good points scorer of a round kick to the head. Jake is in full flow now and is letting go in multiples keeping the Danish fighter busy and only allowing him to respond in single counter attacks. The pressure is intense and uncharacteristically for Jake he lands another hook kick to the head as the Dane rushes forward.
On work rate and landing shots their is only one winner but as we just saw in Reiss's fight nothing is a dead cert until your hand is raised. The final whistle blows and it is decision time.
This time we got the decision we were after, Winner and onto the semi finals.....Jake Richards.

Jake Richards semi final would be against another good fighter from Sweden and another one that the strategy of workrate and pressure would need to be the key if he was going to win.
Jake goes straight on the attack and makes his impression felt on the Swedish lad to good effect.
Both are throwing as much as each other in the exchanges but it is Jake who is landing with the better accuracy. He seem to have the better reach and whereas the Swedish fighter is dropping short Jake is getting the good connect. Jake is looking in good form, staying in the exchanges just long enough to get his shots off and then cleverly stepping out of range before his opponent can get anything off.
The swedish fighter knowing he is behind trues to stand his ground a little more and shorten his shots and to his credit is having more success with this strategy. Jake however is not willing to concede his lead and moves just out of range and again goes back to the flurries and move strategy that was working so well for him at the start of the bout. The bout ends and surely that has been Jake's passport to a final fight off.
To our horror the judges had been watching something else and somehow found the Swedish fighter the winner. With the luxury of being able to watch the fight back on video after the event I can honestly say that out of all the decisions so far at the competition this was the worst. Jake has to settle for Bronze on a day that no one would of or could have stopped him picking up the gold other than the below par judges.

So considering the level of competition not a bad days haul of medals for the USKA boys. 4 bronzes and a gold and a guaranteed gold or silver tomorrow when Qasim competed in his final bout of the competition.

e entertainment and night life in Szentes was not very good to say the least so after an evening meal that for most people consisted of Pizza and then an uneventful walk around the town it was back to the hotels to rest and then sleep in preparation for the second days competition.

 

Qasim Nisar our only competitor from USKA on the second day was up relatively early and would be taking a Polish fighter called Domaqala Marcin. Even though Qasim was nowhere near the 63kg limit for the category he enjoyed a good height and reach advantage over his shorter but stockier opponent. No change there then. Both fighters met centre mat and touched gloves and round 1 of the fight started on the whistle.
Qasim takes the mat centre and the Marcin is hesitant to move into range of the taller Qasim's limbs.
Marcin decides to bite the bullet and rushes Qasim in an attempt to try and get close but Qasim reads him well and back steps letting Marcin run onto multiple jabs. Qasim is having it all his own way, breaking Marcin's rhythm with movement and fakes and picking him off at will as he starts to really warm up.
The first rounds whistle blows and it is clearly a round for Qasim.
Round two starts and Qasim has a meaner intent about his work. Cutting off the mat and not allowing his man time to breath picking at him with skill and accuracy. Qasim is moving through the gears now and is hitting with every single shot he throws sending Marcin's body and head rocking and reeling in different directions. Qasim is totally in his flow now and Marcin has not got any answers. Every time he moves forward he gets hit with an intercepting counter attack and every time he tries to move off he gets stalked walked down and punished with combinations. This is qasim's light continuous at its very very best.
Marcin's face is starting to mark due to Qasim laser accuracy and things are looking pretty bleak for him since the start of the second round effectively hitting him to a stand still. Qasim even finding time for a little showmanship before the final bell, we had just witnessed one of the most one sided rounds of light continuous kickboxing ever. The just in case we needed it confirmed by the judges.....Qasim Nisar.

 

So Qasim with his win brings the final tally for the USKA crew to 4 Bronzes and 2 Gold's from 8 competitors.
I think what also has to be taken into consideration here is the level of opposition. The ISKA championships although probably not the busiest of all European championships certainly produced its fair share of top class opposition and competitor.

After the medal ceremony it was again back to the hotels and then out again to 'enjoy' another thrilling night on the Szentes town.

The final day of the Championships presented a gala featuring selected finals from the ring competition and also featuring a top class European thai boxing bout for the Hungarian Professional title.
A nice and enjoyable end to the trip that left people buzzing and already looking forward to the World Championships scheduled for Krakow Poland in AUgust 2008.