Nordic Open 2006
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Saturday 30th September 2006
USKA's Rattlesnake, Killer Kicker and The Dream at the Nordic Open in Denmark

Fight report from Qasim Nisar and Eric Sedgwick

At 7.30am on 29th September Eric Sedgwick, Mark Sedgwick, Qasim Nisar and Jake Richards met up with ISKA GB chief Andrew Hennesy and the rest of the British contingent to travel to the Nordic open championship in Denmark.
From Birmingham it was a long drive down to Stanstead Airport where we arrived at approximately 10.30am, in plenty of time for our 1.20pm flight.
After a pleasant short flight we arrived in a warm but overcast Copenhagen at approximately 3.50pm, and having gathered our luggage etc. we went straight to the weigh in.
It took about 1 1/2 hours for the whole team to get weighed in.
Once finished we then went to the hostel where we were staying. Having unpacked our things a rather hungry team went in search of none other than 'McDonalds'!
Having eaten and taking a pleasant stroll around town we headed back to the hostel for about 11pm where Eric the eel has hoping to get some sleep......No CHANCE! Mark 'The Killer Kipper' wouldn't kip, Qasim 'The Dream' was a Nightmare and Jake was just wide awake! The boys who were too excited to sleep let's just say explored the hotel
for the next couple of hours.
Eventually the next day arrived and again we headed to ye old faithful McDonalds for breakfast.
From there it was on to the tournament just before 11am. The usual waiting around for a couple of hours and everybody ready to rumble when the fights started at about 1o'clock.
Mark Fight 1 (Semi Final)
ROUND 1: Mark in his first fight of the tournament is pitched against an opponent from Sweden. Mark the taller of the two finds his range straight away and starts to land clean with his kicks. Mark is in control and drops the Swedish fighter with a well timed controlled spinning hook kick. Mark is simply too good for his opponent and it becomes more of a Cat Vs Mouse fight as the seconds click away. He hurts his opponent with a very light body round kick and at this point his opponent is have little to no success. Round one ends with Mark winning it by a country mile.

ROUND 2: Round two starts with Mark as the aggressor using pure work rate to overwhelm his opponent. Mark again drops his man with a right straight leg to the body. Mark is making good use of both his left and right chops and by now is putting on a show case for the crowd of everything he knows. The round ends with Mark throwing a beautiful jump spin kick that just clips his mans guard but nevertheless catches the judges eye.
The round is over and it is scored without any doubt from both sides and it is on to the final for Mark 'The Killer Kicker' Sedgwick.
Mark Fight 2 (Final)

ROUND 1: Mark again has a little height and reach advantage over his Hungarian opponent as they square up for the final of three two minute rounds. Mark starting off in a southpaw stance begins well landing a lead leg round kick followed by a straight left hand. Both fighters go into a furious trade off of punches and kicks with only the occasional shot from each landing cleanly. Mark starts to pull away landing clean straight legs to the body and a lovely side kick to the face.
Mark fighting on the back foot against his aggressive opponent is landing cleanly with his techniques.
Mark then turns up the heat and lands an astonishing combination of alternate body straight legs, rear leg round kick to the head, lead axe and finishing the combination dropping his man with a quick turning side kick to the face that the lad from Hungary just never seen coming.
The lad is shaken but not stirred and as the action resumes Mark drops his man again this time with a rear push kick to the face. The bell sounds with Mark in a big lead and well on his way to victory.

ROUND 2: Round 2 starts with neither fighter landing cleanly. Mark then finds success with straight punches and body straight leg kicks reminding the Hungarian of the effectiveness he had with them in round 1. A perfect cobra right hand goes in from Mark followed by a rear side kick which drops his man again. The Hungarian seems to be up and down more times than a jack in a box. Mark keeps the pressure on and starts to really dominate and take further control of the round. A double jab from Mark causes his opponents head to snap back showing he is just as potent with his hands as he is with his killer kicks.
Mark attempts a sweep but catches his opponent high on the calf. This causes the referee to step in and administer a point deduction from the USKA man but this is immaterial with Mark being so far ahead on the scores.
Mark responds to his corners call to get the points back and straight away lands a rear round kick to the head followed by a rear push kick to the face to once again win the segment and put himself now two rounds in front.

ROUND 3: Mark again starts out in the southpaw stance and lands a lead leg side kick. Another rear head round kick is fired off from Mark once again landing cleanly and showcasing Marks phenomenal kicking talent.
Reliving his form from the previous two rounds Mark lands again with his rear push kick that once again send the Hungarian fighter to the mats. Mark is in total control and seems to be picking his man off at range letting him run onto his kicks. Sensing the round is nearly over Mark goes for gold and throws a jump spin kick that wraps around his opponents head. A triple lead round kick landing into the jab finishes the round for Mark and another totally dominant performance leaves the result in no doubt.



New Nordic Open Champion 2006 to add to his I.S.K.A European title.......
Mark 'The Killer Kicker' Sedgwick!
Jake Fight 1 (Semi Final)
ROUND 1: Jake is matched in his first fight against a handy looking southpaw opponent from the host nation Denmark.
The Danish lad has a height advantage over Jake and starts the round strong outworking Jake with his boxing and shows good kicking ability landing a nice turning side kick to the body. Jake is instructed to go forward by his cornerman Qasim Nisar and after applying this he was getting more success. Both fighters opting now to try and break the others will by standing and trading in the mat centre and have a real tear up. Jake comes off better as he is finding the gap to land his kicks in between his boxing clocking up more points in the process.
The bell sounds to end a very close first round with both fighters having their successes.

ROUND 2: Both fighters knowing that it will be more than likely won or lost in this round continue where they left off in the last and again meet centre mat for a trade off of punches and kicks. Both are scoring and neither is willing to give an inch. Jake breaks away landing an eye catching left leg round kick to get the better of the exchange.
Jake seems to be the fresher of the two and as his opponent starts to tired Jake is taking advantage of this by stepping it up on him with fast flurries with the hands and strong straight legs to the body.
The very high pace has taken it's toll on both fighters but Jake looks the stronger of the two pressing forward and un-relentlessly firing shots up until the final bell.
A close fight finishes but as suspected the good second round from Jake was enough to earn him victory.
Onto the final for 'The Rattlesnake' to face the winner of the next fight.
Qasim Fight 1 (Semi Final)
ROUND 1: Qasim has a massive height and reach advantage over his Turkish opponent and looks a few weight classes above him as they meet to touch gloves. The fight starts with Qasim on the defence taking a look to see what his opponent has to offer. Qas feeling he has his mans measure starts to open up landing a lead left hook to rear leg straight leg to the body. Qas then lands a rear leg axe kick to the head which his opponent responds well to with a flurry of straight punches. Qas the physically stronger of the two is pressurising his opponent forcing him off the mats.
A well timed jab sends his man to the mats and after a short time to recover Qasim again puts the pressure on sending him off the mats once again with a sliding push kick. Unable to gain any ground on the mats Qasim's opponent is too busy looking for position to mount any effective offence and Qasim seeing this switches to southpaw and once again sends him of the area with a lead side kick. A comfortable round for Qasim puts him in front.

ROUND 2: Qasim cornered by ISKA GB team coaches Paul Gilmore and Andrew Hennessy was told to keep on doing what he was doing forcing the fight and not letting the Turkish back into the action.
Round two begins and the fighter from Turkey starts strong catching Qasim with a front kick to the body. Remembering what his corner had said Qas pushes forward to take the play away from his opponent and stop him growing with any sort of confidence. Qas is fighting with a basic game plan landing cleanly at will with his jab, lead push kicks and body straight leg kicks. His opponent seems to be losing his nerve, tiring and now not coming forward fighting around the edge of the mat. Qasim now in perfect position keeps sending his man off the mats and the referee has no choice but to issue him with an area warning. In full control now Qas lets rip with a jump turning side kick that luckily for his opponent catches him on his arm. The round finishes with Qasim landing a rear leg round kick that just punctuates how in control of the bout he was.
The fight in the bag, Qasim's hand is raised and it is onto the final now where he would face USKA team mate Jake 'The Rattlesnake' Richards.
Jake Vs Qasim Fight 2 (Final)
ROUND 1: With both fighter good friends and from the same gym the aim in the final was to try and win using just speed and technique, neither one taking advantage of power shots or aggression.
Both fighters start off with great control and Qasim is coming of the better in the combinations. Qas takes Jake off balance but just fails to drop him with a rear footsweep. Jake responds by landing some nice body straight legs to clock himself up some points. Both fighters are displaying great head movement and kickboxing technique putting on a real show for the crowd. Qas drops his hands and Jake lands a nice double jab to rear straight leg once again scoring well. Qas seeing he needed to get the points back starts to use his reach advantage picking Jake off with singles from range and using his experience to negate the shorter mans work. A close round ends with Qasim just nicking it.

ROUND 2: Both fighter must have been told by their corner men to pick it up as the speed increased going into the second round, still excellent control but more competitive in their approach. Jake's cornerman Steve Cooper constantly calling for his charge to press forward and in contrast Qasim's cornerman Mark Sedgwick shouting for him to keep it at distance. Both fighters are landing good round kicks to the body but mid way through the round Qasim starts to pull away again showing his experience at top level competition. The round ends and it is another one in the bank for 'The Dream'

ROUND 3: Both fighters showing how much they wanted victory stepped up the pace a notch once again in round three. Jake is first to press the attack and is showing the heart of a lion in there against an opponent he knows he is the underdog against. Qasim uses Jake's momentum against him and a single jab rocks back his head as he comes forward. With Jake starting to tire Qasim uses some slick footwork to stay out of the way of Jake's attack. Qasim is landing with the cleaner work and it is looking like he is heading again for another victory. Jake however is still very much trying hard and wont concede defeat with his never say never attitude. He continues to press forward with Qasim catching the shots with his blocks and countering effectively in return. The final bell goes and the decision as expected goes to Qasim 'The Dream' Nisar leaving Jake with a very respectable Silver medal.
So with Mark's Gold medal and an USKA GB one and two from Qasim and Jake, once again the USKA lads done all that was expected of them with their performances at the Nordic open in Denmark.
Well done to all three of you for spreading the word that you guys are well and truly an International force to be reckoned with.