What on paper looked like the perfect tournament turned out
to be anything but that at the NEC Birmingham as part of the
UK's biggest martial arts expo Seni 2006.
On paper, fighters of same age and gender with a single weight
split based on government statistics for average ages of children
would be matched in the prestigious Pain and Glory ring used
by Britain's top fighters less than 12 hours before to find
a Seni champion.
On arrival it was very apparent that the turn out was a poor
one. Clubs present seemed to consist only of USKA, Newark
Martial Arts, Wolves Freestyle, Eclipse,
Force One and Red Dragons.
We settled down to see what the tournament would bring but
straight away categories were being merged, weight divisions
crossed and even boys being matched against girls in order
to keep the competition to the categories format.
It was at this point that it was clear that this was going
to be a tough day for some of the kids who had fallen victim
of being thrown out of their original category to take on
older or in some cases much heavier opponents.
First into the ring for USKA was 8 year old Noor
Muhammed matched against Zabir
Mohammed from Steve Powell's Wolves Freestyle
gym. Zabir with a 1 year age advantage and a 1kg weight advantage
looked like an aggressive fighter from the opening bell and
it took Noor half a minute or so to get used to his forward
marauding style of fighting.
When he did though he was out kicking the Wolves lad and looked
to be the tidier technician of the two. A close first round
open to interpretation for the judges on if they would score
it for aggression or the clean techniques landed.
Round two started much the same as the first but this time
Noor settled in quicker and was outscoring his man pretty
handily. Zabir to his credit was continually pressing forward
and forcing the fight but for scoring techniques there was
no doubt that Noor was having more success.
The closeness of the bout was realised when the judges could
not split the two asking for a deciding round to be contested.
The final round again was a close one with Zabir reverting
to his pressure fighting from the previous rounds and Noor
trying to pick his shots a little more conservatively.
A strong finish from Noor put him in a good position and by
our reckoning Noor had done just enough to take a close decision
win. The judges however had gone with the aggression awarding
the win to Zabir Mohammad by the closest of close decisions.
Next up 10 year old Stacey
Richards taking on Newark Kickboxings
Regis Sugden
who is under the instruction of World Full Contact champion
and dad Dean Sugden.
It seemed as if close fights were going to be the order of
the day Regis starting very strong scoring well with fast
punch combinations but Stacey picking up the pace and out
kicking the Newark lad down the stretch to the end of the
round.
Another very close round and after the first fight we were
not going to second guess how the judges were scoring this
one. Stacey was told that she really needed to win the second
round to make sure the decision would go her way.
Round 2 again saw Regis start strong with punch combinations
but it was very apparent that he was throwing very few kicks
and landing none on target. Stacey in comparison was cutting
in the straight leg and again getting stronger as the round
advanced.
The bell went and again in another close fight the judges
sided with the aggression and work rate of the Newark fighter
opposed to techniques actually landed on target and the decision
was awarded to Regis Sugden. It seemed as though we were going
to get no favours today from the judges and that if they wanted
to see work rate and aggression then collectively we would
have to change our tactics in order to change the tide of
loses.
In a third place fight off
Stacey
Richards was then matched with another
lad this time in the shape of
Zachary Hill from Fran Zuccala's Eclipse
Kickboxing gym.
Stacey was told that it was all going to be about volume of
technique rather than quality in this fight and she came out
swinging. Constant forward fighting and a non stop barrage of
punch kick combinations won her the round pretty easily.
Round 2 saw more of the same, Stacey smothering Zachary's technique
and forcing him back to take the judges eye.
A unanimous win to Stacey but i have to say i am not a fan of
this style or should i say non style of fighting. If Judges
are just scoring the aggressor the fighter just feels that the
only way to get the decision is to plough forward like a steam
roller and just continually throw leather neglecting style,
movement and defence.
The technique then gets lost and the quality of the bout drops.
All this said, needs must and if this is what the judges wanted
this was what the judges were going to get. Stacey followed
instructions to the letter and as a result was awarded her third
place trophy in the division.
11 year old Ridwan Khan
up next giving away a massive 13kg weight difference to his
opponent Martin Phillips
from Eclipse Martial Arts (Not Fran Zuccala's) with coach
and dad P.Phillips in his corner.
Ridwan was told that to negate the weight advantage of Martin
he would have to try and push him backwards.
Ridwan started well pushing his opponent back with punch combinations
and finishing with the straight leg round kick to the body.
Martin circling the outside of the ring was trying to counter
fight but was not landing that many clean shots on target.
Just when it looked like the round was in the bag for Ridwan
he got caught with a flush round kick to the head that put
the scoring of the round in jeopardy.
Round 2 saw a tiring Martin struggle to keep Ridwan off him
with Ridwan having most if not all the success.
Martin trying in vain to get the pay off kick as he had done
in the first round throwing wide spin kicks that were excellently
blocked confidently by Ridwan.
It seemed the fight was in the bag at the sound of the bell.
Again we were wrong. The judges in their errrm wisdom had
decided that Ridwan had not done enough and wanted to see
a third round to split the two.
After the second round both fighters had taken off their gloves
and headguards and the time it took to put them back on again
had given Martin the rest that he needed to give one big push
in the third and final segment.
The round started with Martin pushing his weight advantage
forward and a now tired Ridwan using all his energy to try
and stay with him.
As in the first round a good round kick off Martin bounced
of the side of Ridwan's head and pushed him ahead in the round.
Ridwan got his second wind and came on strong in the second
part of the round to push the very tired Martin back now but
the feeling was that the good early work from Martin was enough
for him to get the nod.
Our suspicions confirmed Martin was awarded another close
decision and proceeded to the final of the division.
In the same category 12 year old
Emily
Aston in her first fight was matched against
Julia Roger from Carl Autie's Red Dragons
gym.
Emily had a big weight advantage over her opponent and was told
by her corner to be careful with her power and to keep Julia
at range and just do enough to win.
Emily done everything that was asked of her more than effectively.
Landing her long kicks to keep Julia off and following up with
her straight one two punch combination to clock up the points.
To be fair Julia was trying very hard to close down the gap
but was simply not landing any techniques in the process.
I say this because when the decision was announced it was awarded
to Emily by
Majority decision???????
Majority decision? I'll say it again Majority decision!
What was the judge that scored it to Julia Roger watching?
I had to ask, On approaching the judge concerned and asking
him what exactly was his criteria for scoring he seemed absolutely
clueless.
It transpires it was his first ever light continuous judging
experience and must have been scoring it to the same criteria
used in judging a full contact bout.
I take my light continuous very seriously and feel that having
people judging it that quite frankly haven't got a clue is
messing with the sport and stopping it growing.
I can only think that he scored the fight to Julia for the
fact that she was outweighed and was trying very hard. Trying
hard yes, Landing shots No!
Ok that's my rant on this matter over but really feel like
it needed to be said.
Third place fight off now between Ridwan
Khan and Julia
Roger.
After that last fight with Emily i told Ridwan to not make
the same mistake and leave nothing to chance in his third
place fight off. Now you see how dangerous bad judging can
be and the implications that they have on fighters safety
in future bouts.
Ridwan on My instruction showed no compassion for his lighter
opponent putting her under a constant barrage of punch and
kicks over the two rounds.
The poor girl hardy had the chance to throw a shot in a bout
that was frankly painful to watch.
No Majority decision this time with Ridwan claiming his third
place trophy.
Time for the final now where Emily
Aston would take on Ridwan victor Martin
Phillips.
Emily under the same instruction as Ridwan was told to try
and force the pace and stay on top of Martin to force him
to work hard early and tire early.
Emily did this very effectively smothering Martin with punch
combinations and straight leg kick not allowing Martin to
either move or get any shots off of his own.
Round 2 same as round 1. Emily mugging Martin with punches
and body kicks.
The body kicks were having an effect on Martin now and he
wasn't liking them at all.
A well deserved unanimous decision to Emily and division winners
first place trophy.
13 year old Jay Collett
would have to give away 5kg in weight to the very talented
Newark fighter Kyle Kerry
in his first fight and three way final of the competition.
A good close first round from these two showing classy kickboxing
technique.
Jay marginally landing more with Kyle marginally throwing
more. I don't want to sound like a scratched record here but
you work out who won that first round.
Second round was an even better one for Jay throwing fast
combos and hurting Kyle to the body. Things were looking good
for Jay with Kyle also receiving a power warning for a wild
punch.
Jay lands a beautiful straight leg across the body of Kyle
and Kyle goes down.
The message sent back to the judges was that the kick was
low which it was 100% not and the fight resumes.
Jay continues to have it all his own way and the round draws
to a close.
Another bum decision i'm not afraid to say as the Newark lad
gets the nod with even Kyle's cornerman and coach Dean Sugden
looking surprised.
By judges reckoning they had Kyle winning both rounds which
on a look back at the tape that decision can only described
as incompetent
In his second fight of the three round final Jay
Collett would again give away weight
this time 3kg to Red Dragons Rebecca
Cox.
Jay in an attempt to secure his second place trophy went all
out against the tough aggressive Rebecca mixing up excellent
technique and picking his shots well with very good accuracy.
Rebecca never stopped throwing shots from start to finish
in the round but it has to be said it is not what you throw
it's what you land that counts (or should be anyway).
Jay's defence was working well for him in round 2 standing
in range and taking the shots on his arms then countering
well with fast hands of his own.
Rebecca with a phenomenal workrate needed to just pick her
shots a little bit better to make her impression felt.
A good competitive fight but only one winner and a second
place trophy to Jay Collett.
Mark Sedgwick
on his birthday stepping up to the 13 year olds category and
unluckily for him having to give away 10kg in weight to his
first opponent Kayleigh
Pearson from Red Dragons gym.
Mark won the first round almost exclusively with head kicks.
Every time he lifted his leg he seemed to find the target
with ease.
Kayleigh was showing signs of frustration not knowing what
to do with mark and even tried hitting him twice when he was
down after losing his footing after his kicks.
Round two saw Kayleigh come out strong wanting to make more
of a brawl out of the fight and stop Mark scoring with his
head kicks.
unfairly i thought every time the referee decided to warn
her for this he addressed both fighters like it was Mark instigating
or causing it.
Mark nearer to the end f the round again found his feet and
kicked Kayleigh off at range to once again make his impression
felt with the judges.
A unanimous decision to Mark that didn't go down well with
some of the less educated Red Dragon supporters.
Things weight wise did not look to be getting any better
for Mark Sedgwick
in the final this time matched against another Red Dragon
fighter in the form of Jack
Molsher and having to give away 11kg
on the scales.
A much easier fight it has to be said for Mark in the final.
Picking his shots well and not allowing Jack to use his weight
advantage.
Mark hit and moved going through his vocabulary of technique
putting on an excellent show and really highlighting his class.
Two rounds of domination secured Mark yet another first place
trophy for his ever growing collection.
In the cadets category three USKA fighters all different weights
had to settle being into the same division. First up out of
the three
Tommy Collett
giving away 4kg in weight to Red Dragons
Daniel
Newton.
Daniel was straight out of the blocks with a power punch combination
that caught Tommy unawares and rocked his head back. The ref
jumped in and unfairly again took a point of
Both
fighters for heavy contact.
As always taught in the U.S.K.A gym if the ref is not looking
after you look after yourself.
Tommy retaliated banging in a hard right hand that shook Daniel
up and earned him his second warning of the fight.
Daniel kept coming and Tommy was having to use a stiff jab just
to keep him off and at bay.
Daniel relentless in his attack was ploughing forward and Tommy
done what he thought was right and banged in another right hand
which earned him a third and final warning and a DQ loss.
I have no problem with the DQ but feel that the initial warning
to both fighters was unfair and feel that it should have been
solely Daniel's warning for instigating the heavy attack.
My instruction to the U.S.K.A fighters is clear before they
step into the ring which is if no one is looking after you in
there look after yourself. This is in my humble opinion what
Tommy did on this occasion and i have no problem with that.
Next up was Qasim Nisar
who would have to give away 12kg weight in his first round
match up against Wolves Freestyle's Lewis
Paul.
Lewis who we had seen before is an aggressive fighter and
my only concern here was that he would meet the same fate
as Tommy's opponent should he not control his power.
Lewis as we expected came out strong rushing Qasim with wild
technique.
Qasim covered up and weathered the early storm picking short
counter attacks.
As Lewis's pace slowed Qasim started then to work his body
which he didn't like and looked to be in a bit of distress
with.
With such and aggressive style as Lewis has got i would imagine
he does not get his body checked very often.
A round kick to the body off a turn had Lewis doubled up and
at this point the writing was on the wall for him. Qasim a
master tactician surely would not let his man off the hook.
Lewis looking disorganised and tired now is showing physical
distress every time he gets hit to the body now and Qasim
has got him exactly where he wants him.
Round two was a carbon copy of the first, Lewis starting strong
jumping in trying to overwhelm Qasim with his weight advantage.
He is being met with Qasim's straight jab now and when gaps
are appearing Qas drops the kick back downstairs to work on
the weakness he spotted earlier.
Lewis tired and hurt did well to make it to the final bell
but Qasim exposed the weaknesses in his one dimensional style
to take a very convincing unanimous decision.
The last USKA fighter in the cadet division Murdock
Kellyman in his first round fight had
a tough task in front of him taking on Maverick Freestyle
black belt academy's Elliott
Stevens.
Elliott had, get this........a whopping 22kg weight advantage
over Murdock and if not to make things worst was a 2nd dan
black belt with years of martial arts competition behind him.
So much for the hope that he was going to be just a big useless
lump at that weight then!
On the bright side Qasim had just shown in his fight that
big weight could be overcome if the right tactics were employed.
From the very first seconds of the bout it was apparent what
we were dealing with here.
Elliott's style was a semi contact one. Load's of movement
moving in and out and in ring terms very unorthodox.
One other thing that is also common in that semi contact style
of fighting is that it is hard to maintain fitness wise over
a number of rounds or in a hard fight.
With this in mind Murdock took a while to just find his feet
and work out the style but as soon as Elliott showed signs
of getting tired cries of 'Take over time' were screamed from
Murdock's corner as the he stepped up his work rate and volume
and put combinations onto the cornered Stevens.
With nose bleeding from an accurate Kellyman round kick Elliott
was very happy to hear the bell to end the first round.
Round two and Murdock knew that Elliott's recovery rate more
than likely was not going to be as it should and was looking
for that 'Take over time' again so he could step it up once
again.
He didn't have to wait long, Elliott tired and Murdock just
getting going was a bad combination for the Maverick lad.
A very strong finish of Murdock left the decision in no doubt
at all with a very good win over a handy much heavier opponent
in Elliott Stevens.
Due to headaches and probably concussion following Daniel
Newton's DQ win over Tommy Collett it was left to Murdock
Kellyman and team mate Qasim
Nisar to contest the straight final to
find a winner to the competition.
With the USKA policy of no power and just speed and technique
when it comes to two of it's own fighting the crowd were treated
to a demonstration type bout with both lads highlighting just
how good light continuous can be when it is done right at
a high level.
This was text book stuff with just the right degree of showmanship
giving the crowd a great show.
USKA fighters choosing to abstain from fighting on the day
in order not to fight solely their own team mates were Jake
Richards, Reiss
Larvin and Tyler
Shakespeare.
All ready and willing but again due to the bad turn out there
were no takers to share the ring with the formidable trio.
Anyone reading this must think, can't they just accept when
decisions don't go their way?
My answer to them would be.....seriously, look at the tape
and tell me i am lying.
The tape is what i have just looked at to write this report
and to be honest it is even more blatant and disturbing than
what it felt like on the day.
I can make it available to anyone who doubts or contests what
is written here.
In closing i think what made this tournament worst than most
is the question of what could have been. Given the superb
surrounding of the Pain and Glory arena it had the potential
of being the tournament that each and every light continuous
event until next years Seni could be measured up against.
Well, you live and learn and with every negative comes a positive.
The positive in this instance is that the USKA crew had the
chance to meet the legend who is John Saxon from Enter The
Dragon fame on the red lizard stand a short distance from
the fighters arena.
That unfortunately is only positive i could find to write
about in this summery of what has to be said was an extremely
disappointing day.
