INTER SERVICES MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS – ALDERSHOT – 21 JUL 07

The 11th Inter-Service Martial Art Championships were held at Aldershot in the Army School of PT’s gym at Fox Lines on Saturday 21st July. Each Service hosts the competition in rotation. As usual, prior to the competition, a mixed collection of martial artists from the usual disciplines of Taekwondo, Karate, Kickboxing and Kung Fu had been selected to represent the RAF and gathered to participate in pre-competition training with the aim of producing the best possible competition for the Army and RN & RM squads.

On the Taekwondo side, the squad was fortunate to have along their new permanent coach, Mr Gary Bradshaw 5th Degree PUMA, a prominent competitive team coach for leading ITF Taekwondo squads within the UK. The training started in earnest on the Wednesday afternoon, once the majority of the squad members had found their way to the Army’s Boxing Centre at Aldershot. With a strong Taekwondo presence numbering in excess of 15, Mr Bradshaw concentrated on drilling the squad in both defensive and offensive techniques and combinations to combat the dominant RN & RM Taekwondo fighters. Following repeated years success in the Taekwondo Patterns competition, the Patterns were given equal importance to the sparring in pre-training. Male and female junior and senior teams were selected and coached extensively in the forms they would show. Competitive patterns are graded on teamwork, technical accuracy and group timing; much work was needed from both teams to ensure that they all performed the same moves, in the same way and at the same time!

On the Karate side, only a handful of people were available for the early part of the pre-training. Also, regrettably, the Karate coach, Mr Gary Pettit was unable to attend as he was in Botswana for another pre arranged point stop competition, hence the coaching of the Karate team was left to old RAF MAA hands, Jnr Tech Brad Black and Sgt Pat Keegan. Again, with a good mix of experienced RAF MAA competitors and fresh faces, the potential for success was high. Pre squad training consisted of basic kumite techniques, which were a useful reminder for both the experienced members of the squad and the less experienced competitors. Disappointingly, injury during squad trg plagued preparations and compounding the problems, the Junior Kata Team had to put together a kata at very short notice.

On the morning of 21st Jul, Rear Admiral Raffielli officially addressed all competitors and the competition opened with the Weapons katas. Excellent performances from Sqn Ldr Curry (RAF Wyton) and Flt Lt Matt Clarke (RAF High Wycombe) very deservedly earned them 1st and 3rd place respectively.

All the work undertaken by the RAF Taekwondo competitors during the pre-training paid dividends as both the junior and senior males took places in both the individual patterns events. The junior and senior RAF teams won the Team Pattern events and our senior female competitors gained 1st and 2nd places in the Senior Female Patterns category. Fg Off Laura Morfee gave a particularly notable performance, having only learnt the pattern she was to win 2nd place with during the previous 2 days.

The Karate Senior Kata Team achieved a credible second place (missing first by a hairs breadth). They displayed a combination of superb technique, perfect synchronisation and heart and although, beaten by what was an extremely strong Army team, they should be extremely proud of their performance. The junior patterns team also did very well given that they were from 3 different Karate and they were performing well until they had to stop half way through.

The fighting in the Taekwondo stream commenced in the afternoon with the female competitors. Cpl Nicky Fraser of Waddington, our only junior female, bravely fought her way to 3rd place, whilst the 2 newest editions to the female black belt teams, SAC Sunita Kaul and Fg Off Laura Morfee battled their way through to face each other in the final.

The Taekwondo Male Junior competitors gave both the Army and Navy fighters a tough time, with SAC Leighton James fighting hard on his way through to achieve a highly credible 3rd place. With a reasonably fresh team still, the junior team were able to fight off the Army with a 4-1 victory. They were eventually defeated by the stronger RN & RM team and had to be content with securing 2nd place in the overall team event. This was a great achievement considering that 3 of the 5 team members were not only new to competition but were also fighting against a proven and well established RN & RM squad. Sgt Gaz Walker, a kick boxer of only 4 months, and Cpls John Fox and Dave Cox fought valiantly in the ring. They all gained valuable experience and will hopefully return next year as far better and more seasoned competitors.

Taekwondo representation was the strongest it has been in many years, our RAF MAA Chairman, Sqn Ldr Alex Elliott stepped into the ring in the individual competition at the sprightly age of … well the wrong side of 50… and with many new fighters, the Army squad and the previously wholly dominant RN & RM squad were in for a bit of a shock. They didn’t get the easy scoop in the sparring they have enjoyed in the past. One of the new squad members, the now legendary Cpl Matty ‘I’ve not trained in 11 years’ Matthews, took the Taekwondo Senior Individual category by storm, defeating (with fine style and bucketfuls of gravitas, as one would expect from a PTI) all three of his opponents through the rounds with considerable ease. He went on to face a beast of a Royal Marine in the final (I should know I’ve fought him twice now), although the beast soon got a bit of a shock when faced by the lightning quick Matty. After 2 very exciting two-minute rounds in the final, Matty was marginally pipped at the post, taking 2nd place, a superb effort considering his long stint away from training. Such was his skill and ability that he has been invited to try out for both the national WTF (Olympic recognised style) and ITF (traditional style) Combined Service squads in the coming months. After a very exciting individual competition, the Taekwondo Male Senior team, again comprising of primarily new RAF MAA members, put up strong resistance to the RN & RM squad, eventually having to settle for 2nd place in the overall Team competition.

Point stop kumite was as exciting as ever this year and the level of commitment from the fighters on the day was superb with particular thanks going to JT Tony Brimacombe who competed in both the Senior and Junior Teams and to SAC Ben Lewis who put in an incredible performance for his first ever competitive event. JT Brimacombe went on to achieve second place overall in the junior event but had battled to make it one of the most closely fought finals seen in an Interservices competition to date. The Karate squad’s old hands, Sgt Pat Keegan, Cpl Craig Murray and Cpl Ian Aitken stormed into their bouts with incredible enthusiasm. It is always great to see seasoned veterans still competing for their Service although it is probably now right to consider rewarding them with a veterans event where, instead of continually pitching them against the younger more agile competitors, they could instead employ years of experience with a blend of cunning and guile!

The standard of competition at this year’s Inter-Service Martial Arts Championships was extremely high. The RAF Karate and Taekwondo squads and Weapons competitors gave both the Army and RN & RM squads a very tough time and along the way, despite only achieving 2nd place in the tournament collected, 9 Gold, 12 Silver and 6 Bronze medals, the largest scoop of medals for years. The competition was hard fought and all participants showed real fortitude, commitment and courage whilst representing their individual Services in a wholly praiseworthy manner. Indeed, the relationships between the individual Service’s squads remains superb and saw many people renew old friendships. Importantly, the forthcoming Combined Service squads will be all the stronger for the efforts of those who competed on the day. All should be proud of their performances and those who won awards should be particularly proud of their efforts and achievements on the day. Finally, the day finished with the award of a presentation to the outgoing Combined Services Martial Arts Secretary, Maj Rob Howells, to recognise the exceptional contribution he made through his career to the Martial Arts in the Armed Forces. If anyone is interested in joining the RAF MAA, it is open to all martial arts practitioners with the exception of Judo. Membership allows participation in the annual RAF and Inter-Service Competition and enables selection for the Combined Service squads. Please direct any enquiries to either Cpl Lee Skillern, JNCO TEF Electrical Team, RAF Marham, Mil Tel 95951 5330, e-mail MRM Depth TEF-AE Tech 2.

RESULTS:

Weapons Kata:

1st – Sqn Ldr Curry (RAF)

2nd - LCpl B Gurung (QC Sigs),

3rd – Flt Lt M Clarke (RAF High Wycombe)

KARATE

RAF Senior Team:

Sgt S Ball (DPPHC), Cpl C Murray (Leuchars), SAC G Wathan (Marham)

1st – Army, 2nd – RAF,

RAF Junior Team:

J/T T Brimacombe (Benson),Cpl I Aitken, SAC M Elliott (Marham)

1st – Army, 2nd – RAF, 3rd – RN

Individual Kata Event:

Senior Male

1st – Hadley (Army),

2nd – Cowpatwaite (Army),

3rd – Hall (Army)

Senior Female

1st – Sgt S Ball (RAF),

2nd – Moffatt (Army)

Junior Male

1st – Shakya (Army),

2nd – Moughton (Army),

3rd – Rodgers (Army)

Team Kumite Event

Senior MaleTeam:

Sgt P Keegan (Digby),Cpl C Murray (Leuchars) JT T Brimacombe (Benson), SAC D Mahood (Waddington)

1st – Army, 2nd – RAF, 3rd - RN

Junior MaleTeam:

J/T T Brimacombe (Benson), Cpl I Aitken, SAC M Elliott (Marham), SAC B Lewis (Wittering)

1st – Army, 2nd – RAF

Individual Kumite

Senior Female:

1st – Sgt S Ball (RAF),

2nd – Moffatt (Army),

3rd – SAC L Green (RAF)

Senior Male:

1st – Thomas (Army),

2nd – Simmons (Army),

3rd – Williams (Army)

Junior Male:

1st – Shakya (Army),

2nd – J/T T Brimacombe (RAF),

3rd – Moughton (Army)

TAE KWON-DO

Team Patterns

Senior Male Team:

Flt Lt M Fitton (Witt), FS A Kinsella (Witt), Sgt S Meyrick (Mar)

1st – RAF, 2nd – RN

Junior Male Team:

Cpl D Cox (Mar), SAC L James (BzNtn), SAC P Schulze (Chick)

1st – RAF, 2nd – RN, 3rd – Army

Individual Patterns

Senior Male:

1st - FS Andy Kinsella (RAF Wittering) ,

2nd Flt Lt N Jones (RAF Wittering) ,

3rd - Flt Lt M Fitton (RAF Wittering)

Senior Female:

1st - S Kaul (RAF High Wycombe),

2nd - Fg Off L Morfee (RAF Benson),

3rd – Simmons (RN)

Junior Male:

1st – SAC L James (RAF Brize Norton),

2nd – SAC J Fox (RAF Henlow),

3rd – Cpl D Cox (RAF Marham)

Junior Female:

1st – Irish (RN),

2nd – Cpl K Duce (Army),

3rd - Cpl Nicky Fraser (RAF Waddington)

Team Sparring

RAF Senior Male Team:

Flt Lt M Fitton (Witt), Flt Lt N Jones (Witt), Fg Off S Kidd (Shaw), Cpl I Matthews (Witt), SAC(T) D Atkins(Witt):

1st – RN, 2nd – RAF

RAF Junior MaleTeam:

Sgt G Walker (Witt), Cpl J Fox (Hen), Cpl D Cox (Mar), SAC P Schulze (Chick), SAC L James (Bz Ntn)

1st - RN, 2nd – RAF, 3rd Army

Individual Sparring Event

Senior Male:

1st – Mne D Schofield (RM),

2nd – Cpl I Matthews (RAF),

3rd – AET Snape (RN)

Senior Female:

1st – SAC S Kaul (RAF High Wycombe),

2nd – Fg Off L Morfee (RAF Benson),

3rd – Simmons (RN)

Junior Male:

1st – Whyley (RN),

2nd SSgt C Bennett (PT Corps),

3rd – James (RAF Brize Norton)

Junior Female:

1st – Chisholm (Army),

2nd Cpl K Duce (Army),

3rd – Irish (RN)