Fantastic results for Vale Karate at WUKF European Championships!

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Vale Karate Coaches Sensei’s Leah and Luke travelled to Denmark with the Karate Wales Squad for the 11th WUKF European Championships which took place in Odense in Denmark from 24th-27th October 2019.

Leah was one of Wales’ coaches, with Luke being one of eight Vale members in the seventeen person squad.

Four days of tough competition, saw every one of Vale’s competitors rise to the challenge, with, incredibly, every one earning a European medal!

Vale Karate’s excellent 7 year-old Jakob Bartush won his 2nd European Kata title, twelve months after his first such title at the European Championships in Malta in 2018.

Sensei Luke Howard, on his return to the tatami after breaking his jaw sixteen months ago at the WUKF World Championships in Dundee earned a silver medal, and couldn’t have been closer to the European title, losing 6-5 in the final!

An amazing achievement as this was his first competition since then.
His Mum; Clare, who herself has recently started fighting competitively again after fifteen years away from competing, also won a silver medal!

The Lee family had a very successful competition!

Alysha earned a bronze in Kumite, Mayzi took a Kumite Silver and Elle-Mai, more used to Kumite medals, took a Kata Silver!

Emillie Thompson was on top form and was excellent in taking a Kumite silver medal.

Talia Efstathiou was last years European Champion and has improved radically since then, but up against extremely high quality competitors, Talia took the bronze medal.

Vale’s results.

Jakob Bartush - European Champion 🥇Under 8yrs Boys Kata

Mayzi Lee - Silver Medal Under 8yrs girls Kumite 🥈

Elle-Mai Lee - Silver Medal 10yrs girls kata 🥈

Emillie Thompson - Silver Medal 12yrs Girls Kumite 🥈

Clare Howard - Silver Medal Ladies Vets Kumite 🥈

Luke Howard - Silver Medal Senior Male Kumite -75kg🥈

Talia Efstathiou - Bronze Medal 🥉 11yrs girls kata

Alysha Lee - Bronze Medal 🥉16-17yrs female cadet Kumite

90 ATTEND THE SUMMER GRADING!

No fewer than ninety Vale Karate students progressed at the Summer Grading which took place all day on Sunday July 14th and on the evening of Monday 15th July.
Vale Karate have six new Junior Dan Grades; Elle-Mai, Lloyd, Thomas, Talia, Leia and Emillie and a new Adult Dan Grade as Ed was awarded his adult diploma.

Gradings will now take place every four months, in April, July and November. The new certificates and Belts will also in future be awarded at a special ‘awards’ presentation evening in the main Hall on the Friday following the Grading. The evening also applauding recent competition successes.


THIRTEEN CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS FOR THE VALE KARATE SQUAD BUT WE LOSE THE TOP SPOT AFTER SEVEN SEASONS!

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For seven season’s, ever since Vale Karate joined the Welsh Karate League, Vale have earned the ‘Champion Club’ award.
For five seasons the outcome was never in doubt as we dominated, but for the past two seasons we’ve been under siege from very strong English Groups! At the end of the 2016-17 season, we pipped the AKA Squad by 3 golds, and at the end of the 2017-18 season it was again very close at the top with Vale once again seeing off the combined ESKU and GKR squad, again by three gold medals!
This past season however it was not to be, as Mandie Read’s mighty AKA were too strong across the board! So when the dust had settled at the end of the day, and the end of the season on Sunday March 24th, AKA had amassed an incredible one hundred and seven gold medals, 36 clear of Vale who won 71, the Akaizen group were 40 behind Vale on 31.

We won no fewer than thirteen Champion of Champions trophies and many Vale performances throughout the day, and indeed throughout the season have shown huge promise for next season.

There are challenges for Vale ahead, as Sensei’s Leah and Luke are leaving Wales to find adventures abroad!
Australia being the first destination in May.
We wish them all the love and luck in the World! Their input has been immeasurable, but Vale Karate will continue, and continue to grow!

Both Leah and Luke ended their involvement in the WKL (for the foreseeable future) in style with three Champion of Champions trophies between them!

A huge well done and thank you to all who were part of the Vale Squad in the 2018-19 season! also to our members who officiated and of course the parents who support their children and Vale Karate tirelessly.

2018-2019 CHAMPIONS OF CHAMPIONS:
BRADLEY JAMES (Special & Para Kata)
DANICA APOLOGISTA (Junior Shotokan Kata)
ANGEL MANAYANI (Under 8 Girls Kata)
JAKOB BARTUSH (Under 8 Boys kata)
LLOYD BEER (U10 Advanced Kata)
ALYSHA LEE (U16 Girls Kumite)
LEAH HOWARD (Ladies Kata)
LEAH HOWARD (Ladies Kumite)
LUKE HOWARD (Mens Kumite -75Kg)
LLOYD, ELLE-MAI, MAX (U10 Team kumite)
JAKOB BARTUSH (U8 Novice Jukuren)
ELLE-MAI LEE (U10 Advanced Jukuren)
GREGORY JAMES (U12 Advanced Jukuren)

VALE KARATE TOP OF THE MEDAL TABLE AT THE KARATE WALES YOUTH OPEN 2019

Vale Karate once again underlined that they are, even after many years of being at the top, still the Number one Karate squad in Wales with some fine performances at the 2019 Karate Wales Youth Open, which took place in Merthyr on Sunday Feb 10th.

This competition was smaller than in previous years, and like many other clubs, Vale Karate entered a smaller than usual squad, nevertheless winning over a quarter of all available categories!

Jakob Bartush at only just seven is the latest of a long line of brilliant youngsters over the years to come from the Vale Karate stable, and was the star turn in Merthyr winning each of the three categories he entered, the Under 9 Jukuren Under 8 Boys Kata and U8 Boys Kumite! In his Kata category another possible ‘star of the future’ was revealed as young Zander Riches earned his first ever medal, a bronze.

The Lee family had a great day, as Alysha won the Under 16 Kumite and little Mayzi won bronzes in U9 Jukuren and U8 Girls Kumite and a silver medal in kata!

Elle-Mai took a gold in the U10 Girls Kumite, a silver in 9-10 Jukuren, a bronze in 8-10 Female Kata and to top off a great day, alongside Amelie Fisher and Talia Efstsathiou, Vale Karate won the Team kata!

Elle-Mai’s team mates Amelie and Talia were also among the individual medals as Amelie won a bronze in Jukuren and Talia took bronze in the 9-12 Female Kata and a silver in the Jukuren behind team-mate Emillie Thompson! Emillie also won a bronze in Kumite where Leia Wong took silver.

The Special and Para categories were a Vale Karate whitewash, with Connor Ashill taking gold in the 12 and Under category and Bradley James triumphant in the 14+ event where Lucas Widdrington was silver medalist.
Brad then beat Connor in the Special & Para Jukuren!

Gregory James was in the top two in both the Shotokan and Open Kata events, winning the Shotokan and taking a silver in the Open.

Elliot Butcher although having been around a long time now, is relatively inexperienced in competition, but is talented and his U16 Bronze is testament to his steady improvement.

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