SSKA Karate Club wins best karate team in England
MEMBERS of the South-East Shotokan Karate Association in Deptford travelled to Sheffield to the Ponds Forge Leisure Centre on Friday 4th April to compete in the English Karate Federation National Championships on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th April. The competition was attended by karate clubs from all over the country.
The Club went to the competition with 10 students with ages ranging from 9 to 33 years and showed their outstanding form in kata by winning 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.
However, our most outstanding performance was in Team Kata where our team made up of Samer Jahar, Bradley Cosgrave and Kai McLaughlin won the gold medal in Team Kata for the Under 16’s. This effectively makes the team the best Kata Team in England for 2008.
Samer is 13 years old, lives in Deptford and attends St Matthew Academy in Lewisham. He is presently a black belt and started karate when he was 7 years old. Samer has won so many medals and trophies and at the last competition we attended in Burton on Trent, he won 6 gold medals including 3 won competing in ages higher than his.
Bradley is 12 years old and came to karate because he was constantly bullied at school and his mother felt that she had to give him some means of self-defence. Bradley is also currently a black belt. He has also won so many medals and trophies that his mother has had to buy a new cabinet to put his trophies in as they were taking all the space in her living room.
The baby of the group however is Kai McLaughlin, who at 9 years old and only a green belt, practices karate at such a high standard that the Sensei (teacher) found it fit to include Kai with the black belts in the team. His level is so high that at previous competitions, he has been entered in black belt categories and won gold at each of these competitions. Kai’s biggest achievement though was 2 gold medals at the last World Championships for Clubs held in Crawley in October last year when he competed with the team and individually. Kai attends St. Stephen’s C of E Primary School in Deptford.
The Club and of course the parents, are so proud of these three boys and they have embarked on a strong fund-raising drive to raise money to help these children’s parents with the cost of competitions as they are quite expensive to attend. These children could do with some help with travelling expenses and cost of their gear which can be quite high.
The SSKA Karate Club is the only Karate Club at the Wavelengths Leisure Centre in Deptford. For 3 years, the club has been teaching students, even the community how karate can help a person physically and mentally.
The classes are taught by Sensei Isam Shreiff, a fifth Dan black belt, international referee and former world Champion in kata. He has been involved in karate for over 20 years and is absolutely passionate about the sport. "It is a great place to learn," Ms Francoise said. "We have a great teacher, and best of all you can learn at an affordable price."
If you would like to join the club, you can call Ms Francoise on 07834 02 4116 or visit the club’s website at www.sskakarateclub.
