B.C.K.A On The Mats

Irish Open International Competition 2008

Once again the B.C.K.A. showed a great depth of squad that they have acquired in the last 12 months. The squad had lots of new members fighting for first time at international level. Their potential is without a doubt great.

The younger members of the squad Declan McCready, Billy Wright, Courtney Brown, Natalie Garside, Naomi McCready, Ryan Winham, Alexander Barrowman and Jake Garside all showed great promise and fought with great aggression and determination whilst showing fantastic confidence and maturity beyond their young years.

The following fighters fought their way to medal positions

Declan McCready – Bronze medal Junior boys section

Natalie Garside - Bronze medal Junior girls section

Alexander Barrowman – Bronze medal Youths section

The established members of the squad having been to the Irish Open before performed with great promise, special mention goes to Jordan Meacham, Adam Taylor and Matt Kane.

Seasoned fighters Kevin Williams, Michael Dempsey, Sam Lund, Adam Grace and Richie Wooton all experienced difficult fights but acquitted themselves very well, losing by the smallest of margins.

Brent Penniston in the men’s light continuous hammered his way through for a bronze medal and should have been in the final but for a poor refereeing decision.

In the ladies +60kg Katie Grant smashed her way through to the semi final only to lose to the current World Champion.

Natalie Weber in the ladies -60kgs fought her way through to the final, and taking the Gold medal with a crushing victory over her Italian opponent.

In conclusion Head Coach Alex Barrowman said “the fighting was of the highest quality. The team have shown fantastic determination and dedication and the results speak for themselves.”

A big thank you to all the administration staff, coaches and club instructors for all their support.

2009 Looks to be in safe hands!

Photographs to follow:-

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Irish Open International Competition 2007

On the weekend of March 4th and 5th, 36 B.C.K.A members competed in the Irish Open Kickboxing Championships hosted by Roy Baker of WAKO Ireland.
One of the biggest mixed styles tournaments in Europe, with over 1,500 fighters representing over 20 countries.

Every B.C.K.A. fighter fought really well “on the mats” with many getting good results to reward their hard work.

B.C.K.A. fighters achieved 3 Nr 2nd places as follows:-

Men’s under 80kg Adam Grace (Adam showed tremendous ability to underline his growing potential in defeating top class fighters in his category)

Boys Under 5ft 6” Alexander Barrowman (Alexander also showed an abundance of skill to easily overcome his opponents to achieve 2nd place)

Girls Under 5ft 2” Natalie Garside (Natalie has shown in the way that she fought in this competition that she is a good prospect for the future)

These 3 fighters were exceptional and defeated opponents from Greece, Italy and Austria amongst others.

B.C.K.A also achieved 3 Nr 3rd places as follows:-

Men’s under Kevin Williams (Kevin was in sparkling form in this competition and where he met U.S.A.’s top points professional fighter on his way to an impressive 3rd place)

Women’s under 65kgs Maggie Higton (Maggie on her international debut showed good ability as she “smashed” her way to a creditable 3rd place)

Women’s over 65kgs Almuth Bourenane (Almuth again showed great resolve, courage an skill as she fought her way to 3rd place)

7 other B.C.K.A. England fighters who did exceptionally well in reaching quarter final positions in tough categories are:-
Aaron Walker
Sam Lund
Jo Luck
Dane Grayson
Michael Dempsey Light contact and Semi Contact
Jake Garside

As a spectator who witnessed these achievements I would like to congratulate Alex, his coaches and all B.C.K.A England fighters for their efforts and talent.
B.C.K.A once again demonstrated that they are a growing force in International Martial Arts.
Also many thanks to Alex on behalf of all who went to Ireland for his organisation of the B.C.K.A. England side of the tournament i.e. flights, hotel and tournament arrangements which was impressive – Andy Luck.

B.C.K.A. England Fighters who competed in the Irish Open
In no particular order were:-

Name
Neil Lewis - lost in 1st round to a Czechoslovakian
Dane Grayson - Quarter finalist, fought two Irish fighters
Richie Wooten - reached 2nd round fought Irish and Belgian
Aaron Walker - Quarter finalist
Sam Lund - reached 2nd round
Michael Dempsey - Quarter finalist in Light contact fought Italian, Irish, USA and Austrian
Also Quarter finalist in semi contact fought Italian, Scot and Canadian
Wendy Stubbs - lost in 1st round Semi contact and Light Contact
Karen Baldwin - lost in 1st round
Mark Baldwin - lost in 1st round to English
Danny Trozzi - reached 3rd round in Veterans and fought English and Italian
Adam Grace - 2nd Place fought English, Italian, Belgian
Kayleigh Broadhurst - reached 2nd round
Kayleigh Burke - lost in 1st round to Italian
Nick Marchant - lost in 1st round to Norwegian
Maggie Higton - 3rd Place fought Italian, Irish and Greek
Matt Garrill - lost in 1st round to German
Caroline Garside - lost in first round to English
Alexander Barrowman - 2nd Place fought English, English, Irish and Italian
Kevin Williams - 3rd Place fought Italian, Italian, Norwegian Belgian and USA
Courtney Brown - reached 2nd round fought Greek and Irish
Natalie Garside - 2nd Place fought Irish and Scottish
Joanna Luck - Quarter finalist fought Italian, Irish and Norwegian
Dean Cruickshank -
Simon Lund - lost in 1st round
Katie Grant - lost in 1st round to Italian
Luke Scott - reached 2nd round fought Irish
Chris Williams - lost in 1st round to Austrian
Reduane Bourenane -
Jake Garside - Quarter finalist

Some photos of our fighters in the tournament are below:-

 

 

K. Williams K. Williams

M.Dempsey S.Lund A.Walker A.Barrowman N.Garside

B.C.K.A Supporters Club D. Cruickshank

A.Grace -Prepares D.Grayson

J.Luck

B.C.K.A National Championships

The B.C.K.A 2006 National Championships was held at Lodge Park Sports Centre, Corby on Saturday 18th March 2006.Over 300 fighters representing all regions competed for National titles with many of them taking home medals and silverware for their efforts.

Paul Reed in particular brought 55 fighters from Lincolnshire .They certainly made their presence felt by many of them winning many medals and showing great ability and technique in their fights.

A large number of spectators saw some tremendous performances, Kevin Williams (Team Event), Michael Dempsey (Light Contact and Semi contact), Aaron Walker , Dane Grayson (Boys under 17’s), Tyler Grayson(Boys under 11’s), Melissa Campbell (coming back after a long lay off to become Girls Champion), Anthony Swailes (doing very well in Men’s over 69kg’s), Matt Garrill (winning the Sets competition), Alexander Barrowman (showing great potential in winning the Boys under 13’s competition), Courtney Brown (from Whittlesea confirming his winning ways by reaching the finals in a very tough group in the under 13 boys section), Justin Loughton (tremendous 2nd place to Michael Dempsey in Men Light contact final), Theresa Fraser (doing very well in Women’s Light contact finals), Julie Dixon

Andy Whitwell also returned to win the Veterans competition after some tough battles with Archie Walker, Russell Cruickshank (who’s son Dean displayed excellent kicking skills in the boys section) and Danny Trozzi.

The finale of the day was the Team challenge and those spectators that stayed to watch were not disappointed as B.C.K.A. once again demonstrated what a major force it is in International Kickboxing.

Teams consisted of 6 people, 5 men and 1 woman.
Areas that entered teams were:-
Northamptonshire – managed by Alex Barrowman
Cambridgeshire - managed by Andy Whitwell
Lincolnshire – managed by Paul Reed
Leicestershire – managed by Brent Penniston

After some phenomenal performances from all fighters who participated in the team event, Northamptonshire emerged as winners.

Photos of some of the day’s action are shown below:-

T.Grayson C.Brown D.Grayson M.Campbell A.Barrowman

M.Baldwin A.Grace M.Garrill A.Swailes

T.Fraser A.Bourenane J.Dixon     A.Walker A.Whitwell D.Trozzi   M.Dempsey J.Loughton

Team Champions

 

Fighters to watch for

Justin Loughton - Lincolnshire
Jake Garside - Lincolnshire
Richie Walton - Cambridgeshire
Richie Wootten - Northants
Brent Penniston - Leicestershire
Gary Ross - Northants
Mags Higton - Northants