Club cleans up at e-competition

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

Cromwell martial arts competitor Anika Takimoana, 17, with the medals she won in an international e-competition. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
It seems anything can be done online — including martial arts competitions.
Kman's Martial Arts Club head coach and owner Kman McEvoy said 11 students competed in the VI Open Martial Arts e-Championships, collecting a total of 14 medals.
The championship was an online event contested by countries from all over the world with international judges.
Gorge Borges, 9, with his nunchaku and medal from the weapons division of an international martial arts e-competition.
"It is a great way to compete against the world without leaving your town, which saves competitors travel time, hassle and money," McEvoy said.
The championship was a hard forms competition where martial artists performed a routine of martial arts moves, including strikes, blocks and stances, in a sequence like a fight dance.
The routines were the core of most martial arts and called patterns in taekwondo, kata in karate, forms in kung fu, and were a way to practice martial arts techniques by yourself, he said.
They were judged on form, technique, power, speed, precision, balance, flow and execution.
The team was now training for the Auckland kickboxing championships later this month, the National Judo Championships in Christchurch in October and the World Taekwondo Championships in Puerto Rico in November.
However, the club was not all about winning medals, McEvoy said.
"Even though some members train for competitions, most train for self-defence, fitness and self-confidence."
Gold medals were won by Kman McEvoy, 60, and co-coach Diego Hernandez, 31; silver medals were won by sister and brother Enora, 14, and Hoel Henry, 11; Anika Takimoana, 17; brothers Cian, 10, and Nate Driscoll, 6; and sisters Megan, 12, and Emerson Douglas, 10; and bronze medals were won by George Borges, 9, Reuben Brass, 11, Anika Takimoana and Megan and Emerson Douglas.
— Allied Media