Hackney club enjoy success at British Open

Hackney’s Olympic Karate Inc claimed several medals at the British Open Championships at University of East London’s SportsDock recently.

A small squad made the short trip to Docklands with head coach Tyrone Jeffers, a fifth dan black belt, who said: “I had some sleepless nights before making that big decision to send such a young squad out there.

“Many of them had never been to a championship before and this was a big one. However, I trust my coaching staff and they have built such a great bunch of talented kids, the results says it all. Great work!”

Nadaysha Peart won gold in the six and under girls’ kumite, as well as bronze in kata, while Kiyah Shelton took bronze in the six and under boys’ kumite.

Keziah Daley Brown landed gold in the nine to 11-year-old kumite, as Trevarn Reid took bronze, and Brown also won silver in the 12 to 14-year-old kumite.

The under-nine girls’ team of Anya Kramer, Sinah Reid and Shaniquoi Lawson also won silver in their kumite event to complete a fine haul.

Olympic Karate Inc hold classes in and outside London for children from the age of four and host in-house competitions, while als attending major events.

Jeffers added: “The group support the schools as far as education. There are some aspects of general knowledge that goes on within the classes.

“Students are quizzed on various subjects, for example Maths, English and Geography. The group is not just about kicks and punches, that’s what makes them different from the rest.”

The group also teaches discipline, with Jeffers adding: “If you are a good kid, that’s great. If you are a bad kid that will change pretty quickly. “Discipline plays a major part in this sport and they should include Karate in all schools across the country. I am sick of hearing about children on TV and in the papers all for the wrong reasons.

“We have to tackle this problem head on and we as sportsmen and sportswomen working within this industry can help.”

For more information on the club visit olympic-karate-inc.co.uk, call 07983 831727 or email info@olympic-karate-inc.co.uk.