On Saturday 31st August 2024, twenty one students from Kokoro Kai took part in this year’s British Championships. The venue was the Walsall Sports Centre in the grounds of Wolverhampton University. Some members of the team arrived on the Friday evening to enjoy the comforts of the Village Hotel in Walsall. Here they soaked up the exciting atmosphere as all the competitors and various groups began to arrive from all over the country. Others chose to rise early and journey up on the Saturday morning.
The Championships began promptly with Pairs Demo, Empty Hand Kata and Weapons Kata . After a short break for lunch, we then proceeded with all the Random Attack, Advanced Randoms and Continuous Fighting categories.
Team members this year came from our Hornchurch, Rainham and Stanstead Abbotts clubs. Chief Instructors and Senior National Referees Mark and Claire Fitz-Gerald were joined by Coach’s Martin Hunnable, James Cottee and Chris Ward from the Fenlands and Peter Newby from Stanstead Abbotts, Paul MvKelvey, Nigel Clarkand Mike Smith from our Hornchurch club. Fantastic results were produced once again, with a total medal tally this year of 19 medals, with several of the team competing for the first time.
The annual Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony took place at Walsall Football Club. The Board of the British Ju-Jitsu Association thanked all present for their huge efforts in making this year’s Championships a huge success. Various high grades from accross the country were then presented with their 5th/6th/7th and 8th Dan’s. Kokoro Kai are proud to have three new 6th Dan’s in Rob Green, Martin Hunnable and James Cottee. It’s hard to remember a time when these three have not been around and to say we are proud of them is an understatment. Finally, it was then time to unwind with friends after a long day and to celebrate with our Ju-Jitsu family.
What an honour and a privilage it has been to work with such a wonderful team of people and to play our part in helping to produce another successful Championships. Thank you to all our competitors – keep up the good work!
We look forward to doing it all again on 31 August 2024!
Well done and thanks to everone for their support.
Mark & Claire Fitz-Gerald, 7th Dan
