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Shinken Shobu Ryu Judo club, Warrenpoint has had great success in recent weeks in both Shai and Kata competitions. Shai being free fighting competition and Kata competition which is the demonstration of prearranged techniques, which illustrate the principles of both attack and defence in Judo.
The British Masters Open took place in London on 29 March, the largest Masters event in these Island’s. This year it hosted competitors from all over the world with 29 countries taking part with strong representation from Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Norway and the USA.
Paul McConville was in action in the U81kg category and his first contest was against a cagey American. Paul dominated the fight from the beginning, eventually catching his opponent with a shoulder throw scoring Wazari (7 points) he then secured the fight with a hold down to win the contest. His next contest was against a tough Spaniard. Once again Paul took the fight to his opponent, scoring ippon (10 points) with a solid throw to win the contest. Paul’s semi final was against an Englishman, which he won again by ippon throw putting him in the final against another American judoka. The fight went to ground very quickly, unable to secure a hold down, Paul made the transition to arm lock his opponent winning the contest by ippon and securing the Gold Medal.
Dermot McCaul was in action in the under 90 kg category. Unfortunately for Dermot he had the national Ukrainian champion as his opening contest. The Ukrainian proved too strong and indeed it was the Ukrainian who went on to win the category. Dermot went through repechage with a chance to fight for bronze. He started off well against an English judoka, going ahead with a seven point score however he was caught in the closing seconds just missing out on a chance at bronze but did give a very good account of himself in a category which featured both Irish, British national champions and a European Champion who got bronze in what was one of the toughest categories of the day.
Looking forward, Dermot and Paul will be in England again next month for the High Wycombe Masters.
The previous weekend saw Nigel O’Neill and Damien O’Hare at the British Judo Council annual national kata championships. They were competing in two of judo’s self-defense Katas. Kime No Kata is a form of self-defense against both knife and sword attacks. While Goshin Jutsu is a more modern kata which teaches the principles of defense against knife, stick and firearms. The two Judoka have been practicing these kata for many years and on that day, they won silver medals for both Katas. Many people believed it should have been gold. Overall it was a great couple of weeks for the club.
All four judoka along with another of the club’s black belts Eugene McErlain are due to compete at the British Judo Association National Kata championships in September.
Shinken Shobu Ryu is one of the very few clubs in Ireland that teaches Judo in its totality. The emphasis is not solely on competition but caters for people who just want to learn without the need for competition. Great emphasis is placed on kata knowledge, while always being mindful that judo is a martial art which includes 10+ forms of Kata.
