Western Area Open

This was my second event at my new weight of -60kg

First Round BYE

David Saran (Ernest Bevin) Second Round

After a first round bye I was keen to get started .  It was a quick win in less than 20 seconds.

Chris Edwards (Kingsley School) Semi-Final

Chris was really on form today beating Harry Lovell-Hewitt in the previous round. It was a good tough fight which I won with an arm-lock in the third minute.

Abdurahman Chaatouf (Ernest Bevin) Final

This was going to be a really tough final. We had both won all our fights with ippons so far. I had never fought Abdurahman before but have watched him very closely and he is a very impressive fighter who throws big. This brought the best in me and my transition was bang on as usual. I would have won in the first thirty seconds but for some bad refereeing. I pounced on a weak attack in the second minute winning with another arm-lock. This was a good win.

Results

Warsaw Judo Open

I would like to recommend a competition to anybody who is interested. This year the Warsaw Judo Open will take place on the last weekend of September followed by a strong training camp.  This is a great event with first class organisation and I have been many times. The competition venue is one of the most impressive around. Details are below.  If you need any advice please ask.

Warsaw Open 2013

London Open

It was great to eventually move up to the -60kg weight group but this group will be a far tougher one than the -55kg. Most of the top fighters are all 1997 which will make qualification for next years events a very tough prospect.

First Round Bye

Brandon Ortega Casey (Moberly) Second Round

My transition was bang on for this first fight and I won with a strangle within the first minute.

Andy Morris (Wirral) Semi-Final

Andy is ranked number three on the GB rankings and is very awkward.  This was a long tough fight which I won with a Wazari.

Danny Powell (Wolverhampton) Final

It has been a long time since I had fought Danny in competition.  Danny is ranked number two in GB. This was a very close fight with no scores right up to the last five seconds.  I made a big mistake stopping fighting just outside the area with Dan on his knees.  I presumed the referee would call Matte and stopped fighting...........Big Big mistake that I should not make as Danny pounced with a Ko-Uchi gari to score Yuko.

This was a good result at my first -60 event and I look forward to some great battles over the next twelve months with some very strong fighters.

Results

National Team Championships

I was picked to represent the North West at this years National Team Championships held in Walsall.

I was selected at -60kg alongside Andy Morris from the Wirral. I wasn't able to make -55kg so it was great to be able to move up and also get some fights.

We were up against the Midlands, Northern Area and the Western Area in our pool.  Andy fought against the Western Area where we scraped home on points after drawing the match 5-5. I fought against Jack Curry in the next match-up against the Northern Area with us winning 7-2. We were then up against the Midlands Area in our last group match which we lost 7-2.

In the Semi-Final we lost to the impressive Scottish team who went on to retain their title. I had a great fight against Neil Macdonald