There was a buzz of excitement with teams getting together warming-up, going over strategies with their coaches and over-coming nerves prior to competition
Instructors, coaches and officials were debriefed regarding the day's events prior to official bow-in. Mr. James Casey welcomed all competitors, coaches and spectators, wishing them luck for the day
The male & female black belt and advanced divisions where in full swing first thing in the morning with good numbers of competitors. Male black belt division was taken out by David Auty, Revolution M/A who kept the pressure on all competitors and has to be considered one of the favourites to take out the State championship, runner up Cliff Pierce GKR
Male advanced continuous sparring final was fought out by Dylan Mauger, Superior M/A and Luke Falzon, Shogun M/A, early stages of the bout both competitors where evenly matched...Dylan began to put the pressure on his opponent outscoring him with spectacular spinning kicks and hand combinations ensuring all three judges awarding him the match
Demonstrations and weaponry where among the highlights of the day, Team SKIA gave a polished performance of synchronised forms/kata with applause from all attending...Senior & Junior weaponry was an all Team Free Style Pro Active victory with Steve & Anthony Grigoropoulos taking out the weaponry divisions
One of the biggest divisions of the day was the Pee Wee's and their following of parents, grandparents etc... Round by round they where eliminated till it came down to the final two. Lochlain Dix-Ishinryu Karate and Taj Maloney, Revolution martial arts, Right from the bell they went at it attacking each other with kicks and punches, Lochlain scored with roundhouse kicks to the head while Taj was not to be denied countering and scoring with some excellent reverse punches, eventual winner being Lochlain.
Finals 12 – 14 yrs male continuous sparring, Daniel Beatie Free Style Pro-active came up against Jeremy Gubatanga Cop Den Do. This was a fiery match right from the beginning both boys mixing it with good combinations. The referee stopping the match cautioning both competitors for too much contact, the match continued, Jeremy scoring with spectacular spinning backs kicks however Daniel kept the pressure on working in close with hand and leg combinations out scoring his opponent to eventually take out the match.
Congratulations must also go to all the officials & staff for an outstanding day of officiating. Special thanks to the following VIC Technical Director Mr. Shane Wescott, Mr Darren Ball and his team of first aid officers, all Officials and staff...many thanks!
Looking forward to seeing everybody at the Victorian State titles 23rd October – MSAC...it is going to be a big one!
1. Competitor – Profile
NAME: Anthony Grigoropoulos, age 14
STYLE: Freestyle martial arts, Kickboxing, MMA, Weaponry
How long have you trained? 11 years
Where do you train? Proactive Self Defence, Thomastown
Can you tell us what you like about the NAS competition? The thing I like most about the NAS competition is that there is a huge variety of events that I can enter and I think that the judging is very fair towards all of the different styles that compete.
Best moment/memory in competition with the NAS? My best memory with NAS would be winning my first national championship for extreme weapons at the 2007 nationals in Sydney.
Have you a favourite technique in competition? In point sparring my preferred technique is the reverse hook kick. And for the extreme events my favourite technique is the round-off back flip.
Favourite martial artist. My favourite martial artist is Matt Emig.
What are your future goals in the NAS? To win champions of champions when I am a senior and feature on the cover of Blitz Magazine
2. NAS Official Profile
NAME: Peter Smith.
STYLE: ZENSHIN KARATE.
How long have you trained? Eight years, currently 2nd Dan.
Where do you train? Ballarat Martial Arts Centre, under Kyoshi Dick Bartells in Ballarat.
How long have you been involved with the NAS? Roughly 6 years.
What made you become an NAS Official?
After taking my son and then my wife to earlier rounds in Geelong and then to the state comps and finally Nationals in Queensland in 2005 I decided to try competing myself in point sparing in early 2006 and after that not being to successful, I found that I was more interested in it than what I thought and was keenly interested in finding out more about thing called NAS and that was when I spoke to an official in Geelong and he told me that they were always looking for judges and referees for comps and before I knew what was happening I was doing my level 1 test and it has all snowballed from there.
What level are you with the NAS? Level 2
What are your future goals in the NAS?
To go as far as I possibly can in the NAS family and continue with the great friendships that have been made over the years between the competitors the other officials and myself.
3. Club/Organisation – Profile
INSTRUCTOR NAME: Peter Conroy
STYLE: Funakoshi Karate Australia
How long have you trained? 19 Years Training in Traditional Karate
My Karate studies began with Go Ju Kai at their Frankston Dojo under Berni Brogan I later moved to Western Victoria and began to train under Terry Bradford as a member of the I.O.G.K.F International Okinawan Karate Federation before joining the F.K.A in March 2008 ( Funakoshi Karate Australia )
Location of club & nights you train? Camperdown Funakoshi Karate Club is Located at Old Basket Ball Stadium in Manifold St Camperdown Training on Monday and Friday nights at 5.00pm – 6.00pm
How did you find out about the NAS competition? Word of mouth N.A.S has been a part of Martial Arts in Victoria for many many years
What do you like about the NAS competition? N.A.S is a great tournament series that gives Karataka from All styles a chance to compete not only within their own discipline but against students from totally different styles.
It's the diverse nature of the field that makes N.A.S so exciting &challenging and such an important part of the development of both confidence and ability of the Karataka in our Club
Name some of your up-coming champions from your club and how they are placing in the NAS competition.....
Two bright young stars are Jed Peach qualified for this year's N.A.S National Championships
Matthew Conroy qualified for State Championships this year. Others with a promising future who made their N.A.S debut in round 4 are Jill Cole 2nd Novice Adult Kumite 3rd Novice Adult Kata and Airlee Cole 1st Under 14 y/o female Kumite two new comers with great focus and energy
What are your future goals for your organisation?
Shihan Frank McKenzie has developed the F.K.A into a strong and vibrant organisation and is a pro active member of the Australian Karate Federation will all instructors being A.K.F registered & holding a N.C.A.S qualification .Some senior instructors have furthered there professional development into a Cert iii and Cert iv in fitness. And all of us now hold a working with children check .
Shihan Frank believes that well developed functional fitness is essential to growth and development in Traditional Karate , We hope to have a squad of the most highly qualified instructors in Victoria with a strong emphasis on fitness and body conditioning .
On a personal level
I have a small group of mixed grades and ages all enjoying the challenge of traditional Funakoshi Karate. I believe that Traditional Karate has the answer to many of the modern day problems.
Health Issues (obesity, cardio vascular disease, diabetes)
Issues involving lack of respect (crime)
Issues of boredom and lack of purpose in life (depression)
We are fortunate to have a family environment at Camperdown with a mixture of mums and dads taking on the challenge of training alongside their sons and daughters something we cater for in the one mixed class. (Many clubs have separate classes for kids and teens and adults) We have made a choice to offer classes that are mixed age and grade so parents can train side by side with their sons & daughters a difference people of Camperdown have embraced
Future Goals: To actively promote Funakoshi Karate as a family friendly fitness challenge
To develop fitness program that engages women of all ages and introduces them to some of the basic concepts of traditional Karate and self defense
