The former site of the Sydney Olympics was the stage for the 2007 NAS Nationals, with competitors representing every state.

Emotions were running high well before the first competition whistle blew, as competitors met on the eve before at the registration room at the Sydney Olympic Park Novotel hotel, and came face to face with their opponents.

The Friday tournament lead-up also involved pre-event seminars for the 60-plus officials and the venue was set up by the 50 temporary staff who contributed to the weekend.

Sifu Randy Bennett’s broadsword routine

Bren Foster performs a flipping board-break

Saturday — forms
The competition began with the forms divisions. The first of the junior divisions fired up on all eight rings, and initial nerves soon gave way to the constant din of parents and spectators cheering for their family members and team-mates. In what is always one of the largest divisions of the NAS circuit, the Pee Wee 7 Years and Under Forms division had over 40 competitors. It was a gruelling event for officials and competitors alike. A dynamic Aaron Collins from Kimekai Karate displayed some impressive techniques to walk home with the title, followed closely by the flamboyant Jerry Lu from Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

The Praying Mantis Kung Fu school soon followed this silver with a first place win by Qi Hao Yin in the 8–9 Years 10th–6th Kyu Forms event.

Possibly the largest divisions of the entire weekend were the two 10–11 Years Forms divisions, with over 50 competitors in each. In the 10th–6th Kyu division, a flawless form by Jade Deeth (Shaolin Kempo) was enough to squeeze out Brennan Smith (Shotokan) into second berth after an exhausting event that took over two hours to complete. In the senior division, Ronald Nicol’s (Go-Kan-Ryu) precise technique saw him take first place over Taylor Mamone (Luke Byrne School).

Lachlan Carr and Ben Cunningham battle for the Champion of Champions title

A ferocious right hook

“The senior forms caught the attention of everyone in the stands with their consummate attention to detail and a level of focus anyone would admire,” said event coordinator Glen Coxon. One of the senior officials also commented, “The judges on this event all agree, we have never seen a higher level of precision than what has been seen on this mat today!”

The winner of the Women’s Black-belt Open Forms division went to Hayley Carr (Go-Kan-Ryu) with Satoko Takahara (Taido) in second and one of the NAS’s longest-participating competitors, now in her 14th year of competition, Denise Fung (Taikudo) running a close third.

In the Men’s Black-belt Open division, Matt Rogers (Kenshinkan) focused his energy into a dynamic routine that saw him take first place. Close behind in points was Lachlan Carr from Go-Kan-Ryu.

“It was one of the biggest, hardest divisions the men’s [division] has had,” said Rogers. “It was a draw for first. Me and another guy had to [perform] again. I thought it was one of the best [performances] I’ve ever done.”

Saturday night finals
Following the completion of the day-time competition, the venue was completely overhauled for the night’s Xtreme Championship mode. With a complete change of floor plan, the inclusion of staging, lighting rigs and sound desks followed by dress rehearsals, sound, lighting and film checks, the stage was literally set for the big Saturday night Fox Sports spectacular.

A packed crowd cheered the introduction of the competitors preparing to fight for the title of 2007 National Black-belt Champion in their respective weight division. First off the rank was the Women’s Lightweight final, where two Go-Kan-Ryu competitors, Hayley Carr and Violetta Toth, fought a strong battle that saw Violetta emerging as the final victor.

A dynamic Taido demonstration

Dual former Champion of Champions winner Ben Cunningham was up against fellow Go-Kan-Ryu exponent Trevor Williams in the Men’s Lightweight final. Ben came out of the starting blocks ready for business, racking up a few points in quick succession. The ambitious Trevor soon caught-up, but Ben surged ahead in the end, taking home the title. In the Women’s Middleweight finals, Michelle Rolls from Go-Kan-Ryu showed a strong sprit just making it to the event after recently returning to competition from a devastating injury in 2005. Showing she has recovered well, Michelle won convincingly over Jessica Lloyd (also from Go-Kan-Ryu), walking away with the first place trophy.

Lachlan Carr is hailed by GKR team mates

Samantha Palmer and Violetta Toth battle for Champion of Champions

The Men’s Middleweight finals saw Go-Kan-Ryu’s Keiran Adele and Dean Gould battle it out in a seesaw final that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. In the end, however, it was Keiran who was crowned Middleweight Champion and was given the chance to enter the Champion of Champions division.

The intensity of competition lifted yet again in the Women’s Heavyweight final, as Lyndal Ricketts (Kaizen Kai Karate Do) faced up against a determined Samantha Palmer (Go-Kan-Ryu). Despite a number of close attempts to unseat her opponent, Lyndal just couldn’t stop Amanda, who took home the title.

The final of the Men’s Heavyweight division saw a very sharp Stjepan Nazor (Shobukai Karate) up against Jeremy Thompson (Go-Kan-Ryu). Jeremy managed to avoid Stjepan’s lightning-fast attacks, countering with his own fast hands and feet to stay ahead and take first place.

The final of the Women’s Open division was dominated by two competitors from the Combined Self Defence and Fitness. Cheyenne Hoffman proved just a little too strong for Jody Whitley, winning the match and the opportunity to fight for the ultimate crown at the end of the night.

A determined Lachlan Carr (Go-Kan-Ryu) was up against Daniel Tregenza (Go-Kan-Ryu) in the Men’s Open weight title. After several close calls from both opponents, it was Lachlan who took home the title.

Saturday night Xtreme Championships and Masters Showcase
Shihan Stacey Karetsian, Assistant Chief Instructor and Executive Vice President of Go-Kan-Ryu Karate, kicked off the Masters Showcase with a tight form and self-defence routine that demonstrated why he has risen in the Go-Kan-Ryu ranks over many years. Shihan Stacey’s performance highlighted the self-defence applications (bunkai) of Bassai-dai kata. A special invitation to the line-up of masters was extended to young competitor Richie Labour, who was hand-picked to perform at the spectacular from the Saturday competition by NAS President Mr Silvio Morelli. Richie’s flashing sickle knives and acrobatic kicks made for a great lead-up to the rest of the demonstrations. “We were impressed with Richie’s sharp, dynamic routine,” said Morelli. “He showed great athleticism and showmanship with his aerial and kama techniques.”

Darren Friend Sensei performs an aikido demonstration

Close-range action in the Black-belt finals

One of Australia’s foremost weapons instructors, Sifu Randy Sullivan Bennett of Jow Ga Kung Fu, was next to enter the arena. With his flamboyant and flexible Chinese broadsword routine, Sifu Randy soon won the applause of the crowd.

Possibly the fittest and definitely most aerial demonstration came up next with the dynamic team from Elite Martial Arts and Fitness, led by Bren Foster. Bren holds a 5th Dan in taekwondo, 1st Dan in both hapkido and hwa rang do, and also trains in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

As a star of several recent television specials on the martial arts, Bren and his team thrilled all and sundry with their display of jumping kicks, including an amazing summersault board-break finale.

Australian martial arts veteran Sijou Rick Spain has trained in Wing Chun kung fu for over 30 years and also trains and teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA and kickboxing. Sijou Rick put on a fantastic demonstration of Wing Chun, blowing the crowd away with his strength and flexibility in a self-defence demonstration.

Sijou Rick Spain was carried in the splits

The art of aikido was on display next, courtesy of Sensei Darren Friend and his team from Aikido Yoshinkai. Sensei Darren demonstrated the freestyle application of aikido techniques in an un-choreographed display. Students made random attacks and Sensei Darren defended against with a seemingly effortless display of aikido.

The next demonstration came direct from Japan with four-times World Demonstration Champion Sensei Tetsuji Nakano, accompanied by a team from the Australian Taido school. Sensei Nakano performed a Taido form called Tentai no Hokei, before he and his team showed what timing is all about with an incredible display of flips, upside-down kicks and aerial techniques. Sensei Nakano finished with an almost impossible upside-down board break that brought the crowd to its feet.

Master Ron Claassens from the Institute of Modern Taekwondo was up next with his team performing precision self-defence and aerial board-breaking. The highlight came when Master Ron performed used a ridge-hand strike to break five concrete slabs, which literally exploded across the floor.

The final demonstration came from Master Kevin Brown his team from the Australian Hapkido Association. Gracefully executing locks, throws and self-defence applications, Master Kevin demonstrated a range of self-defence techniques against single and multiple attacks, even using his belt as a self-defence tool.

“This was truly the best series of demonstrations Sydney martial arts fans had seen in many years,” said Coxon.

Female Champion of Champions
The lead-up to the finals of the Women’s Champion of Champions competition saw two semi-finals. The first, between Violetta Toth and Michelle Rolls, saw Violetta going onto the big finale. This was followed by Samantha Palmer against Cheyenne Hoffman in another very close battle, with Samantha emerging out as the victor.

With Heavyweight Champion Samantha up against Lightweight champion Violetta, the battle for the supreme title was always going to be interesting. Violetta’s slight stature equipped her well from the outset to make short, sharp shots and do all she could to rattle her longer-reaching opponent. Meanwhile, Samantha worked hard to keep Violetta at arm’s length and used her long legs to stay in her own range.

Girls get their kicks

Ready for a fight

In the end Samantha’s reach, speed and technique proved too strong for Violetta, and she was crowned the new Female Champion of Champions.

“I knew I wanted it and was so focused,” said Samantha. “I played my own game, which sometimes I don’t do as well as I should. I got away with a good lead. [Violetta] got a couple in throughout the fight, but I was leading the whole time. We’re close friends, we train together, but this was the first time we’d fought. I had a bit of an advantage in height and weight, and I knew she was injured, so I was careful but I didn’t change my fighting style.”

“I knew this year was my year. I just had this feeling I was going to get though finals and fight for Champion of Champions.”

Continuous Sparring
The finals of the Female Advanced Continuous Sparring saw 2006 Female Champion of Champion winner Karen Stone (RMAA Seishin Zenryoku) up against Natasha Hammersley (Go-Kan-Ryu) in a close battle.

Karen showed she is still a force to reckoned with, taking the nod from the judges to edge out her worthy opponent for first place.

In the Men’s Advanced Continuous final, Matt Rogers showed accuracy and grace under pressure against Lachlan Carr. It was a close and feisty match, but Matt proved too sharp for Lachlan and went home the 2007 Men’s Advanced Continuous Champion.

“The division was really strong,” said Rogers. “It was a bit nerve racking with the cameras. The fight was pretty toe-and-toe, and felt like could have gone either way. Maybe I had more stamina, because we train to go the whole minute and a half non-stop. It was one of the best fights I’ve ever won, the best feeling I’ve ever had. My main goal is now the Champion of Champions.”

Male Champion of Champions
Men’s Lightweight Title winner and multiple-champion Ben Cunningham came to the competition mat keen to secure a third Champion of Champions title in the first semi-final. In the opposite corner was rising-star and Middleweight Champion Kieran Adele. Ben gained a large margin in the early stages of the match, but Kieran quickly sprang into action and closed the gap to make for a nail-biting final round. Just when it looked like the match was slipping away for Ben, he rallied once again and managed to take the bout from Kieran. Fresh from his win as Men’s heavyweight champ Jeremy Thompson was up against an equally determined Lachlan Carr. Lachlan proved too much for the larger Thompson, with his quick feet and lightning-fast defence taking him into the final match-up.

But there could only be one winner, and the final bout for the title of Champion of Champions was going to be a memorable one with Ben Cunningham keen to make score his third title and a hungry Lachlan Carr looking to come back from his loss in the continuous sparring.

A true all-styles battle

The juniors put on an exciting show

Both combatants had similar styles of attack, which made for a nervous start to the bout, but the tension as soon as the match went point-for-point. Ultimately, Ben Cunningham could not stop the determination of team-mate and regular sparring partner Lachlan Carr, who won the 2007 Men’s Champion of Champions title.

“I was definitely feeling positive [going in],” said Carr. “I know Ben had a lot to fight for, and he has a positive mindset. So I had a lot of respect for what he was fighting for. “Coming second in the continuous sparring made me feel what it’s like to come second, which is not a good feeling, and I didn’t want to feel that again. I had a game plan, I knew what to do. [Ben] has a way of fighting where he’s very poised, and I knew if I got a few points in front, then he’d be easy to see coming in to attack. So the game plan was to get ahead in points, then make sure I [stayed] there. I’m more confident fighting when he attacks more, compared to when I attack and he blocks and counters.

Sunday — Point sparring and continuous sparring
The next day, competitors returned to the State Sports Centre for the final day of competition with renewed levels of competitive spirit.

The Point Sparring divisions kicked the day off, with the large 8–9 years 10th–6th Kyu division turning into a very heated battle. A very fiery Jack Moran (Kick Fit) went on to take the event from Alex Wildman (Damashii) in a memorable finish.

Ronald Nicol was back in the limelight again, taking out the 10–11 years 5th Kyu-Black-belt sparring against a determined Zach Galea (Australian Freestyle Martial Atrs). In the 10th–6th Kyu division, Brennan Smith’s (Shotokan) speed and accuracy saw him out-score Jake Verring (Walsh Tae Kwon Do) to go home the eventual winner.

Other stand-out bouts in the junior divisions included Isabelle Carr winning the 12–13 years 10th­–6th Kyu Female Sparring division over Sarah Casauria (St Helena Martial Arts) and Harjan Athwal (RMAA Seishin Zenryoku) winning the 12–13 years 10th­–6th Kyu Male Sparring division over Matt Bryce (Chikara Karate).

In the older junior divisions, Lucas Smith (Wing Chun Kung Fu) took out the 14–15 years 10th–6th Kyu Male Point Sparring over Joshua McCrory (Josh Moore’s Martial Arts), whilst in the female division, Ashley Lamborn (KUA Shotokan) defeated Alexandra Mantzouridis (Arjukan Karate).

Later in the day, the continuous sparring events fired up with the Men’s Novice (10th–6th Kyu) division becoming one of the hot events of the afternoon. Mario Messina (Chinese Kickboxing Martial Arts) proved too skilful for the effervescent Panapa Pereira (Anderson Bushi Kai) to take out first place in the division.

In the Female Novice division, Emmanuelle Todd (Orale Martial Arts) took first place in the highly-contested division over Ina Heather (Anderson Bushi Kai).

With the competition wrapping up early, it was up to NAS President Mr Silvio Morelli to give his final words on the weekend and to present the President’s Cup, which is the given to the best-performing state.

“I believe I have seen the very best performances ever at the NAS Nationals this weekend and we certainly have a brilliant future ahead of us given the level of competition here this weekend,” said Morelli before announcing South Australia as the recipients of the 2007 President’s Cup.

The NAS trophies

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