Ethan Noton and Joe Axcell competed at the Irish Open which is the newly crowned largest open martial arts tournament in the world on the weekend of March 3rd, 4th and made a massive impact!
The boys made their debut at the prestigious event where several countries and world class teams gather every year to battle it out in the hope to become a true champion. The arena was packed as always and there were superstars from all over the world ready to get it on.
First up was Noton in the -28kg boys point fighting category which was heavily filled with seasoned fighters from all over the world. This didn’t faze the young fighter from Grimsby as he’s been in similar situations before many times. Noton’s first fight went very well scoring points with great footwork and fast blitz techniques which are his favourite! Noton was on fire after his preliminary rounds and was showing the crowd just how fast he was with movement drawing his opponent in then blasting out his reverse punch into the body for a clean shot. As the rounds went on it was the best of the best left to battle it out for that coveted first place on the podium! Noton came up against some opposition that were nearly 5 years older than him giving them a weight advantage but yet again this didn’t faze the young talented fighter and he went out with some aggressive side kicks followed by quick backfists to score points. Noton even managed to draw one of his opponents in with a fake then as he ran in Noton stepped off his firing line with a well executed hook kick to the head to the crowds delight! After all his marvellous efforts Noton was beaten by a couple of points and earned himself a well deserved bronze medal at his first attempt inside the biggest kickboxing competition of the year.
Joe Axcell was eager for his -42kg point fighting category to begin where he stood amidst a hoard of quality fighters from across the world. The fighter from Oasis Wintringham academy was more than ready for his first round and was fired up after watching his team mate do so well! The fight finally got under way with Axcell moving well after training very hard in the gym on footwork over the past few weeks and started to un-nerve his opponent a little. Axcell’s reverse punch was waiting and as his opponent pushed forward with a side kick he let it fly into the body with such speed and power that Axcell’s hand fractured on impact causing immense pain to the young fighters hand. This was a punishing blow for Axcell as this was the first round and he felt really good prior to the fight starting. He brushed himself off and focused his thoughts and after composing himself he turned to face off against his opponent across the mat and gave the all clear to the referee for the fight to carry on. Such determination showed in the heart of Axcell as he gave it everything knowing that he couldn’t use his right hand at all! Using footwork along with aggressive side kicks followed by backfists, Axcell did everything he could to get through the round unfortunately just missing out on the win. A gutting blow for Axcell but the true grit and concentration that took him through with a fractured hand was very inspiring!
Massive well done to both boys and congratulations!
