The Grimsby strike team were on the mats doing their thing over the weekend of 15th and 16th February at 2 locations within the UK.
8 Fighters travelled to Birmingham to compete within the largest UK based tournament for the WAKO British championships. Saturday saw Daniel Balch battle through his –52kg category within continuous kickboxing and come away with an impressive bronze medal whilst his brother Evan Balch fought in the –42kg category and drew a tough first round opponent although held his own in the fight.
Sunday at the British championships was a busier day with Aaron Barber and Daniel Balch fighting within the –52kg point fighting category and making it through to the 4th round where they both just missed out on a win to some top level fighters. Aaron then went on to fight in the –57kg and the –62kg categories where he pulled out all the skills needed to bag himself a well deserved bronze medal from the heavier category.
Jessica Ward fought her way through some first class fighters to earn herself a bronze medal in the –55kg point fighting category whilst Dion Leshone-Goodfellow picked up his bronze medal for fighting in the –28kg and –32kg categories. Evan Balch entered into the –42kg point fighting category and earned himself some valuable experience whilst first timers at the WAKO British championships Emily Allison and Paul Whetton fought their hearts out in the –37kg and –47kg categories respectively also gaining some valuable experience from the highest standard of tournament in the UK.
Whilst these fighters were showing off their skills in Birmingham the strike team also had 11 fighters competing at the Peterborough championship series too. Michael Dent fought his way through the –4ft 8” Advanced point fighting category to bag himself a gold medal and beat all of his opponents on the day showcasing his talent even further with another silver medal within a separate category.
First time fighter Tia Piggott also picked up a gold medal after her win in the –5ft beginners point fighting category. 4 more fighters who made their debut on the fight circuit were Rebecca Piggott –4ft 4” beginners, Jess Taylor –5ft beginners, Alfie White –5ft intermediate and Nikki Taylor ladies –69kg beginners who all fought well and earned themselves a big shiny silver medal from the tournament. Brandon Burden fought in the –4ft 4” intermediate point fighting and –25kg continuous kickboxing along with Oliver Kirby who fought in the –4ft 8” intermediate point fighting category who both managed to fight their way into a well earned bronze medal position whilst Mollie Austin, Lilly Kershaw, Callum Graves and Tammara Lambley all came away with runners up medals after their fights. Everyone who fought gained some vital experience from this tournament to take back to the gym and work on with a fresh outlook.
A big well done to all fighters who had the courage to step onto the mats over the weekend and put their training into action. Full respect goes to you all and congratulations to all the winners. Big thank you to all the parents, friends and supporters who also made the journey down to both venues to encourage the fighters 
