Sunday 31st October saw three young students from the Grimsby freestyle kickboxing club’s fight squad the “Grimsby strike team” travel to Cheltenham for the World united martial arts international open tournament and came away with a host of trophies to proudly display.
Ethan Noton (7 yrs) started the day off with some fantastic fighting skills on the mat within the semi contact sections, firing his fast blitz techniques into his opponent and using his impressive side kick to take him to the next round. Noton was competing in two different categories at the same time on different mats so once finished on one he was straight onto his next fight. This was a great experience for the young fighter and he coped with the pressure very well. Noton was fast with his hands and legs as he waited for his opponents to come forward then countering with perfectly executed side kicks and even caught one of his opponents with an impressive jump spinning back kick. Round after round Noton was scoring points and came across some tough opposition which took it’s toll on the 7 year old. Finally finishing up from the two mats with a very respectable third place. He wasn’t finished there either, next up was his light continuous section which again he started out dominating the opposition with his straight punches down the center followed by strong roundhouse kicks from either side. None of his opponents could deal with his techniques and one of them even retired after the first minute of the round after a flurry of combinations which landed on target. The referees were very impressed with the ability and clean techniques shown by Noton and there was no doubt that the first place trophy belonged to the young superstar.
Next up was Joe Axcell (10 yrs) in his two semi contact sections he faced a huge group of fighters all eager to impress and get started. Axcell started his first round with style, firing in his side kicks followed by some very fast backfists. The points were coming in thick and fast and he progressed into the next round with ease. The competition was tough but this never got to Axcell as he blitzed his way through the opposition showing his ability as a fighter has improved over the last year and landing his techniques on target with well timed shots. As Axcell made his way through the rounds there was an opponent waiting for him in the final which he has faced before back in September. Overcoming his fear and facing up to his rival he showed maturity and held him to a good fight. Using his space well and side stepping the side kicks as they came in hoping to get the reverse punch on target Axcell performed extremely well under the pressure. After the final round was over Axcell was very happy with his second place in one section and third place in another section and the knowledge that he has improved since September and receiving compliments from his rival and a possible friendship.
Jay Pauley (9yrs) also competed in the semi contact section on the day and started off very well with some well timed backfists and round kicks to his opponent. Pauley progressed forward into his attacks starting off with a lead leg side kick and then following with backfists which unfortunately didn’t score as they didn’t have enough power in them. After a close match and some very good experience on the fight circuit Pauley came away with some knowledge and what to work on in the gym in the run up to the next competition.
Well done boys!!
