Everyone from Tiny Tots to seasoned seniors fought well for Hicks Kickboxing Club
Hicks Kickboxing Club were thrilled with their results from the prestigious Bristol Open.
It’s one of the biggest, and toughest, competitions of the year, but a relatively small team of 14 fighters returned from Bath University with 12 medals, four gold, three silver and five bronze from ‘Kata’, ‘Light Continuous’ and ‘Points’ events,
All four golds came from the Kata team with James Thurling (Boys), Aryia Townsend (Girls), Hollie Brook (Girls Cadets) and Sophie Hicks (Girls Cadets) the successful competitors.
Silver medals were won by Amir Nash (Senior Beginners) and Theo Owen (Mixed Tony Tots) in Points and Ravi Panchal (Boys Cadets) in Light Continuous.
The bronze medals were won by Sophie Hicks (Girls Cadets) in Light Continuous and by Oscar Owen (Beginners), Panchal (Older Cadets), Harlee Hooker (Older Cadets) and Arshan Nash (Older Cadets) in Points.
The Hicks club like to nominate ‘fighters of the day’ which was tough after so many excellent performances, but senior Amir Nash delivered his best performance to claim a silver and ‘tiny tot’ Theo Owen was brilliant in his final, showing no fear and giving his all in every bout.
Owen competed in a dramatic final which went to extra time before he accepted a silver medal.
There was also special praise for Harlee Hooker who reached the podium in one the most competitive categories of the entire event
A club spokesperson said: “We had some beginners give it a go and we had our seasoned experienced fighters on the circuit in action - many of whom have moved up to new sections this year so were the underdogs in their age bracket. Everyone did really well on a massive stage against some world champion teams from across the globe.”
Glossary
Kata kickboxing: A set sequence of karate moves organized into a pre-arranged fight against imaginary opponents.
Light Continuous kickboxing: All forms of boxing combined with kicks to the body and the head with controlled contact.
Points kickboxing: A fighting discipline where two kickboxers fight with the primary goal of scoring defined points.