Sunday 11th October 2009 saw the best BKFA Nationals in years. The day ran smoothly and swiftly and was a great success.
Fighters from all around the country fought in the various categories for men, women and children. All fights ran smoothly due to the help from high quality referees and time/ score keepers. The referees were guided by Chief Referee Neville Wray, who made sure the fights were fair and professional. As well as semi-contact fighting, competitors also took part in light continuous fighting and the pushing hands competition.
The senior black belt men’s sections saw two veterans Rash Patel (Gloucester Lau Gar) & Neville Palmer (Northants Lau) put their gloves on and take to the mat again.
Both competitors started at opposite ends of the draw sheet and several rounds later ended up in the final. Rash narrowly missed out to Neville in the final seconds. This was an excellent display of fighting from two experienced fighters.
In addition to exciting fighting, there was a fantastic demonstration too. Stafford Lau Gar club performed a variety of entertaining and skilful sets to a selection of engaging music. The demonstration team received much applause and praise from spectators who seemed to be very impressed with the forms that were showcased and the martial artists who performed them.
The sets competition also went well, with a number of sets being performed by both adults and children under the critique of the 3 Guardian judges – Carl Jones, Andrew Nation & Jason Crabtree.
To make the day even more enjoyable, 2 seminars were held for the benefit of all those there. Guardians John Russell and Morag Quirk led a workshop on pushing hands and Guardian Pete Hornby taught Qi Gong. Those who attended the seminars found them both informative and valuable.
The day finished in good time and was rounded off by an inspirational speech by Neville Wray. He called on all Lau Gar members to rally together to ensure that Lau Gar fighters once again become a force on the national fighting scene. It is hoped that if Lau Gar fighters compete and win in a wider variety of tournaments then it will attract more fighters to our Nationals in years to come.
All in all, the BKFA Nationals is improving year by year and we look forward to an even more successful tournament on 31st October 2010.