Fighters from Wakefield-based West Yorkshire Karate Kyokushin performed well in the 44th British Open Kyokushin Knockdown tournament, which took place at the K2 Leisure centre in Crawley, London.

The Wakefield club has been competing in this event for the past 30 years and this year competitors from more than 23 countries took part in a grueling full contact day of fighting.

The rules are simple, you knock your opponent down twice for a count of five seconds or go for a complete knockout and go on to the next round. In between the rounds there is also the 'tameshiwari' – the breaking of boards with the bare fist, elbow and palm of the hand as you progress towards the final.

Six members of West Yorkshire Karate Kyokushin took part in the novice section and most of them came back victorious.

Members of West Yorkshire Karate Kyokushin who took part in the British Open Kyokushin Knockdown tournament in London.

placeholder image — Members of West Yorkshire Karate Kyokushin who took part in the British Open Kyokushin Knockdown tournament in London.

Kyle Stewart, who achieved knockdowns in all of his rounds and a KO in the final became the men’s heavyweight novice champion.

Lawrence Abernethy, who also knocked down two of his opponents, became the men’s middleweight novice champion

Hasan Rizwan, also taking out his opponents in the first round, achieved second place in the men’s lightweight novice section and Wiktoria Mirga took third in the ladies lightweight Novice section.

Wakefield karate novices test themselves in English Open

West Yorkshire Karate Kyokushin trophy winners at the British Open.

Kyokushin Karate is a stand up fighting style rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training.

Combat takes place on an eight-square meter fighting area with no gloves or shin pads. Hand and elbow strikes to the head or neck are prohibited. However, kicks to the head, knee strikes, punches to the upper body and legs and kicks to the inner and outer leg are permitted.

Training for most students at this level is daily and classes are held at St Andrews Church Hall, on Peterson Road, and also at the Denhale Arc Centre, in Flanshaw. Both are run by the main Instructor, Yousuf Khan ([email protected]).

Visit http://www.facebook.com/westyorkshirekarate for more information. Children from age 10+ and adults are always welcome either on the beginners course or the main class.