GKR World Cup 8

My First World Cup

As I mentioned in my first blog post, this weekend was the 8th GKR World Cup held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. Having qualified last year, I was to be competing on the Saturday afternoon, however we decided to make a weekend of it and support as many of R33 as possible.

Friday...

I travelled up on the Friday with my two marvellous supporters, my mum and friend Tracy. We had a good run, with a stop at my favourite services (Keele), arriving at the Hampton by Hilton John Lennon Airport Hotel at 13.30. 

After settling into the room, which was very nice, we headed back out to catch a bus into the city. A very lovely man helped us find the best bus route and we were soon on board the 86A en route to the Echo Arena. Apparently it was a busy journey, abundant with school kids and loud gossiping. Being asleep, I missed all of this!!

Peeling ourselves from the seats, we got off of the bus and made our way over to the famous Albert Dock. I was itching to watch my favourite ladies team kata (Senseis Clare, Jackie and Sally) but we had hours to wait. I registered and with my "COMPETITOR" wristband in hand, it was all beginning to feel very real.

At 6pm, full from our Pizza Express, it was time to find seats in the arena. The Team Katas were all of an incredibly high standard; I was in awe of the Gold Medal winners, the Australian Male Team. They moved as one, and their jump was choreographed to perfection. The R33 ladies performed an awesome shisochin, as always, and definitely got the loudest cheer of the bunch. They also happened to get Bronze medal!! I'm so proud of them and to call them my Senseis.

We also caught the Team Kumite, which has to be one of my favourite events. Both the male and female bouts surpassed my expectations.. it was all so fast paced, legs and arms flying and bouts won within seconds. Our Regional Manager, Sensei Daniel, and his team also won a Bronze.

What a day.

We made our way back to the bus terminal, I caught some more zzzzs on the bus and we were soon back at the room. Time for a good night's sleep in preparation for the morning.

Saturday...

Unfortunately, we were rather short-changed on the good night's sleep. Not one to grumble, I helped myself to a full English breakfast instead and hoped the accompanying tea would wake me up. Surprise surprise, another bus journey into the city meant another cheeky nap for me.

I was already in my gi and Great Britain jacket so was ready for the Opening Ceremony at 9am. And what an experience that was!! Getting to run in flying the Union Jack, alongside my karate family, was AWESOME. And then hearing our National Anthem blasting through the stadium as we stood, about to represent our country.. words cannot describe the feeling.

Once the run in and bow in were complete, we got to hear from not only our founder and Chief Instructor, Kancho Robert Sullivan, but also Shihan Stacey Karetsian and Sensei Bob McCracken. Truly inspiring men, both in their gis and out, it was an honour to be among them.

It was soon time for the competition to begin. With many of our region starting between 10am and 11am, it was hard to watch everyone. However, over the next few hours I managed to cheer and woop and clap for Sensei Ed, Dave, Ian, Rhys and many more. They all did their country, region, and Duston Dojo proud.

I was beginning to feel really tired by this point so went for a walk around the dock to wake up. Mum also treated me to a Costa, but I couldn't manage more than a tea. Until now I hadn't felt nervous at all, but a headache had come on and I wasn't feeling too great.

I didn't like being away from my comrades so I rushed back and changed into my gi, just in time to see Francesca's kata. Although I'd seen it a hundred times over the last few months in the dojo, she still impressed me.

As myself and Kristy were on at the same time, we decided to warm up together and try out the matting. Now the nerves were really beginning to kick in, how was I going to stand on one leg without falling? Would I be able to grip the mats? By now I'd already decided I wasn't going to medal, but still wanted to do the best sanseru possible!

I met up with Stacey and was introduced to two other ladies in our division, Lisa and Allison. With only ten minutes until we should be called, I just wanted to get it all over with!

 

We waited and we waited...

Four o'clock soon turned to half past, then quarter to and we still hadn't heard our division announced. We decided we could practice no longer and moved into the arena to watch. From here I could see my mum and Tracy giving funny hand signals to me. I realised there were girls on our ring in brown belts... was it our division?  

Having rushed over and given our name to the table we joined the group, all wondering why we hadn't been made aware we were up! Not to worry, at least we hadn't missed our chance, they were still on the first kata.

We were spread across two rings, with the top four from each going into the kata final. The standard was high, and I couldn't help but notice that no one else was doing sanseru. At least I would be original, even if I wasn't the best!! 

I was happy with my performance, I didn't stumble and I made it to the end if the kata without going wrong. As this was the first time I'd done sanseru in a tournament environment I was pleased to be scored 21.5 (8.4,8.4,8.3). Unfortunately I wasn't through to the final, but now could enjoy watching the others and cheering them on.

Next was kumite, this I was not looking forward to. I was called up against Allison and, to my surprise, sailed through the first round, beating her by two full points! I wasn't so lucky in my second round, only scoring half a point. The lovely lady that knocked me out did go on to win bronze, but I know I could have done much better.

Now I was fully relaxed, I began to notice my surroundings. The officials were literally clearing up around us! We were the last division up and had the attention of the crowd that remained. Amongst this crowd were Shihan and Sensei Anthony Ryan.. No pressure for the girls fighting for medals! Stacey did really well but she missed out on the bronze by one point. All medals went to the Aussies.

I said goodbye to my fellow team mates and well wishers and headed back up to our seats. I was shocked to learn it was now half past seven!! Gathering our things, I had my photo taken in front of the sponsor board and we made our way out into the city centre. 

After refuelling at a Wetherspoons, we shuffled back to the bus terminal. It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was sleep. Which, being on a moving bus, I obviously did. Mum had bought me some chocolate, as tradition goes, so I had a few chunks in the hotel with a cuppa before settling down to sleep.

Sunday...

We had a little lie in today, with the alarms not set until 8.15am! Today was our last in Liverpool and we decided we would flit between the arena and the docks. After a very big breakfast, we caught the bus back into the city. This time, I was awake for the whole journey!!

Time was getting on and I was worried I would miss Sensei Clare, so once off the bus I half sprinted to the arena. I did something funny to my ankle in the process, but made it just in time to watch her empi. For the opens they were operating the flag system, which meant two competitors performed simultaneously and the judges voted for the better of the two.

As Clare was out, myself and Rosa used the time to have a look at the professional photos taken over the weekend. We knew we were in several from the opening ceremony but wanted to see how they'd turned out. After much deliberation, Rosa purchased a great shot of us with the flag, and Senseis Sally and Ed in the background. I wasn't impressed with my individual shots, my kata face is not photogenic, so moved on. 

We wandered back inside and found ourselves watching Sensei Dave and Sensei Daniel move into the finals for kumite on their division.  This would be very exciting to watch, to see if we really were being taught by the best. It was also nice to see Sensei Daniel beast someone else for a change! Of course, Sensei won Gold, with Dave taking a respectable Bronze.

We took our leave and headed back around the docks, finding a market. Here I bought some fudge, and we struggled to understand the Liverpudlian accent from the vendors on the stalls. The sun was shining, and so we walked alongside the Mersey to make a full circle back to Albert Dock. 

With one last visit to the arena, I watched Sensei Clare win her first bout of kumite and then went to meet Mum and Tracy back at the bus terminal. We took the scenic route back, travelling Merseyside to the airport. Unfortunately, it had now started to rain.

And rain it did. We made a mad dash from the bus to the the hotel and still ended up looking like drowned rats. My shoes were slipping off halfway across the road so my feet, my hair, my legs.. everything was soaked! To make matters worse, as we left the car park the ticket flew from Mum's hand, and off of the roof!!!

Finally, after sweet-talking reception, we were out of the car park and on our way home. I looked through all of the fantastic photos and reminisced about the weekend.

Overall, I had a truly fantastic time in Liverpool. I loved being able to see my karate family achieve their goals, perform outstanding Katas and have fun! My World Cup experience was exciting, challenging and inspiring. I can't wait for 2019...