Kempsey Zen Chi Ryu dojo members James Hartley, Tess Booth, Alan Bell, Shannan Griffiths and Liam Kinny joined a team of 28 athletes from multiple dojos across the country to represent the Australian Martial Arts Championships Team to compete at the New Zealand Martial Arts Championships Titles in Auckland on October 28.
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They competed in a range of events such as traditional forms, sparring events and weapons demonstrations, between them placing in 25 events.
Tess, Alan and Shannan were dominant in their respective divisions and each placed first in one of their events making them New Zealand Titles Champions.
James and Liam earned third and fourth placings in their events as well, which is all amazing achievements.
“The competition was extremely tough, with a high level of talented martial artists that they had to compete against,” Zen Chi Ryu Instructor Debbie Swanson said.
The team have been training for the last nine months, attending specialised clinics with their Australian team coach in Sydney, along with competing at a variety of tournaments across NSW to help them in their preparation.
The opportunity presented not only the chance for the athletes to demonstrate the skills they have developed through their hard work over the previous months, but to also experience the local culture and connect with other martial artists from Australia and New Zealand.
“The Macleay Valley Community helped immensely to get the Zen Chi Ryu team to New Zealand by supporting them in their fundraising ventures – car washes, lamington drives, raffles, bowls days and chocolate drives. The team would like to say a big thank you to all who helped them in anyway. to allow them to represent the Macleay Valley and Australia on an International Martial Art level,” Zen Chi Ryu Instructor Debbie Swanson said.
Their next venture, along with other athletes from the Zen Chi Ryu dojo will be to attend the Australian Titles on the Gold Coast on December 8 and 9.
Those who place in the top five in their events at this tournament will quality to join the 2019 Australian Martial Arts Championship team and go on to compete in locations such as Japan and New Zealand.
If you would like any information on Zen Chi Ryu please contact Shihan Debbie on 0402 233 531.
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