Karate: A golden weekend for Leeds Shotokan at Nationals

Leeds Shotokan Karate Club lift the Senior Men's Team Kumite title at the KUGB National Championships.

Leeds Shotokan Karate Club team claimed gold at the Birmingham-based KUGB National Championships in the Senior Men's Team Kumite event thanks to the efforts of Sensei Ryan Tucker, Ethan Armstrong, Remigijus Jurgilaitis and James Humphries.

This event is a special one for the Leeds club but they have missed out on top spot for the last few years. So, it was a great reward for all the hard work and training put in by the team that they finally got their hands on the trophy again. The club also put in strong performances individually with Ethan Armstrong taking gold in Junior Men’s 18-20 Years Kumite, beating his team-mate James Humphries in the final.

Both fought extremely well throughout the tournament.

Jurgilaitis put in consistent performances in the Senior Men’s Kumite event to get to the final, with excellent performances against last year’s national championship competitor to get silver in his event.

Louis Jackson also got to the finals in the Boys 10-11 Years Kumite event and just missed out on silver in his category.