GKR Karate International World Cup 9

View Results The first weekend in August was setup for one of the biggest events in the GKR calendar and also for many firsts in GKR’s history. It was the first time the World Cup was hosted in Queensland, Australia. It was the first time GKR attempted and qualified for a Guinness World Record and the first time to be actively involved in helping someone else break another Guinness World Record. Over 1000 competitors from all over the GKR globe came to Coomera on the Gold Coast to compete against each other in the spirit of karate, presenting the best they have backed up by their focused and intense training in the weeks and months leading up to the event. Competitors from as far as England, USA, New Zealand and Australia all came together as one martial arts club. The standard was great but the camaraderie and true karate spirit was even greater. It began on Friday the 4th of August in the evening with the Team events. You could see the many hours of practise and teamwork as Kata teams were displaying their Kata’s with timing, precision and synchronicity and the Kumite teams banding together to support each other during each sparring round.  The next day, Saturday saw the opening ceremony with each country running into the stadium to take their place for the official bow in. Special guests helped charge the morning with a Japanese Drum team belting out their rhythms and showing us how the Japanese can make an art out of almost anything. This was the biggest day with all of the Pre Black Belt divisions on display. The standard of the younger ages and of lower grades is such an inspiration for the future. GKR is definitely in good hands. The last day Sunday, started with the first of the Guinness World Record attempts. GKR helped fellow Martial Artist Glenn Coxon attempt to break 1000 pine boards in the fasted time. With determination, focus and with bloodied hands he successfully broke the record with a time of 10 minutes and 10 seconds blitzing the previous record of 20 minutes and 3 seconds. Next was GKR’s turn to have it’s go at attempting “The most people breaking pine boards simultaneously in a single location” record currently set at 204. With one massive strike and a loud Kiai GKR set a new record at 433 boards broken. What a fantastic event to witness and be a part of and with proceeds going to the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse charity to raise awareness and much needed funding for Cancer research. The final event of the weekend was the best to come with the Black Belt divisions. The pinnacle grade of most martial arts and it was evident that these competitors deserved their Black Belt grades. The Kata’s were exceptional and the Kumite a sight to behold. What an unbelievable way to finish such a huge and awesome event. Many thanks go out to all of the Setup crew who spent many hours on the Friday getting everything organised for the Friday evening events. To all of the Referee’s/Judges and table admin who helped make the whole experience run smoothly. To the First Aid crew for their attention and expertise. To Josh, Louise and Charnelle for their event co-ordination and admin efforts. To those who helped co-ordinate the World cup attempts. To the other Senior Instructors for being the Head Table officials for each ring. To the Queensland Senior Instructors who did many months of behind the scenes collaboration to help bring the World Cup to fruition. To Sensei Mark Case for his guidance and for always being the first in and the last to leave each day. Lastly I’d like to thank Sensei Gavin, Shihan and Kancho for putting their faith that Queensland could run such a prestigious event. Yours in Karate Kelvin Trembath Senior Instructor Brisbane Region 10 View Results