Karate stars go on the attack at World Martial Arts Games
HORDLE karate sisters Talia, Jasmine and Patchouli Phillips and Highcliffe fighter Jack Fisher, returned with a host of medals from London’s 12th World Martial Arts Games.
Teams from around the World including the USA, Colombia, Mexico, India battled it out along with Great Britain.
Day one saw Talia Phillips win U15 Kata bronze after beating Germany’s Sarah Lorenze in a tense playoff. Another bronze medal followed as Talia along with Patchouli and Jasmine finished third in the team Kata category.
After two days of competition, Great Britain trailed a powerful USA team in the medal table. But the GB fightback began with Talia winning gold in the U15 Kumite fighting.
The gold rush continued as Jasmine Phillips won her hotly contested Kumite U18 black belt final 6-4 against talented USA fighter Allahasia Muhammad.
The blend of styles between Phillips' all-out attacking and Muhammad’s masterclass in kicking had the arena spellbound, and the venue erupted as Phillips secured the winning point.
Big sister Patchouli Phillips eased her way through her semi-final with a 6-1 victory against American Elzanne Naudè to set up a mouth-watering final with her USA teammate and pre-tournament favourite Sierra Luna. With her usual calm assurance, Phillips prevailed to claim the women’s senior black belt gold with a 6-4 win.
With the host nation now chasing down the US medal tally, Highcliffe’s Jack Fisher who had endured two agonising fourth-place finishes made the men’s black belt 18-35 final where again it was the USA that lay in wait in the form of Samuel Diaz III.
The American took gold 4-3, but Fisher was rewarded with silver for his hard work. The elusive gold medal came when Fisher was pivotal in the men’s senior black belt team. He beat Desmond Diaz as Great Britain pipped the USA 13-12.
All of these talented youngsters train at the local ISMAA club under the tutelage of Great Britain sixth dan star coach Shaun Lanham. For more information, visit www.ismaakarate.co.uk
