(L to R) Luca, Phil, Charlie, Ollie, Alex and Massimo
Glorious day for CARISMA on Sunday 14 April, at the ICO National Kickboxing tournament organised by Peter Dunnett of CKA in Bury St.Edmunds. CARISMA secured, with five of our athletes taking part in the tournament, two national titles (Olaoluwakitan “Ollie” Osunkunle and Luca Senatore), and 2 second places (Phil Richardson and Charlie Gilmour).
Phil Richardson, category men -70Kg, (part of Cambridge University Kickboxing Society CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2012 that won against Oxford on 2nd of May) fought the final with his usual rich arsenal of punches and kicks but could not avoid being hit several times by an opponent with very fast legs, securing a second place.
Charlie Gilmour, category men -75Kg, (also part of CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2012) did a very good fight, against an opponent that on paper looked very good but resourced to simple combinations of simple kicks and punches. After an initial draw the judges decided to have an extra 30 second-round where Charlie’s opponent managed to play that extra bit to secure a victory leaving Charlie with another second place for the day.
Ollie Osunkunle, category men -85Kg, (also part of CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2008, 2011 and 2012) fought the semifinal against a tough opponent, who was convinced that blocking punches with his head was a good idea. Despite Ollie’s very controlled techniques his opponent felt dizzy after a few strikes and the referee penalized Ollie with a point deduction for excess of contact… Despite the disadvantage Ollie secured this first victory and went on to fight the final. In the final Ollie demonstrated a great level of control of the ring together with a broad variety of techniques applied at different ranges. He totally annihilated his opponent, who had to be stand counted twice during the fight, and secured the first belt for the day.
Alex Kravetz, category men -90Kg, with just 6 months experience in kickboxing and at his first external fight, fought the semifinal with good technique but his lack of experience allowed his opponent to secure the victory.
Luca Senatore, category veteran men 80+Kg, the most experienced CARISMA fighter at this tournament, went straight into the final against a very heavy handed opponent whose strategy was to pin Luca against the ropes and punch him. Luca showing great foot work and evasive strategies managed to score endless times with both punches and kicks, achieving an undisputed second victory and belt.
Once more CARISMA has demonstrated that good technique and strategic work, combined with regular and consistent training, keeps delivering great results and this event is there to prove it.
Videos of the event will follow in due course.