alcatraz
Yellow Belt
I've asked this question elsewhere in the past, but as a noob here, I thought I would put it out there for the mebership of this board as well.
I'm a bit of a nostalgia nut, so please bear with me.
I'm 40 years old, and I've been involved with Martial Arts since I was 7. In that time I've had the good fortune to train with some excellent martial artists from various parts of the Martial Arts spectrum.
Also, in that time, I've competed, fairly succesfully, under various Sport Karate formats ranging from the old WUKO and it's newer WKF incarnation thru to Semi Contact (Points) and Light Contact (Continuous), and even the occasional Knockdown and Shubo-Ippon event.
I'm going to list the best fighters I've seen, and came up against in competition. Most of them kicked my behind, but I would like to think (or is that imagine?) I gave as good as I got in many of my bouts.
1. Top of any list has to be Alfie 'The Animal' Lewis. The guy was (is) a phenom of sport Karate. There were, and are, very few fighters who made such an impact in both Freestyle Sport Karate and Traditional Sport Karate. I remember the fuss in letter pages of the UK publication 'Traditional Karate' when Ticky Donovan picked Alfie over Mike Sailsmain for the English WUKO squad. When I was training at Peterborough Freestyle, I had the fantastic fortune to train under Alfie both in Peterborough, and Liverpool.
2. Vic Charles. What can anyone say, other than when it came to WUKO Karate, he was THE man. Not only that, I remember seeing him fight against Lau-Gar, TAGB, and the US WAKO squad under Freestyle rules at a GIKO sponsored event down in Birmingham when I was a teenager backck in the 1980's, and he had fantastic fights against Kevin Brewerton (Lau-Gar), Kenny Walton (TAGB), and Steve 'Nasty' Anderson (US WAKO). I met him twice in Glasgow. Once in a comic shop a family friend used to own, the second time was in a McDonalds on the Trongate. Really nice guy.
3. Billy Bryce. I could watch Billy fight all day. Such an artist, who made Sport Karate look soooo easy, and fluid. I've trained with Billy's instructor John Harper on a few occasions down in Coventry in the past, and it is easy to see what made/makes Billy, and the other Seibudo guys and gals who used to compete on the circuit such a talent. Hard work, and focus.
4. Chris Boughey. Mention the Sport Karate circuit of the 80's and 90's and Chris' name should be right at the top. My first Freestyle fight was against Chris at a tournament in Peterborough. He was returning from a leg injury. Me being a cocky kid (I was 19 or 20 at the time) who had thus far had a fantastic junior career under WUKO rules, tried to take advantage, and swept Chris, who got peeved off, and gave me a lesson in sweeping. I thought I was going into orbit.
5 and 6. No list would be complete without a mention of two of my closest friends outside of the Martial Arts world. Clifton Findley and Rob Devane.
Clifton is my buddy, and at times he is like an annoying older brother, but in terms of Sport Karate he is an unsung hero. Most people know of Clifton as a Semi-Contact (Points) fighter winning world titles with WAKO and WKA, what many people don't know is though, that he has picked up some decent titles in Traditional Sport Karate (WUKO/WKF), and Light Contact (Continuous).
Clifton is now the Amateur Rules Director for ISKA in the UK.
Rob is like a kid brother to me, but in Sport Karate terms, he is soooo far ahead of me, at my peak when I was picking up trophies every other weekend, I was nowhere near where Rob is. He is one of the most flambouyant, yet clinical fighters I have ever had the good fortune to witness, compete against, and train with. Like Clifton, most people know Rob, for his Semi-Contact (Points), and Light-Contact (Continuous) achievments, such as his WKA World Championship Title, but I've also seen Rob demolish Traditional Sport Karate guys at their own game (WKF/WUKO). He is currently competing in MMA, and has a pro career of 2-1.
Well that's my list. I could carry on adding names like Mike Sailsman, Gerry Flemming, Diane Reilly, Joe Tierney, Kevin Brewerton. Tim Stephens, George McKenzie, Carl Spencer, Tyrone White, Raf Nieto...etc.
But, where would I stop?
Perhaps by adding your own list, or commenting on mine, we can see who the most popular Sport Karate atheltes (any Sport Karate format) really are.
I'm a bit of a nostalgia nut, so please bear with me.
I'm 40 years old, and I've been involved with Martial Arts since I was 7. In that time I've had the good fortune to train with some excellent martial artists from various parts of the Martial Arts spectrum.
Also, in that time, I've competed, fairly succesfully, under various Sport Karate formats ranging from the old WUKO and it's newer WKF incarnation thru to Semi Contact (Points) and Light Contact (Continuous), and even the occasional Knockdown and Shubo-Ippon event.
I'm going to list the best fighters I've seen, and came up against in competition. Most of them kicked my behind, but I would like to think (or is that imagine?) I gave as good as I got in many of my bouts.
1. Top of any list has to be Alfie 'The Animal' Lewis. The guy was (is) a phenom of sport Karate. There were, and are, very few fighters who made such an impact in both Freestyle Sport Karate and Traditional Sport Karate. I remember the fuss in letter pages of the UK publication 'Traditional Karate' when Ticky Donovan picked Alfie over Mike Sailsmain for the English WUKO squad. When I was training at Peterborough Freestyle, I had the fantastic fortune to train under Alfie both in Peterborough, and Liverpool.
2. Vic Charles. What can anyone say, other than when it came to WUKO Karate, he was THE man. Not only that, I remember seeing him fight against Lau-Gar, TAGB, and the US WAKO squad under Freestyle rules at a GIKO sponsored event down in Birmingham when I was a teenager backck in the 1980's, and he had fantastic fights against Kevin Brewerton (Lau-Gar), Kenny Walton (TAGB), and Steve 'Nasty' Anderson (US WAKO). I met him twice in Glasgow. Once in a comic shop a family friend used to own, the second time was in a McDonalds on the Trongate. Really nice guy.
3. Billy Bryce. I could watch Billy fight all day. Such an artist, who made Sport Karate look soooo easy, and fluid. I've trained with Billy's instructor John Harper on a few occasions down in Coventry in the past, and it is easy to see what made/makes Billy, and the other Seibudo guys and gals who used to compete on the circuit such a talent. Hard work, and focus.
4. Chris Boughey. Mention the Sport Karate circuit of the 80's and 90's and Chris' name should be right at the top. My first Freestyle fight was against Chris at a tournament in Peterborough. He was returning from a leg injury. Me being a cocky kid (I was 19 or 20 at the time) who had thus far had a fantastic junior career under WUKO rules, tried to take advantage, and swept Chris, who got peeved off, and gave me a lesson in sweeping. I thought I was going into orbit.
5 and 6. No list would be complete without a mention of two of my closest friends outside of the Martial Arts world. Clifton Findley and Rob Devane.
Clifton is my buddy, and at times he is like an annoying older brother, but in terms of Sport Karate he is an unsung hero. Most people know of Clifton as a Semi-Contact (Points) fighter winning world titles with WAKO and WKA, what many people don't know is though, that he has picked up some decent titles in Traditional Sport Karate (WUKO/WKF), and Light Contact (Continuous).
Clifton is now the Amateur Rules Director for ISKA in the UK.
Rob is like a kid brother to me, but in Sport Karate terms, he is soooo far ahead of me, at my peak when I was picking up trophies every other weekend, I was nowhere near where Rob is. He is one of the most flambouyant, yet clinical fighters I have ever had the good fortune to witness, compete against, and train with. Like Clifton, most people know Rob, for his Semi-Contact (Points), and Light-Contact (Continuous) achievments, such as his WKA World Championship Title, but I've also seen Rob demolish Traditional Sport Karate guys at their own game (WKF/WUKO). He is currently competing in MMA, and has a pro career of 2-1.
Well that's my list. I could carry on adding names like Mike Sailsman, Gerry Flemming, Diane Reilly, Joe Tierney, Kevin Brewerton. Tim Stephens, George McKenzie, Carl Spencer, Tyrone White, Raf Nieto...etc.
But, where would I stop?
Perhaps by adding your own list, or commenting on mine, we can see who the most popular Sport Karate atheltes (any Sport Karate format) really are.
