The ultra modern venue proved to be the perfect place for these athletes to showcase their talents. The martial artists came from all around the country to (quite literally) fight for their places in the GB team. There was a great mix of young children, teens and adults, all of whom were out to prove they have what it takes to represent their country at world level later this year.
There was even one person who was due to fly in from Jersey. Unfortunately, problems at the airport led to this person being unable to get to the venue.
There were 110 people in the Multi Purpose Hall at the EIS. A good number of these came from the Falcon Fight Academy at Dinnington. The trials were organised by Cris Janson Piers, BFKKO President. The warm up session was taken by the many times, multi styled world champion, Kerry-Louise Norbury.
After an intense warm up and fitness assessment, the trialists got into their rythm and soon had legs and arms moving in a blur. Once the basics were out of the way, it was down to business and try to catch the eye of the selectors. The various styles from semi contact through to full contact and K1 styles all took turns to impress.
The action from the adults was flowing, clean and impressive. The children showed great concentration and determination. At the end of three grueling hours, some even managed to find that little bit extra!
The selection process is expected to be completed over the next day or two.
The feedback from many of the coaches was very positive.
Andy from Grimsby Martial Arts said: "They were all good fighters here today, Quality martial artists on display. I have really enjoyed the whole day."
Dave Terry from DEMAA in Oldham told me: "Unbelievable standards from the novice sections today (under 18 months training). There are stars of the future with so much potential here today."
Cris Janson Piers commented at the end of the trials: "I would like to thank everyone who attended today. The standards have been really high today, and the number of attendants is phenomenal. There were no poor standards and it will be really tough to make the final selections from what I have seen today. Everyone here should be really proud of themselves, I know I am!"
Cris added: "I am going to produce a GB Squad t-shirt. They will be handed out to every squad member FREE at the official Squad training session I am now planning. If you are not there you won't get one, but if you are and show you are a TEAM player then you can proudly wear this t-shirt and be proud to show people your success."
That is something to be proud to wear. Congratulations to all who made the team.
