HUNDREDS of karate enthusiasts attended the Yamaguchi Goju kata competition held at the Chase Sports Centre in Prittlewell on Sunday.

Organised by the traditional karate style’s chief instructor, Shihan Tony Childs – who runs clubs in Leigh – the tournament was a success with three competition areas for youngsters from all over the south east.

The contest gave youngsters the opportunity to test their kata skills in front of experienced judges.

For some of the youngest competitors – aged just five or six – completing the first four moves of the most basic kata was their goal. Older fighters, including Goju’s England teenage squad members about to depart for Hungary for the European championship, it was a chance to hone skills.

Success at the event went to teenagers and young fighters from Yamaguchi Dojos in Leigh, Grays, Stanford and Thorpe Bay, with other styles from Tilbury, Meopham and other clubs also represented among the medals and prizes.

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