Archive: Author: d2d_debs

The Year of the Tigers

Posted on by d2d_debs

The new year is well underway and after two weeks of classes, hopefully everyone is getting back into the swing of things!

2019 is going to be a huge year for the club, with two major kickboxing events taking place on our doorstep.

On May 5th, The WKC Aberdeen Open returns to the BHGE Arena in Aberdeen. With eight fight zones and 3,000 spectators there’s never been a better time for us to show the world what we are made of. This is one of the biggest stages in the sport and those who want to compete will need ot be focused and determined in their training over the next five months. Some of the best fighters from across the globe are going to be attending and we want to be sharing the podiums with them! We’ve got phenomenal fighters in a number of weight and age categories so we have high hopes for the event.

Alongside the Aberdeen Open we’re extremely excited to be working directly with the WKC on the inaugural WKC Scottish Championships. This is a new event and will take place on August 18th in the brand new Moray Leisure Centre in Elgin. Sensei John has been to the site with the WKC Scotland team and discussed how the event will run – we can’t give too much away at the moment but it’s shaping up to be a superb addition to the Scottish kickboxing calendar and we’re delighted to be so deeply involved.

With these two huge events on the horizon, make sure you take twice as much water and a towel to clss – we’re going to be working hard!

ETMA

WOMMA Scottish Championships – Report

Posted on by d2d_debs

On November 18th six of our fighters took the short journey to Elgin for the WOMMA Scottish Championships. As it was our last tournament of 2018 we were determined to add to the silverware cabinet. It turns out we might need a new cabinet…

Calum Coutts-Trotter (aged 10) took bronze in Points fighting despite getting hurt in his second fight. He regained composure and showed true tiger spirit by fighting his way to third.

Thomas Pirie (aged 17) not only won gold in his Points category but also Continuous making him a double Scottish WOMMA champion.

Although he’s the newest fighter of the squad, Owen Elmquist (aged 18) won bronze in Continuous and only just missed out in Points against fighters with significantly more experience.

Rhuraidh Barclay (aged 13) took bronze in Continuous and narrowly missed a podium finish in his points category against older and bigger fighters.

Scott Raffan (aged 15) won both Continuous and Points in this category comfortably, meaning he too left the event a double WOMMA Scottish Champion.

Cara Coull (aged 14) fresh from her appearance at the Worlds Championships in Dublin used some superb kicking to claim gold in Points fighting and bronze in Continuous.

It was an incredible haul for the team and testament to the hard work and effort they have applied to their training over recent months. Although there are no more tournaments this year there is plenty more training, with our next grading taking place on November 30th-December 1st.

And don’t forget to visit our bottle stall at the Buckie Christmas Kracker on December 1st!

ETMA

We’re back!

Posted on by d2d_debs

It’s been a crazy few months for the club (hence the lack of blog update!) but we’re back on top of things… we think!

The end of August saw an important grading take place for Eastern Tigers. From our youngest to our oldest students, everyone did incredibly well but it was with great pride that Sensei John was able to present two of our hardest working students with their black belts.

Harry Woolloff is the first student from Huntly to reach Junior Black Belt and took on his two-hour solo grading with the spirit and determination of a true black belt.

Despite taking a break from kickboxing, Thomas Pirie returned to Buckie a couple of years ago and has been focussed and determined ever since. His incredible fitness level meant that he managed his five-hour solo black belt test (although he did confess to still being in physical pain four days later!)

Alongside Harry and Thomas, here are the rest of the gradings:

Tiny Tigers


Zac Mclean – Red
Ceiran Grant – Yellow
Addison Emry – Yellow
Kaide Bain – Yellow
Ollie Crane – Orange
Ryan Finnie – Green
Lucas Whittle – Blue
Emily Hibbitt – Blue
Maia Dee – Purple
Hadden Dunkley – Brown

Tiger Cubs

Murray Woolloff – Yellow
Arron Finnie – Orange
John Mosley – Orange
Isla Park – Orange
Alfie Cormack – Orange
Kieran McIntosh – Orange
Daisy Wilson – Orange
Nathan Singers – Orange
Ryan Scott – Green
Aidan Grant – Purple/white
Leith Mcrailt-Young – Purple/white
Lexie Bain – Purple/white
Hayden Gall – Brown
Calum Coutts-Trotter – Brown/Black
Joshua McNeil – Green/Black
Harry Woolloff – Black

Teens and Adults

Ian Fellowes – Red
Eilidh Cryle – Yellow
Owen Elmquist – Orange
Sinead Mariner – Blue
Alan Dunkley – Blue
Mike Dee – Purple
Niamh Mariner – Purple
Lucy Adam – Red/Black
Thomas Pirie – Black

September saw one of the UK’s most decorated fighters, Chris Aston, head to Buckie for a seminar with a handful of our fighters. The turnout wasn’t great so we’re going to work on how best to run these events in future, as those who attended definitely felt the benefit of close tuition with such an incredible fighter.

The club also headed down to the WKA Everlast International tournament in Motherwell, featuring fighters from all over the home nations, and returned with a brace of medals. New black belt Thomas Pirie won gold in his continuous category and silver in K1, with Niamh Mariner taking silver in Points despite being put up an age class meaning she was fighting much more experienced kickboxers.

 

As you can see, there’s been a lot happening! We’re hoping to keep growing our numbers and want to make sure we’re developing as a team, so will be looking at more fundraising activities over the coming months to further raise the club’s profile.

Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates!

ETMA

The Speyside Way

Posted on by d2d_debs

After months of planning, last weekend we set out on our epic 66-mile Speyside Way walk. It was an early start but spirits were high and after a couple of hours on the train, 10 of us disembarked in Aviemore ready to take on the challenge.

Or so we thought.

The hottest weekend of the year so far was welcomed by almost all of Scotland, apart from a small group of kickboxers… However, we forged ahead and made our 17-mile day one checkpoint at the Ben Mhor hotel in  Grantown-on-Spey. With feet strapped up and sweat chiselled off, we had a quick bite to eat before collapsing in our rooms.

Day two started slowly, with aches and pains from day one causing issues but we pushed on. However, 7 miles in, some of the team started to get serious problems, with open blisters and sores making walking increasingly difficult. By mile 10, a large percentage of the team were physically incapable of walking. The 27+ degree heat and 30kg backpacks meant conditions were getting worse. With the Aberdeen Open on 7 days away, we risked losing over 50% of our fighters due to foot injuries, so a decision was made that Sensei John and Mike Dee would push on to Aberlour (an additional 15 miles) to ensure the distance was covered, and that we would complete the final day – another 25 miles – once the Aberdeen Open had passed.

There’s no doubt the whole team were disappointed, but risking health and well-being is not what Eastern Tigers is about. We will complete the distance; that’s what we promised our sponsors and that’s what we will do.

We hope you enjoy our video of the Speyside progress so far!

ETMA