Karate players fight in Wellington

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 248, 28 June 1988, Page 16

Karate players fight in Wellington

Ten Waimarino karate players competed in the 10th Annual Wellington Open All Styles Karate Championships staged over Queen's Birthday weekend in Porirua. Distance was no obstacle for the large contingent of competitors who travelled down from Kaitaia, Kaikohe and Northland. The majority of participants hailed from the Wellington area and made up the bulk of the 350 competitors. Very stringent rules that govern World Union Karate Organisation tournaments were strictly adhered to during the competitions. Those finalists in the black belt divisions and open sections qualified. for the National Karate Federation finals to be held in Auckland later this year. The small group from Whanake Rangataua Karate Club Ohakune, with instructor Charles Mareikura travelled to the championships with players entered in most of the 37 divisions. Sharleszane Mareikura completely overwhelmed his opponents with decisive wins in the Boys' 7 years. Strong technique and the right attitude was very evident i n Sharleszane's display. Raana-Ellen Mareikura also won her division in the Girls' 9 years. Her third fight ran into several extensions which could have gone either way. However, in her bouts later in the day, she showed superior kicking ability in disposing of her rivals. Che Wilson and Te Moana Ponga registered one win each but could not find the necessary flair in the next round of the Boys 14 years. With a few more com-

petitive outings these two boys could fare very well. Jason Pepene's encounter in the Boys' 9 years was short, going down in his first competition bout. More determination and confidence would see Jason doing much better in the future. Frank Taylor swept all those before him in the Boys' 11 years, one of them a much improved and hard training Michael Wihapi. It was unfortunate that these two clubmates had to meet each other. Robert Taylor made the quarter finals in the Boys' 11 years division and certainly put up a fine performance after such a lengthy spell from karate. Robert's brother Frank Taylor was awarded first place in the Boys' 13 years kata and sparring is certainly attributed to training hard and not missing many sessions. Mario Mareikura

showed class with his first place in the Boys' 18 years kata. However, not enough aggression and speed in the Super Boys Brown/Black Belt, up to 15 years made Mario third place getter - with teammate Corban Tu-

mataroa coming in run-ner-up in this division. Corban and Mario certainly have flair and aggression in normal club sparring but could not muster these essentials during the final stages of their competition.

Instructor Charles Mareikura again won the Men's Black Belt under 75 kgs. He qualified for the National Karate Federation's selection tournament to be staged in Auckland later in the year.