Karate: Cameron strikes silver in his first contest abroad

Jan 15 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

QUARTER karate kid Cameron Gibbons showed his promising talent when he picked up a silver medal at the Belgian International Open in Leuven recently.

Hamilton Grammar pupil Cameron (11), was the top-performing student from Lanarkshires Yamakai Karate Club, taking second place in the boys under-35k kumite section.

Yamakai, who have classes in Uddingston and Chapelton, were the only Scottish group to compete in the event, with 22 members taking part.

Uddingstons Emma Boyle took bronze in the female under-60k kumite and Englands Shaun Arrowsmith was also third in the senior male heavyweight section.

But it was the performance of Cameron that caught the eye as he had to fight through five rounds before narrowly missing out in the final.

Yamakai chief instructor Jim Ross, 5th Dan, was absolutely delighted with the youngsters performance.

He said: For a young lad, it was quite a performance. Cameron was up last on the day so he was left hanging around the warm-up area for hours.

It was his first trip abroad so he was quite anxious and nervous but it was a stunning performance and he was very unlucky not to take gold.

He added: This competition is one of the biggest in Europe so to take silver in his first attempt isnt bad.

I think he is one for the future and Im looking at the long-term with him.

Cameron is already training with the older teenagers in the senior section and Im looking for him to really progress.

Jim isnt concerned about Camerons grading because the Yamakai club put much more emphasis on performances. He explained: Cameron is still only a blue belt. A lot of clubs put a lot of importance on gradings but were more interested in competitive performances, and we dont let the kids grade as often as others do.

Cameron has been training for three or four years so he would be a black belt at other clubs but hes only halfway up in ours.

Classes are at Uddingston Community Hall on Mondays and Thursdays from 6.30pm-8pm and at Chapelton Community Hall on Wednesdays from 7pm-8pm (under-12s) and 8pm-9.15pm (S2+), and on Saturdays from 11am-noon (under-12s) and noon-1.15pm (S2+).

Beginners are accepted from six years old and above and first lessons are free of charge.

For more information contact Jim on 01698 421790, visit www.yamakai.co.uk or go along to any of the classes.