Karate: 16th Kyokushin Knockdown Tournament-Alphonse retains Open Weight title |17 November 2004

A capacity crown turned up to see over 40 karatekas, ranging from 12 to 52 years old, battle in exciting bouts fought under the International Karate Organisation’s (IKO) knockdown rules. Each bout lasted three minutes for the seniors and two minutes for the juniors.

At 52 years old, sempai Albert Rodrigo (1st dan) made karate history by becoming the oldest karateka to fight in a knockdown tournament here.

The juniors, with most of them coming from the Kyokushin School, competed in the Young Lions, Young Lionesses and Lion Cubs categories. Kyokushin fighters battled amongst themselves in the Open Weight category as karatekas from other schools failed to participate despite the competition being an open event.

The tournament saw the emergence of some new and talented fighters who will undoubtedly bring fame to the country one day.

The top eight finishers in the men’s Open Weight category received cash prizes ranging from R300 to R 2,000 whereas the juniors received gift vouchers.

The spectators got their money’s worth as they were treated to some hard and exciting fights in the men’s Open Weight division. The first quarterfinal pitted Sonny Siméon against Darren Charles who had earlier eliminated veteran fighter Rodrigo Albert.

Siméon won to reach the semifinal against the ever-improving Mervyn Joseph. The latter was declared the winner after two interesting rounds of fighting to reach the final.
Iron-man Alphonse needed three rounds to beat young gun Ryan Vidot in their quarterfinal match-up. Alphonse clinched victory in the final minute of the last round with strong punching techniques.

Alphonse then met Collin Marguerite in an exciting semifinal which also went to three rounds before winning.

Alphonse’s spirit was again tested in the final when he faced Joseph in three hard and exciting rounds. Once again, experience prevailed and Alphonse won the fight with strong punching techniques to Joseph’s body to retain his crown. Alphonse walked away with R2,000 whilst losing finalist Joseph won R1,500.

Ryan Vidot’s spirited performance did not go unnoticed as he was awarded the ‘Most Spirited Fighter’ award. Collin Marguerite earned the ‘Best Technician’ award thanks to his fast hands and feet techniques. Each fighter won R300.

Rodrigo Albert, the oldest fighter in the tournament, received a special award - a helicopter ride for two onboard Helicopter Seychelles - in appreciation of his determination which epitomises Kyokushin’s “Spirit of Osu”.

The other placings were as follows: Sonny Siméon (third), Collin Marguerite (fourth), Ryan Vidot (fifth), Jimmy Hélène (sixth), Darren Charles (seventh) and Shane Stravens (eighth).

Young fighters bring good actions

In the first semifinal of the Lion Cubs A category, Rohit Lakra (International School Kyokushin Dojo) booked his ticket for the final by defeating Robert Sham Mane with strong punching techniques. In the other semifinal, title holder Ricardo Suzette easily defeated Delroy Finesse with his superior kicking techniques. In the final, Suzette displayed superb kicking techniques but failed to connect. Lakra out-punched him to take the title.

With only three fighters in the Lion Cubs B category, title holder Leslie Adrienne, who won a bye straight into the final, displayed superior techniques to defeat Gilles Pinchon who had earlier eliminated Jason Carpin in the semifinal.

The two fighters in the Young Lionesses A category put on an exciting fight but Shirley Leveau proved to be the strongest and triumphed over Anne-Marie Scherer to win her first local title.

The fighters in the Young Lionesses B category also fought well. In the first semifinal, Rina Lavigne collected victory over Stevania Solin after two hard-fought rounds in the semifinal.

In the other semifinal, Alexandra Benoiton (International School Kyokushin Dojo) defeated Isabel Lavigne. The final was an exciting affair which saw the two lionesses trade punches and kicks. In the second round, Benoiton won a waza-ari (half point) with a powerful Mae-Geri (front kick) to her opponent’s mid-section. This was enough to win her the match and the title.
In the first semifinal of the Young Lions A category, an aggressive Michael Agathine qualified for the final by beating Steven Chetty. In the other semifinal, newcomer Calix Lavigne upset title holder Louis Hoareau with superbly placed kicks to the head. He repeated the same technique in the final, placing two superb kicks to Agathine’s head to become the new champion.

With title-holder Kenny Moustache absent due to a leg injury, the title was up for grabs in the Young Lions B category. In the first semifinal, Dustin Nell (International School Dojo) emerged as the winner against Jean-Luc Francourt.

In the final, he met Mervyn Houreau who had eliminated Jean-Marc Francourt. Hoareau displayed some superior kicking techniques (two superb kicks to Dustin’s head) to win the title.

During the same afternoon, Vicky Maringo performed the kata seipai but it was Katrina Souffe who, despite a physical handicap, stole the show with a superb self-defence demo.

The group Capella also gave a demonstration of Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art, which was well appreciated by the public.

The organisers would like to thank the National Sports Council, Coco D’Or Hotel, Seychelles Marketing Board, Helicopter Seychelles, Seychelles Shipping Lines, Lai Lam Bakery, Seychelles Judo Federation, Seychelles Red Cross, Seychelles Karate Federation, all fighters, all Kyokushin members and the supporters for making the event a big success.