Students make the grade
Five-star Cabin are back at the helm
WHILE many sports clubs take a wellearned rest for Christmas, Dundalk Karate members are still hard at it as they continue on their martial arts journey.
Having recently celebrated a magnificent year at the club’s presentation night, Mary Marcus’ dedicated pupils returned to the mats for their latest grading at Redeemer Community Centre.
Senior members Scott McEvoy, Michael Laverty and Thea Mulholland were called to the Tatami mats first and with junior members and their family watching from the sidelines they took to their task with a steely focus.
With Head of Dundalk Karate Sensei Mary Marcus 3rd Dan, Head of Dundalk Karate’s sister club INSK Sensei Stephen Hughes 5th Dan and fellow instructor Sensei Mark Murphy on the grading panel, the trio didn’t let anyone down.
Following these enthusiastic seniors was Dundalk Karate’s Nathan Mullen, who showed everyone how much he can achieve. When his grading was completed, high fives from both Sensei Marcus and Hughes rained in, along with high praise. Nathan duly received his 10th Kyu Certificate and a new belt, which prompted his biggest smile to date.
Next to the mats were Junior members Emily and Gemma Kelledy, Conn and Rosie Ni Chriostail, Sofia Comiskey, Jacob Viliusis and George Tsikoudakis.
Having watched what their peers could do, these budding Karate-Ka didn’t IT was back to league action for all the teams competing in the Dundalk and District Dart League last week.
The top four who will make up the semi-final line-up is beginning to take shape as the league enters its latter stages in each division.
The premier league continues to be a dogfight at the top between holders Uncle Toms Cabin and Avenue Celtic.
The defending champions regained pole position with a 5-1 defeat of their stablemates Uncle Toms, while third-placed Bodhran once again showed let their family or fellow club members watching on the sidelines down. Numerous basics and combinations along with Kata (form) and blocks were completed without fault, and with everyone passing their grading with ease there was high praise all round.
Afterwards, Head of Dundalk Karate, Sensei Marcus said: ‘With Sensei Hughes and Murphy on the grading panel alongside myself, and hearing words like excellent, great technique and brilliant, this is they are no pushover with an exciting 3-3 draw against the Avenue Road outfit.
The other match saw the Punters Sharks consolidate fourth place with a 3-3 draw with the Malthouse.
The top two clashed in division one, and as in their earlier match this season, nothing could seperate the Commercial Classics and Punters Panthers outfits.
John Bradshaw starred for the Commercial, while Brian McGuirk was the standout for what makes all the hard work worthwhile.
‘Grading isn’t easy, and sometimes nerves can get to some members. But when they dedicate themselves to their training and put in the hard work during regular training, grading becomes only another obstacle to conquer, which can be achieved with ease.’
If you would like info on Dundalk Karate and its classes. which are in the Redeemer Family Centre. contact Sensei Marcus on 086-3531625 or karatequeen@live.com. the Panthers, levelling things up at the death with a 3-2 win over the long unbeaten Mark Flynn.
It was a memorable night for the McManus Maniacs team as they achieved their first win of the season by overcoming the Punters Pumas 4-2, with Stephen Watters in sparkling form.
In the other game, the Stags Head got the better of the Bodhran Blues 4-2 to keep in the hunt for the play-off positions, with Dickie Callan leading the way.
Division two pacestters the Bodhran Eagles returned to winning ways but were made to work very hard to overcome the Commercial Celtic team on a 4-2 scoreline, with Brian Ward leading the way.
Courtneys put a halt to Callans’ recent good run with a 5-1 victory over them to keep in the frame for top spot.
The Castle Bar are also staying in touch at the head of affairs after a tight 4-2 win against the Bodhran Hawks, with Paddy Rice in great form, while Stags Blue and the Clans played out a 3-3 draw.
This week sees the last league action before the Christmas break.