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German Open 2009

Aschaffenburg

Very useful it is when while cooking the tools hangig reachable above the oven.
Also very useful it is, if the parking area is directly next the sports hall and you find a place even when being late.
So it was just a few steps into the competition area which was big enough to leave a free area between the Tatamis and the audience. So the competitors, coaches, officials and reporters could walk without crowd.
If the Tournament is following the timetable and tasty coffee is to get and you even find a Japanese Stonegarden as decoration you will not find any reason for to criticise.
Shortly said, the environment and the organization was very good.
Aschaffenburg has it’s place in the middle of Germany, so not many competitors had to do a long trip.

 

And also for competitors from Vietnam, Hawai and Brasil for example, it was good to reach by the nearby Frankfurt Airport.
And that competitors from far away nations did join the Tournament shows the meaning the German Open has.
So the count of competitors was so high, that it is not possible to do the Tournament within one day.
For this reason it was on two days. Male Kata, Female Kata Team and Kumite on Saturday.
Female Kata, Male Kata Team and Kumite on Sunday.
How usually in case of 6 Tatami it was not easy to overview the Elimination rounds.
Much better it was in the Finale where only one Tatami was left in a very good and moody atmosphere.
No wonder, that the Tournament is liked by so many competitors.
 

Die Wettkämpfe vom Samstag
 

Kata Team Damen
 

With an impressing performance of high level Shito-Ryu Kata and explosive techniques the Team of Vietnam was not to stop on their way to the finals.
Very surprising it was that they did use than with Gojushiho Dai a Kata of Shotokan style. And they did it good and even with the right Kihon of the style.
Only the timing of some combinations was a bit different, but did give the Kata an interesting rythm.
On the other hand they did not reach the typical power of Shotokan. But this  could'nt  disturb  the  Impression

 

 

of the whole performance.
In the following Bunkai the Team from Vietnam did show very precise techniques and in some cases with hard contact. Some spectacular actions included.
With this performance they count to the Topteams of each tournament.
And by using high level Kata of two important styles the reservoir of Kata is more as enough also for long Elimination rounds.
Interesting it was, that the German Team also did show Gojushiho Dai, which allowed to compare the action.
Clearly the higher power was to see by the German Team. But the artlike show of the vietnames team was'nt to beat this time.

 
 

 

Das Team aus Erfurt
 
 

Kata Herren Einzel

 
 

8 Pools at all was necessary for all the competitors which did come to the tournament. But this did mean that the athlets did need 5 to 6 Kata for to reach the final.
Interesting the opinion of Jonathan Mottram was. The english competitor who prefers the shotokan style did use Shito-Ryu Kata like Chatanyara Kushanku, only for to have more high level Kata in such cases when in tournaments more than 4 Kata are necessary in Prelimination. A concept which did work for him.
On the end the 8 Pool winner was fighting for finale.
Not easy to decide it was between Ilja Smorguner from Germany and Pasi Hirvonen from Finland. Both did show Nipaipo, on the end Hirvonen seems to be with more routine doing it.
Meanwhile Jonathan Mottram was successful with Chatanyara Kushanku against Tobias Portugall

While in the other Pool Roman Sztyler by using Unsu his last powerful Kata did give away.
So for the final only the Sochin was left. And with this Kata it's really not easy to fight a one like Gankaku.
Especially if the Gankaku is done without any mistake and masterlike balance.
So the judges had not to strain their brain for to come to a decision.

 
 
 

Kumite
 

Kumite Damen  -50 kg

 

Primary with highly fast zukis Betty Aquilina was on her way for pointing against Yugneswary Govindasamy from Malaysia.
Only from time to time she tried to stop her opponents attack with long distance Keri-waza.
 

Kumite Damen  -61 kg

 

Eimi Kurita from Hawai did have the longest journey. A journey which was right good for this time. Her victory in the Kumite categorie was with 8:0 even before the regulary fighting time did end. Very good eyes, fast reactions in conterattack where she did move out of the way of Lucille Bretons zuki and did answer it with a fantastic Ura-Mawashi Geri. This fighting skills let her doing point for point in short time.

But not only in Kumite Eimi Kurita did show her skills.  Also her presentation in doing the Kata was with high level. And only Thu Ha Do Thi from Vietnam did stop her on a step far away from the final. Both did perform the Kata Anan. Kurita with classical Karate following the art of the style, while Thu Ha did it more sportive and with more sound. I did like more the Kuritas way, but seeing two Kata in this kind of level it's not easy to make a decision.

So it was'nt Kurita this time and she had to do for third place, where she presented a very good Chatanyara Kushanku, which maybe had been the better weapon against Thu Ha. And this time she did win clearly against Emma Lucraft which is coming from the same Dojo like Jonathan Mottram.

In any case for me Eimi Kurita was the best competitor of the tournament.
 

Kumite Damen  -68 kg
 

Until to the end of the fight it was an open one where Tiffany Fanjat was just a step in front against Maria Weiß from TV Hersbruck from Germany.
 
 

Kumite Damen  +68 kg
 

Both figther did come from the Netherlands. And in a mainly tactical fight Vanesca Nortan got the one point for
victory against Ciska Van der Voort.
 

Kumite Herren -60 kg
 

Both athlets did fight with intelligence waiting for the right moment. With suddenly attacks Pierre Grifnee form Belgium did come in front. But with good counter and the more flexible way of fighting Stefan Pokorny from Austria got the important points.
 

Kumite Herren -67 kg
 

It was a very active fight, full with Keri Waza, Throwing techniques and dynamic zukis. The Ashi Barai done by Guilermo Ramirez from Columbia as an answer to the attack with Ura-Mawashi from Matthieu Cossou, did bring the fighter from France out of the Tatami.
Though the fight was in balance until Ramirez could do a very dynamic zuki at the end of the fighting time.
 

Kumite Herren -84 kg
 

With Christian Grüner an experience Fighter of German Karate Federation was on the Tatami. But Jovanovic Milos from Serbia with his motivated way of fighting he got an oppenent which was not easy to fight. So Milos got the first point and tried to give even more pressure to Grüner. Just in the last minute with the audience in his back, Grüner could come to his points.
 

Kumite Herren +84 kg
 

Maybe the best fight of the evening was the one of the German competitors Jonathan Horn and Enrico Höhne. Again and again Jonathan Horn did move out of the way of zukis and Keri Waza on spectaculare way. More than one time he did bend down under a Jodan Keri Waza only for to crip his oppenent performing an Ashi Barai or throwing technique which did end for Enrico Höhne in hard contact with the Tatami. Sometimes even next to the fighting area.
With this action Jonathan Horn did demonstrate why in former times in the old Karate Jodan Keri Waza was known as not useable for combat or with too much risk for the performer.
 
 
 
 

Sunday

Kata Team Herren

Kata Einzel Damen

Kumite