BASINGSTOKE Kickboxing Organisation has had a busy time, with fighters taking part in many competitions.

The BKO took a team to the World Association of Kickboxing Organisation (WAKO) British Championships.

The first day of competition was the continuous/light contact categories taking centre stage.

Michelle Rees competed in the ladies section and fought her way through to the final, where she met European champion Gaynor Morgan. Despite Rees’ valiant efforts, she had to settle for a silver medal.

This tournament also saw the return of Steve Moore to the continuous arena. Moore fought in the men’s section and lost to Mark Watton in the final.

George Peploe also fought in the men’s continuous and despite not training for continuous fighting this year he reached the semi-finals and gained a bronze medal.

In the points tournament the following day, Rees made the semi-final before losing to European champion Morgan.

Kat Dhillon made it to the final, where she was also beaten Morgan, but she did win the veterans title after he opponent in the final pulled out.

Vinnie Turner entered both the men’s veteran’s under-94 kg and over 94 kg.

He used his reach to good effect in the under-94kg class, winning a bronze medal.

In the over 94kg class, Turner made it to the final, where he lost a close bout in the final 20 seconds.

Peploe fought in the men’s section and reached the semi final, where he lost to world champion Tom Evans after a very good contest.

Andy Partridge also fought in the men’s section and in a close final, the BKO fighter needed a head kick to force the bout into extra-time.

He threw a hook kick, which connected, but his opponent countered with a spinning kick.

The referees ignored Partridge’s head kick and scored the spinning kick, so Partridge had to settle for second place.

BKO took a team of 20 fighters of all levels to the Irish Open in Dublin.

This is the largest and most prestigious tournament in the kickboxing calendar, with 4,000 fighters from over 30 countries attending.

Peploe, an instructor at BKO, entered the men’s senior under-74kg section. He fought against fighters from Italy, Germany, USA, Austria and Britain, many being national and international champions.

After 18 rounds of fighting, Peploe lost to world champion Dean Barry in the final.

Other notable BKO fighters were Dhillon, who reached the quarter-finals in the ladies section despite having a torn calf muscle, and Charisse Peploe, who also made the last eight.

Stephen Gribben made the quarter-finals in the continuous/ light contact class.

The club took their biggest squad ever to the Chessington interclub tournament, which is run on a round-robin basis and covers points as well as continuous sparring.

Robbie Brown and Charlotte Adams both won their respective sections in the kids divisions.

Andy Partridge came second in the open weight seniors division.

Amy Lee Sui had the fight of the day in the final of the beginners section, fighting an opponent from the weight above.

The fight went to extra-time and eventually Lee Sui lost 20 points to 19, but it was an excellent effort in her first tournament.

BKO ended up with a haul of 21 trophies, which saw them finish second in the overall club-of-the-day standings.