The weekend of July 12 and 13 saw Team Falcons competing on both sides of the Atlantic.

On the Saturday the senior team were in Orlando Florida to compete at the US Open - ISKA World Martial Arts Championships.

Once again the competition was well attended with countries from all over world to test themselves against the best. For the Falcons it was a day of mixed results with a few fighters going out in the first round of their points fighting divisions.

Although most had stepped up to AA class, which is for professional teams, the performance was a fair reflection of the less than satisfactory preparation leading up to the competition.

In the continuous divisions the team faired better and the Falcons still brought home a fair collection of silver wear.

Results: Points fighting: Tom Lucas and Sophie Robinson: Second Adam North, Gordon Mitchell, Callum Hollinshead: Third Clash Sparring (Continuous) Stevie Parker, Callum Hollinshead, Bekah Mills: First; Gordon Mitchell, Brandon Prince: Second.

While the seniors were in Orlando the juniors were in Birmingham at the UK KWON Kids Open.

Coached by club instructor Jon Van Den Heuvel, the Falcons had a team of six this year to fight in a mix of points and continuous divisions.

In the -150cm Girls’ Divisions Sophie Nandan used her kicks well to close her opponents down and win the Novice Points and take second in the Intermediate Points.

She is a mini Stevie Parker and will no doubt be just as successful as her senior teammate in time.

In the -130cm Novice Points Austin Rowe used his strength to his advantage, crashing his opponents with kick to blitz attacks.

Although undefeated on the day, a mix up with the draw sheets meant he didn’t progress to the finals.

In the light contact Austin showed a great workrate, landing some good punches but his lack of experience cost him his fights as his opponents got the win due to a higher kick rate.

In the -150cm Novice Points Jensen Wyatt made his competition debut and landed some good points and even started to catch his opponents, Unfortunately he ran out of time and will need to work on being on point from the very start of a fight.

Connor Burdock competed in both the -140cm Intermediate Points and Intermediate Light Contact.

In both divisions he showed great improvement in his timing and movemen and battled to the final were he narrowly lost to a dubious decision.

Josh Poyser took to the mats in the -150 Intermediate Points and Novice Light Contact where he took a second place. Clean and technical, Josh has shown massive improvement from the last time he stepped on the mat and takes home some silverware as a reward for all his hard work. Also in the -150 points and Light Contact was Kyle Schulze who had a great day winning both divisions through a combination of technical skill, timing, workrate and a willingness to mix it up.

Credit must go to full-time instructor Jon Van Den Heuvel who did a great job acting as the senior coach at the KWON Kids Open.

The improvement in the light contact team is testament to his coaching skills and the one-to-one sessions he has been running.