Cambridge University vs Keio University Friendship Match 2011

In February 2011 members of the oldest university karate club, in Keio, travelled to Cambridge. In addition to training alongside CUKC and competing in regional championships, the two teams fought for victory in the traditional Friendship match.

Competition Report

After the excitement of Saturday, there came the CUKC - Keio match. CUKC faced Keio again on Monday the 14th of February for the triennial competition between these two great universities.

Having beaten Keio University during their visit to Japan in 2007, the CUKC squad was keen to replicate the earlier success. The evening match kicked off with the B and C teams battling for karate superiority before the A team match. Keio's C team gained comfortable victory over the boys from Cambridge with a 4 - 1 win. Cambridge's B team looked like they wanted to even out the score and won more fights than the C team. They held out to a 3 - 3 Team B draw before the win was awarded to Keio based on the judges' decision. The momentum looked like it was going in Cambridge's favour with an initial Team A victory from Cambridge's Francisco Martinez. Unfortunately, the next four consecutive fights were narrowly won by Keio, who displayed a very unique fighting style. Richard Oriji (CUKC) held Cambridge's hopes up by securing their second victory of the evening and bringing the score to 4 - 2. If Cambridge managed to win the next two fights, they would still have a chance of winning. The pressure was on for the last two fighters. Despite a major thumb injury, CUKC's Tegwen Ecclestone fought valiantly but was only able to draw with Keio's well seasoned fighter Yuki Yamaoka. The honour of the CUKC was left to be defended by Liam Gabb, the Men's Captain. (Un)Luckily for Liam, Keio had left their best till last. The fight lasted long enough for Kosuke "The Man Who Can Fly" Kawashima, Keio's Captain, to gain enough points to win the fight. The evening ended amicably with everyone's appreciation of Keio's victory and lots of merriment and celebration.

Overall

C Team: Cambridge 4 - 1 Keio
B Team: Cambridge 3 - 3 Keio
A Team: Cambridge 3 - 6 Keio

Overall winners: Keio