KYOKUSHIN'S ironman Flavien Alphonse displayed nerves of steel and an indomitable spirit to retain his crown during the 15th Men’s Open Weight Knockdown Tournament which was held last Saturday at Victoria Gymnasium.

A capacity crowd turned up to witness 38 karatekas battle it out in hard-fought and exciting bouts conducted under the International Karate Organisation’s (IKO) full contact rules.

The juniors, mainly from the Kyokushin Karate School, competed in the Young Lions and Lion Cubs categories whereas karatekas from the Shukokai, Shotokan and Kyokushin School battled it out in the Men’s Open Weight category. The event also saw the emergence of some junior fighters who will undoubtedly become the country's prized assets in future.

The top eight finishers of the Men’s Open Weight category received cash prizes ranging from R400 to R2,500. Also up for grabs were other prizes like return air tickets to Mauritius and Praslin, weekend stays at hotels and an Airtel mobile starter pack. The juniors received gift vouchers.

With only three fighters in the Lion Cubs A category, Leslie Adrienne, who won a bye straight to the final, displayed superior kicking techniques to beat Hedley Françoise who had beaten Marcus Cedras in the semifinal.

The two fighters of the Lion Cubs B category – Ricardo Suzette and Robert Sham Mane – gave an explosive display in the final. Sham Mane scored a Waza-ari (half point) early in the round and Suzette responded with a superbly controlled reverse roundhouse kick to his opponent’s head.  The match seemed to be going into extension but Suzette snatched the title with a superbly placed high kick at the buzzer.

The Young Lions A final was an exciting affair as title holder Kenny Moustache, who had earlier triumphed over Brian Charles in the semifinal, met Fabien Azemia who had eliminated Xavier Sham Laye. The two fighters displayed very good techniques but Moustache retained his crown with two superbly placed high kicks.

The real talents of the juniors emerged in the Young Lions B category. Louis Hoareau booked his seat to the final by defeating Dustin Nell whereas in the other semifinal, an aggressive Buddika Rodrigo defeated outgoing champion Stephen Chetty.

This final was also an explosive affair as Rodrigo attacked non-stop, but in the end it was Hoareau who clinched the title with a well-placed knee strike to his opponent’s stomach.

Then the crowd went buzzing with excitement as the “Big Men” took to the stage in the Men’s Open. The spectators received their money's worth as they were treated to some hard and exciting fights. Three non-Kyokushin fighters participated in this category but they lost in the first round after putting up a good fight.

Jimmy Hélène booked his seat into the quarterfinal by defeating Lenny Pouponneau who had earlier eliminated Shotokan stylist Bernard Cafrine. Hélène then met veteran fighter Sonny Siméon, the Seychellois karateka to have knocked out the highest number of foreign fighters in international tournaments. A fired-up Siméon  proceeded to the semifinal by eliminating Hélène with an amazing display of hand and feet techniques which did not go unnoticed on the afternoon.

Ironman Alphonse, who had earlier defeated Collin Marguerite, met Siméon in an explosive semifinal encounter which he won.

The fight between veteran Bernard Adeline and Mervyn Joseph, a young and promising fighter, had the crowd on its feet over two hard-fought rounds. Adeline was eventually declared the winner to meet Jude Ally in another exciting semifinal fight which he again won after scoring with a Waza-ari.

The two losing semifinalists had to fight it out to decide the third and fourth place finishers. Siméon won this bout with his superior hand and feet techniques. In addition to his cash prize of R1,300, Siméon received two return tickets to Praslin courtesy of Air Seychelles and a weekend’s stay at the Coco de Mer Hotel.

Ally received a cash prize of R900 and a weekend’s stay at the Casuarina Beach Hotel.

The Open Category final was the third consecutive between Adeline and Alphonse, with the latter winning the last two encounters.

The crowd was treated to three hard-fought rounds after which the judges could not choose a winner. According to IKO rules, the two fighters had to go to the scales and because there wasn't a 10-kg difference in their weight, they had to return to the mat for a final thrilling encounter and Alphonse was finally declared the winner to retain his crown.

Alphonse walked away with a cash prize of R2,500 whilst losing finalist Adeline won R2,000. The two fighters received a return ticket each to Mauritius courtesy of Mr and Mrs Willy Valentin.

Sonny Siméon was voted the tournament's Best Technician whilst Mervyn Joseph won the prize for the Most Spirited Fighter. They both got R400.

Mervyn Joseph, Freddy Dubois, Jimmy Hélène and Collin Marguerite took fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth places.

Apart from the exciting bouts, the spectators also saw armed and unarmed self-defence as well as katas with weapons demonstrations performed by senior members of the Kyokushin school, while members of the Capella group displayed the Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art.

The organisers would like to thank the National Sports Council, Air Seychelles, Creole Holidays, UCPS, Airtel, Mr and Mrs Willy Valentin, Mrs N. Gendron, Casuarina Beach Hotel, Coco de Mer Hotel, Continental Stores, all the fighters and Kyokushin Karate members for making the event a great success.