VIRTUAL TOURNAMENT

Yes, you read it right, a ‘virtual’ tournament! By that, we mean that the event was COVID-19 guidance compliant and no contact was made at all. Sounds impossible really, but actually, despite the social distancing, it worked very well.

It wasn’t so remote that the event was literally online, instead we were in the same outdoor space as one another, a gorgeous spot on Hampstead Heath in London.

Congratulations to Jenny Whinney, the reigning KB League Champion, who won the event. She’s grateful for the virtual nature of the tournament, considering she is halfway through her pregnancy!

KB Chief Instructor, Kelly Bunyan, refereed the event along with everybody else in attendance.

Kelly explains how the virtual tournament worked:  “What a moment in KB history!  

It was noticeable as to how deprived I’ve been of seeing my students sparring, as I was ROARING pretty much after every shot. When something is taken away from you, it is so much sweeter when you get to finally taste it again. Essentially, the faster somebody executed their technique, the higher the chance of scoring. We all read the competitors’ reaction times and essentially guessed the points each time. Ha! The competitors were 4m apart, above and beyond COVID-19 safety guidelines so it was super safe and SO MUCH fun. As ever, the supporters were encouraging and celebrating everybody achievements – such camaraderie is always at the core of our school.”

There have never been so many ‘head kicks’ scored at one of our tournaments, “2-2-2-2-2” the crowd chanted (the number of points scored for a tap to the head). Naturally, they weren’t shouting in order to comply with the guidelines.

Chris said, “I’ve always loved competing. There was something special about this event, the fact we’ve been missing our training peers and sparring meant that it was more exciting than ever.”

For the next while, classes will be cardio-based, without sparring / partner work. It means that everybody is MUCH fitter than before the lockdown as they continually move for the whole class time.