World championship medal wins for Duncan

CONGRATULATIONS to Assembly Supervisor Duncan Perry on a medal winning few days at the recent World Martial Arts Championships.

Duncan who has been practising karaté for some 16 years came away with not one but four medals in the veteran categories including bronze for traditional kata, bronze for combat nunchaku, silver for traditional karate sparring known as kumite and gold for traditional weapons kata.

Duncan qualified for the championships organised by the World Martial Arts Organisation after taking part in the British Championships in Rugby in February. Held in Sunderland due to Covid regulations restricting entry into many overseas countries, the WMO Championships attracted 220 competitors from across the globe competing in a wide range of martial arts disciplines.

Second Dan Black Belt Duncan is a member of Zenku Kai in Castleford where he trains and teaches. He also trains at Liverpool based club Mushin Kai, one of the most successful clubs in the world and renowned for winning the most medals, as well as at the British Institute of Chinese Martial Arts (BICMA) in Norfolk.

When Covid put pay to face-to-face training during lockdowns, classes went online opening up access to a whole new range of instructors.

“For about 10 weeks leading up to the WMO championships my life went on hold. I was training for an hour plus every morning before work and for at least an hour every night in addition to the classes I was teaching,” said Duncan.

“Covid has given us the ability to train with anyone anywhere over the internet. It never crossed anyone’s mind before but there’s so much that can be done online such as going through combinations and talking tactics. I am training online with people who were superstars some 20 years ago and the tactics I have gained from their experience is phenomenal. It’s making all the difference.”

Although he practiced kung fu as a child, it took a life-threatening medical emergency to bring Duncan back to martial arts.

“It brought things into perspective and one of the first things I did was to go out and join the first club I found. I had been making excuses all my life and wasn’t going to do so anymore,” said Duncan.

When he’s not competing in martial arts competitions himself, Duncan can be found on the opposite side of the mat as a referee and judge such as at the recent Welsh Open championships.