It was a successful trip to the Great North 1 Tournament for the Team Rage Mixed Martial Arts team. The competition was held at the Valhalla Airbase in Pretoria and the top martial artists from north of the Orange River made the trip to the event. The Great North 1 tournament is an open competition for all South African Kickboxing Association registered kickboxers in the styles of Forms, Semi, Light Contact, Full Contact and K1 or Low Kick.
Charne Botha, who has been doing kickboxing for just seven months, won a gold and a silver medal at the tournament. She was proud of the reward she received for all the hard work she has put into training.
“I joined the sport because I wanted to learn self-defence. While it was tough at first, I found myself enjoying training. It is always tough when you’re competing in a real match because the nerves are always there.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Bianca Botha, who won a silver medal and said she is proud of herself for earning a medal in such a tough tournament.
“I have learned a lot about self-confidence, self-respect and discipline in training. I am very proud of myself and am happy to have won a medal at the competition.”
Ryan Boshoff has been part of the club for almost two years and wanted to learn self-defence against bullies. He won a silver medal in the tournament and has remained with the club because of the respect and passion he has found for the sport.
“I have learned so much. My punches and kicks have improved immensely and so has my balance. It has been wonderful how supportive the club has been towards me while I compete in the ring. I know I can rely on them when the chips are down.”
Dyllan Opperman and Mina Lombard won a gold medal each, Cole Langa and Clinton Botes won a silver medal each, Karin van Jaarsveld won a gold and a silver medal, and Clarice Luyk won a silver and a bronze.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
