Evolution finish in Top 20 at the International Bristol Open 2022

On the weekend of the 15th-16th of October 2022, students from Evolution Martial Arts travelled to Bristol to compete in the International Bristol Open. The large event included competitors from countries including Italy, New Zealand, USA and Ireland with over 1400 entries. Competitors from Evolution Martial Arts performed very well to achieve a total of 14 medals and place our club in 19th position overall in the medal tally out of 97 clubs.

Evolution Martial Arts at the Bristol Open 2022. Back Left to Right - Wiktoria Kusyk, Nesta Baxter, Emily Greatrix, Mackenzie Warrant, Andrew Gregory and Emily Gregory. Middle Left to Right - Coach Linda Baxter, Alejandro Advani, Julia Kusyk, Theo Ziobro Magalhaes, Damian Hirons, Jack Greatrix and Coach Nigel Baxter. Front Left to Right - Blake Calisto and Cameron Dales.

The Saturday saw the Light Continuous and Kick Light Divisions take place.

First to win a Gold Medal on the Saturday for Evolution was Nesta Baxter who won in the Senior Female -65kg Kick Light Category, she also won a Bronze Medal in the Senior Female -65kg Light Continuous Category after missing out on a spot in the final following a close fight with the Current Full Contact World Champion from Wales.

Nesta Baxter fighting in the Senior Female -65kg Light Continuous

Blake Calisto won the Gold in the Male Children’s -30kg Light Continuous after winning a great final against a competitor from Watford.

Julia Kusyk went on to win the Gold Medal in the Female Children’s -33kg Light Continuous Category after winning a fantastic final against a competitor from Scotland.

Julia Kusyk fighting in the Light Continuous

Winning Evolution’s final Gold of the Saturday was Mackenzie Warrant in the Junior Male -63kg Light Continuous Category. Mackenzie fought hard throughout the rounds to land a place in the final where he faced a fellow Team GB member. The final was a close match but Mackenzie continued to fight brilliantly to earn the gold place position.

Mackenzie Warrant fighting in the Light Continuous

Andrew Gregory earned a spot in the final after some great fighting in the earlier rounds. Andrew fought against the current World Champion in the division where he fought fantastically and came away with a Silver Medal.

Taking the final medal in the Light Continuous was Emily Greatrix in the Older Cadet Female -60kg Light Continuous. Emily finished with a Bronze Medal following a great semi-final where she fought against the current World Champion and eventual winner of the division.

Alejandro Advani bowed out to a competitor from New Zealand in his debut for Evolution Martial Arts in the Senior Male -79kg Light Continuous, Damian Hirons bowed out to a former World Medallist in the Senior Male -69kg Light Continuous, Theo Ziobro Magalhaes bowed out to the former World Champion in the Younger Cadet Male -42kg Light Continuous, and Cameron Dales fought fantastically in the Male Children’s -27kg Light Continuous.

Alejandro ready to fight in his category

The evening saw the Grand Champion Point Fighting Divisions. Emily Gregory competed in the Junior Female Point Fighting Grand Champion where she had some tough fights to make her way into the final. In the final, Emily faced a competitor from Italy. The fight was close throughout with the scores going back and forth but it was the Italian competitor who won and Emily achieved a very well earned Silver Medal in the Grand Champion.

Emily Gregory in Silver Place Position for the Junior Female Grand Champion

Sunday was the day of Point Fighting for our competitors at the Bristol Open 2022.

Emily Gregory competed in the Senior Female -70kg Point Fighting and won her side of the pool to place herself in the Final. In the final, Emily came up against a well-known fighter from Slovenia. The fight was exciting and Emily achieved a Silver Medal.

Julia Kusyk achieved a Silver Medal in the Female Children’s -33kg Point Fighting category after success in her semi-final and then a close match in the final ending in a score of 2-4.

Emily Greatrix earned a Silver Medal at this year’s Bristol Open in the Older Cadet Female -60kg Point Fighting following some great fighting including some strong wins in the earlier rounds.

Emily Greatrix winning one of her fights in the Point Fighting

Blake Calisto achieved a Bronze Medal adding to his Gold Medal from the Saturday. Blake competed in the Male Children’s -30kg category where he won two of his fights to earn him a place in the semi-final and to finish with a Bronze.

Blake Calisto competing in the Point Fighting

Theo Ziobro Magalhaes finished with a Bronze Medal in the Younger Cadet Male -42kg Point Fighting after winning multiple fights for a place in the Semi-Final. In the Semi-Final, Theo fought against a Scottish competitor who is a member of Team GB where he narrowly missed out on a place in the final with a score of 2-1.

In their respective Point Fighting divisions, Mackenzie Warrant bowed out to a Slovakian fighter, Andrew Gregory bowed out to the silver medallist of the category, Wiktoria Kusyk bowed out in the quarter final against a Team GB member, Emily Gregory bowed out in the quarter final to a competitor from Basingstoke, and Jack Greatrix bowed out to an Italian competitor.

Cameron Dales winning one of his fights in the Boys -27kg Point Fighting

Evolution Martial Arts had a very successful weekend at the Bristol Open 2022 off the back of the recent World Championships. All of the coaches are very proud of all of the competitors this weekend and are looking forward to the next competition. A big thank you to all of the parents, guardians, and supporters.