Karate Club www.cukc.org/
Varsity 2013/14
Cambridge University Karate Club (CUKC) is one of the biggest, most active, and most diverse sports clubs in Cambridge. We practise Shotokan karate but welcome members from other styles, and the squad typically contains members from a wide variety of styles, training backgrounds, and levels of experience.
9th March 2014, Iffley Road Sports Centre, Oxford Winners of the Enoeda Cup 2014: Cambridge Team results: Men’s A: Cambridge Men’s B: Cambridge Women’s: Oxford
The club was formed in 1976 by Charles Levitt and Simon Giszter, two junior grades who arrived in Cambridge as freshers and were surprised at the absence of a karate club. They got in touch with Bob Poynton of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) and with his encouragement set up the first karate club in the University, then called CUSKC (Cambridge University Shotokan Karate Club). CUKC has a long and distinguished record at regional, national and international competitions. We currently hold a record of eight consecutive Varsity wins against Oxford, making us the most successful Varsity team in Cambridge.
The match began with men’s individual kata, in which Oxford established a narrow lead despite excellent performances from Cambridge, including outgoing President Jerome Singh (third place) and incoming Men’s Captain, fresher Scott Ang (second place). Undeterred, the men’s team kata (Jerome, Scott and Ivo Timoteo) pulled off a dynamic and near-perfectly coordinated rendition of kata Empi, blowing Oxford out of the water and giving Cambridge a six-point lead. Despite solid performances in the women’s kata from freshers Rosa Ferguson-Lobo, Rowan Douglas and Tanvi Ahuja, the Dark Blue squad had significantly stepped up their game from previous years and their experience showed as they took the majority of the points. Women’s Captain Tasha Nussbaum managed to reclaim some ground for Cambridge with her stunning rendition of Anan, taking top spot in the women’s individual kata for the third year running. The women’s team kata (Tasha, Rosa and Tanvi) performed admirably, but a small stumble cost them crucial points. At the end of the kata round, men’s scores stood at 38-32 to Cambridge, and women’s scores at 40-14 to Oxford. Nosebleeds and black eyes abounded in the first round of kumite as the Cambridge men tore through Oxford, extending the lead by a further six points. Special mention to Pragesh Sivaguru and VicePresident Ivo Timoteo for their clinical 4-0 destruction of their Dark Blue opponents. Again, the advantage of experience showed in the women’s match with the Cambridge team (all newcomers to the club apart from Tasha) fighting valiantly but unable to claim victory against their Oxford opponents.
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