Jin Ryu Kan Martial Arts fighter William Cripps has continued his success after returning from the Karate-do World Grand Prix in Okinawa a world champion.
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On Sunday, the Inverell fighter competed in the NSW Country Koshiki Karate Championships in Inverell where he left spectators and mentor Nick King speechless.
Up against a tough opponent from Armidale PCYC Taekwondo, Cripps could have easily been intimidated but instead he managed a win by ippon (knockout).
"He was a little bit taller and bigger than me. I wanted to hold off and see what he was going to do first but he kept jump-kicking at me. I was trying different techniques, I did a big front kick when he came at me but it didn't work," he said.
Just over a minute into the fight, Cripps stepped to the side and went for a perfectly-executed head kick which resulted in his opponent's helmet breaking.
Cripps was declared winner of the 14-15 year age group and will now compete at the NSW Koshiki Contact Karate Invitational at Tamworth in April.
He was given the broken helmet as a trophy and reminder of what happens when hard work and determination pays off. "Nick told me I owed him a new helmet, he was proud."
After seeing pictures of the broken helmet, well-respected fighter Paul Hutchings had a moment of deja vu as he remember a time when King had done the very same thing to him.
"I've only seen that done once before and I was wearing the helmet, hey Nick?" he said.
Cripps felt honoured to be part of Sunday's tournament, hosted by King and Jin Ryu Kan Martial Arts in Inverell where more than 100 competitors took the mat.
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Of these, 50 local competitors from the Jin Ryu Kan team competed in the 40 divisions, taking out an impressive 28 first places.
"It's a pretty cool atmosphere when you have some of the best fighters in the world in one room together especially when one of them is your coach. It's not all about winning fights either; koshiki means more to me than just the competition," he said.
The invitational competition in April will be hosted by Chaffeys Martial Arts Academy and gives the young fighter a chance to compete against some of the state's best.
"April will mark one year since William has been competing and training with Jin Ryu Kan Martial Arts so it's a pretty special date," his mother Amanda said.
