Riaz Amin – Team Kalis Ilustrisimo

Riaz entered the WEKAF – World Escrima-Kali-Arnis Federation British Championships on the 2^nd of December 2012 held in Rainham, under the Kalis Ilustrisimo banner.

On the day, Riaz was entered into the Cadets 1 Stick competition alongside 3 others from his own club and many under 16’s from the leading UK Escrima clubs including the famous Doce Pares Organisation. Riaz and fellow team mates had only trained for about six weeks for the competition and Riaz only took up the Filipino Martial Arts at the beginning of spring 2012. They knew they were the underdogs on the day, the newbie’s. Nevertheless, they were going to have a go.

It didn’t take long for the first bout to be announced, Riaz had the first fight of the day. Warmed up and padded up with his armour, he was ready for battle. All eyes were on the first match, both fighters eager to let loose.

“Fight”

3 rounds later, Riaz defeated his first opponent and found his feet. The second match was no walk over but secured. For the Semi’s, he faced one of his fellow team mates. His team mate was a lot bigger than him, but Riaz had the edge on him with speed and his skill set to his advantage. Riaz worked out his tactics early and managed to pull another win out the bag.

Now facing a fierce contender in the final, Riaz had no time to rest on his laurels. The cadet he was fighting was a veteran in the sport and had been to many competitions. It was a fast, a very skilled match up with Riaz throwing out his best combos to secure Gold. His stamina, skills and footwork also earned him the Cadet’s fighter of the day trophie.

His team mate got bronze on the day as well as the Kalis Ilustrisimo Cadets team winning the gold in the team battle. Overall, a very good day for the cadet’s team and Riaz.