A dozen members of the CKI School of Martial Arts claimed a total of 13 medals at the WKC English Karate and Kickboxing Championships in Manchester.
The squad landed eight gold medals, and nine of them qualified to represent England at the World Championships in Italy later this year.
Yusuf Saleh led the charge as he won his fighting category and then added gold medals in both the traditional and freestyle weapons categories, where he demonstrated his skill with the 'nanchaku' – the weapon closely associated with the late martial arts star Bruce Lee.
Ahmad Saleh was not about to let his father dominate the spotlight.
The nine-year-old's high kicks saw him strike gold in the under-50k section, while he was also a bronze medallist in the over-50k section.
CKI, which operates out of the City Council-backed multi-cultural centre on Evington Valley Road, has a flourishing women's section and the work put in by coaches Faatima Saleh and Khadeeja Saleh continues to pay off with some exceptional individual performances.
Angeliki Dwyer, 19, won gold in the over-70k category despite conceding weight to her rivals.
She also reached the final of the under-70k class, where her scheduled opponent was club-mate Mollie Walden.
However, having already qualified for the World Championships, Walden declined the opportunity to take on her older, more experienced club-mate and settled for silver.
T'Kai Coore struck gold at her first attempt. Again, high kicks proved too much for the opposition as the 12-year-old won the kids' under-45k title.
Hamza Dawre completed the golden haul in the junior boys' 55k section, while team-mates Imran Sidat and Subayr Shire also took podium places in their events to make it an outstanding competition for CKI, chief coach Ismail Saleh and the support team of Sabiha Sidat, Karen Walden, Deen Armstrong and Imtiaz Ali.
Anyone wishing to enquire about sponsorship opportunities with the club should contact Ismail Saleh on 07808 277893.
Leicester Karate Association is hosting the Sakagami Challenge Championships in honour of Wadokai England Karate president Sensei Sakagami.
More than 500 karatekas from across the UK are expected to take part in both fighting (kumite) and pattern (kata) disciplines.
The tournament is being held at Parklands Leisure Centre, Oadby, on Sunday, from 9.30.
The event is also a chance for the LKA to promote the bid for karate to be included in the 2020 Olympics. For more information, visit:
www.thekisontheway.com
