World’s top martial artists set for Ballymena event in 2015

A Japanese demonstration was one of the many features at the weekend's events.

He and his assistant Shihan Stefano Draghi travelled together from Italy for the dedication of the centre and also to teach at a course for WJJF students provincewide.

Ticket sales outweighed expectations and so the Antrim Forum was called upon to house the course on Saturday, at which 420 kids and 260 adults were treated to top class training from Masters from all over Ireland as well as the Italian duo.

One of the organisation’s coaches has a terminally ill young baby and so the NI Children’s Hospice is a charity very close to National Coach, David Toney’s heart. A collection of £750 was taken at the door in support of the charity, with donations still coming in.

The baby was honoured with a Junior Black belt certificate for being a ‘little fighter’, and a medal and certificate from the city of Bertoletti’s family name in Italy.

Five demonstration teams performed at the course, all voted for by our members on Facebook. Shihan Toney and two of the dojo students, Ryan McClean and Daniel Reed took 1st place in this. The highlight was the traditional Japanese demonstration of Tengu, at the end by the Italian team.

The Saturday evening was a Presentation dinner at Tullyglass House Hotel where instructors from all over Ireland came to get the opportunity to meet Shike Bertoletti, Shihan Draghi and managing director of WJJF UK and his wife, Mr Robert Hart and Carol Hart.

The Sunday was a very different, more sombre event: two years previous the founder of the organisation Soke Robert Clark passed away and this was a dedication of the dojo centre to him.

The President of WJJF/WJJKO was so impressed with how the weekend was run, the input from the dojo, the Ballymena based headquarters for WJJF Ireland, and by the support shown by clubs provincewide, that the dojo has been given the opportunity to host the International Congress in 2015.

WJJF Ireland hosted one last in 2003 based in Newtownabbey, which was a major success and an excellent boost for local tourism so Ballymena waits with baited breath as some of the best Martial Artists from all over the world are due to descend upon us in February 2015.