Shorinji Kempo

It is a Sunday morning in Finsbury Park. Unusually for London in November, the sun’s rays play across the city, giving relief from the slight chill in the air. The lack of any discernible tension in the air conceals the fact that the area will soon see the commencing of the 2012 British Shorinji Kempo Federation (BSKF) Taikai Competition.

Although generally non-competitive, Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art that combines striking techniques with throws and pins, does occasionally hold tournaments in order to showcase its practitioners’ skill. Since its inception, Imperial College dojo – training under the expert tutelage of Sensei Sean Dixie – has been feared throughout the land for the intensity and flair of its martial artists. Indeed, more than one Saturday afternoon training session has elicited complaints from neighbouring residents due to the noise emanating from the Union Gym.

With a sharp call to attention, the day’s contest began. A quick, group warm-up receded into the opening ceremony and without any pause to catch breath the audience was thrown straight into a heady maelstrom of competition.

Opening proceedings was the kumi embu category, where a choreographed fight sequence is performed by two competitors. Imperial’s entrants were the maverick duo of Maksim Mijovic and Aditya Narayanan, dubbed ‘The Flying Moustaches’ for their matching, Movember-inspired moustaches (http://uk.movember.com/team/563989, incase anyone is interested). A frenetic 90 seconds of action unfolded, transfixing the audience who gasped and groaned at the audacity and flamboyance on display. The main challenge for the title came from Cambridge dojo, responding with a slick, polished fight showing no less ability. The judges deliberated for what seemed like an eternity on what was a tough-fought category, but although Cambridge was a worthy contender for the top slot, Imperial’s superior facial hair made the difference – prevailing by three points.

After emerging victorious from the first eventof the day, the whole of Team Imperial were fully psyched up for the oncoming battles. The next contest of interest would be the dantai embu, where groups of more than two people perform various sequences together. Representing the fine institution we call Imperial would be our very own magnificent six – all of whom had only started kempo a few weeks previously. The sextet moved in perfect unison with a fluidity and passion that belied their relative lack of experience. Alas, it was not to be their day as a strong City University line-up struggled to narrowly pip them to third place despite greatly outranking their Imperial counterparts.

The final contest of the day was the eagerly anticipated randori (sparring) competition, with the club being represented by housewives’ favourite Maksim Mijovic. Buoyed by his earlier victory in the kumi embu category, Maks began his first round bout in style, bamboozling his opponent with a flurry of fancy footwork. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he risked disqualification with a flying kick that drew a warning from the judges. Undeterred, Maks put this setback behind him to prevail with a succession of accurate blows. His second round opponent was Canute of City dojo – a formidable opponent widely considered favourite to take the trophy. This match-up required a special performance, and Maks did not disappoint, bringing his patented ‘crab foot’ technique to the party. Shimmying here and there, Maks’ launched a series of attacks, making a few clean contacts. Canute himself showed his previous taekwondo experience with impeccably timed counters. The match drew to a close with Maks having made more hits in total; it just remained to be seen whether they were considered clean enough on points. A sigh of tension rippled through the crowd as it was clear that the decision was being hotly debated by the judges. The verdict came in, and Maks was controversially denied progress to the next round leading to no rioting in the stands whatsoever.

With that, Imperial’s odyssey was ended prematurely having earned one trophy for the cabinet (read: locker) and the hearts of the neutrals with the dojo’s trademark panache. As the dust settled on the arena and the entire team of competitors and support chewed over the action they’d seen. With one victory claimed, and a team of newcomers giving seasoned veterans an almighty fright, the verdict was unanimously a resounding success.

Shorinji Kempo train every Wednesday 6-8pm in JCR and Saturday 12-2pm in Union Gym