CARRBROOK’S Jack Wilson triumphed in France against Olympians in his first adult karate competition.
The 18-year-old came away from the Parish Open Karate Championship with a bronze medal as he became the first English competitor to win a medal in the kata section at the event since 2007.
And it was a measure of the progress of Jack, one of the youngest competitors in then event, that in the bronze medal match he beat Tran Fabien, the 10 times French champion who was also third in both the European and World Championships.
It was a great start to 2022 which promises to be an exciting year for Jack who is planning to compete worldwide in the World Karate Federation’s 1-Series in places like Austria, Egypt and China when he will be aiming to pick up points to qualify for the sport’s Premier League which features the world’s top 100 players.
Jack has also pencilled in open competitions in Poland and Germany in a hectic schedule of events.
To focus solely on karate, Jack has delayed going to university after completing his A-Levels at Ashton Sixth Form College and has found a part-time job as a junior marketing assistant with Ashton company Brand Twelve Creative to help fund the estimated £8,000 needed to compete this year.
He also relies on the bank of mum and dad and the generosity of family and friends as he does not receive any funding despite being a member of the England national squad for the sport that made its Olympic Games debut in Tokyo as a one-off last year.
And Jack, who enjoyed considerable success as a junior international, trains once a month with England at their Bilston base in the Midlands.
Jack, a former pupil at Buckton Vale Primary and Mossley Hollins High School, was only six years of age when he took up karate and secured his black belt aged 10.
He has been a member of the Copley Recreation Centre-based Tameside Karate Club where he has been coached since the age of nine by Senseis Sharon and Julian Mallalieu.
“Jack has amazing coaches and a karate family at Copley, and it is thanks to them and his hard work that he has achieved the standard he is at,” explained mother Karen.
And during the Covid-19 lockdown, which put a dampener on what he could do, a bedroom at home was converted enabling him to take part in virtual training and online competitions.
Sharon and Julian describe Jack as the best student they had in more than 25 years since they formed Tameside Karate Club which today has more than 100 members.
“He is the best one without any shadow of doubt and has all the attributes to go all the way to the top,” explained Sharon.
Julian, who has been in the sport for 45 years, provides free one-to-one coaching to Jack three times a week as his contribution to help him reach the top. He also pays out of his own pocket to accompany Jack to competitions, both here and overseas, as his coach.
As a number of Olympic medallists in Tokyo were aged over 30, Jack has time for karate to be re-introduced at future Games, but it will not be in the schedule for Paris in 2024.
Jack is always grateful for any sponsorship. Anybody able to help can email his coaches at genbukaiuk@yahoo.com