Held at the Anne Clark indoor netball center at Lidcombe, the event attracted more than 160 competitors from Victoria, ACT, Queensland and NSW.

With the Nations best Martial Artists vying for an Australian Title the level of competition was extremely high.

The event started with a march in and the reading of the competitor and official’s oaths, read by a young Victorian representative and well-known Kempsey local Joe Wolvey.

Junior student Kellie Lowrie (Kohai) from the Melville Dojo battled it out to take out first in Sword Combat and second in Kata.

Although Karina Wolvey (Sensei) from the Gwandallan Dojo on the Central Coast gained higher points in Kata the level of competition was of such a high standard that she just missed out in a place.

The final for the Full Contact Middleweight Division saw Robert Avery (Sempai), also from the Melville Dojo; draw a large crowd of spectators and supporters.

The round was scored a draw and went into extra time.

Robert was leading with only seconds to go when a foul was called, which put Robert behind too far to recover.

Second place in the Australian Titles for Full Contact is still an impressive result.

With many fine Martial Artists in the Kempsey area from a variety of different styles, two AMAC tournaments will be held at Melville High School to give them the opportunity to compete in the 2010 AMAC Australian finals.

For more information contact Bill Wolvey on 65668623.

Robert and Kellie have qualified for the World Martial Arts Championships being held at Sydney on December 6.

The Melville Dojo are busy fundraising to support Robert and Kellie to compete in this auspicious event. Sponsorship is welcomed to help our local athletes represent our community.