Salford City's Own Karate Kid

Congratulations to Saul Whittle, Year 9, who travelled to Dublin, Ireland on 25 October to take part in the IWKA-AMA Open International Karate Championships 2009.

He competed against other sports professionals from England, Ireland and Scotland.

Saul is a member of the Eccles branch of the national Ken Yu Kai Karate Association and was picked to represent them in the Irish competition.

Following 5 rounds of Kata, with 3 points at stake each round, Saul came away with a Silver medal for his powerful performance.

"Kata isn't a real fight, it's a sequence of mid-air moves that represents a fight and it's all about the power of the moves."

"I was really happy to get the Silver medal as it was a big competition; my mum and dad came to watch and they were really happy too!"

Saul has recently added to his collection of medals, totalling an impressive 15 so far, winning a trophy for 3rd place at the Ken Yu Kai Nationals in Eccles this month.

He also enjoyed winning Gold at the North West Karate Open 2009 competition in October in Leigh.

Saul also won Silver in the Kenyukai British Open in Urmston in September.

Saul has been a member of the Karate club at Eccles Recreation Centre since he was 8, which means he's been training for 6 years and is now a black belt.