THE ISKA World Amateur kickboxing Championships came to Ireland for the first time in its history on October 15-19 when 26 countries were represented and over 1000 fighters were in action. Castlederg’s Castle K1 Kickboxing Martial Arts Academy had three members representing Ireland at the event – Morgan Bird, Jonny Henry and Steven Gailey and […]
Ventures II members enjoy medals success
VENTURES II travelled to the Burnfoot Invitational Karate competition. The youth competition, which is highly regarded in Karate circles, brought some new and young veteran competitors to the floor. The Ventures II team travelled early in the morning and began their competition with kata. Advertisement Almost straight away young Chloe McDaid put great performance and […]
‘The Strabanimal’ is ready for Salazar
HE was scheduled to fight Cal Ellenor in Dublin tonight, but due to abnormalities in a pre-fight brain scan, the Englishman was forced to withdraw, leaving Strabane’s James Gallagher without an opponent. However, less than two days after Ellanor’s witdrawal, Bellator announced that three-time UFC fighter, Roman Salazar would take on the ‘Strabanimal’ in what […]
Gallagher vowing to make Labiano ‘crumble’ in one
JAMES Gallagher has vowed to make Jeremiah Labiano ‘crumble’ at Wembley Arena tomorrow night. “I’m going to make sure there’s only one result!,” he promised. “I want to take my time, break him down and bust him up. “I’ll take it shot by shot, I’ll be calm because I’m no rush in there. I’ll be […]
‘Life changing’ deal for The Strabanimal
JAMES Gallagher is ‘on top of the world’ and is looking to the future with positivity and confidence after signing a six fight deal with Bellator. “The deal is life-changing for me and my family and it’s going to put me in a position that I don’t think there are many people around who have […]
Gallagher wants to put on ‘Golden’ display
By Chris Caldwell HE’S shown before that he can overcome adversity and James Gallagher is determined to prove he can do it again as the headline act in Dublin’s 3Arena on Saturday night. The ‘Strabanimal’ suffered his first ever defeat in the Bellator ranks back in August when Ricky Bandejas inflicted a shock first round […]
Gallagher’s back and ‘better than ever’
FOLLOWING the announcement that James Gallagher would return to action as the headline act in Dublin on February 23, the ‘Strabanimal’ is eager to show he is back to his best after suffering a shock first defeat to Ricky Bandejas in August. The 22-year-old Strabane native will take on Steven ‘Golden’ Graham at Bellator: Gallagher […]
World and European medals prove ‘Karate Kid’ Lucas is a rising star
STRABANE’S very own Karate Kid, Lucas McColgan, is only eight years of age but he has already earned three medals at World level and just a couple of weeks ago he added a European bronze medal to his incredible list of successes. The P5 pupil at St Mary’s Primary School has been practicing the martial […]
Denis achieves 3rd Dan status
DEVLIN Martial Arts’ co-founder, Denis Devlin travelled to Manchester on St Patrick’s Day to participate in a black belt grading run by the Cobra Martial Arts Association (CMAA). Denis was attempting his 3rd Dan in Shotokan Karate and after hours of extensive testing, which included several katas, full contact sparring and technical combinations, he finally […]
International medal success for Strabane Shotokan Club
By Chris Caldwell THREE members of Strabane Shotokan Karate Club enjoyed a successful start to their seasons at the seventh annual Ishoj Karate Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark, over the weekend, with one of them claiming a bronze medal. Twenty-five year-old James McFadden, a first dan black belt, was arguably the star of the show among […]