“I’m more of a hands and take down person,” Bailey added. The pair promised a tough fight if they do take each other on.
Yet to determine who is the most skilled, their competitive spirit is high. Brennan and Bailey have been taking turns beating each other from year to year.
“He’ll go first one year and I’ll be third, and then he’ll go third the next year and I’ll go first. It always happens for some reason,” Bailey said.
The twins agreed that having a home crowd would spur them both on.
Hosted by the local Jin Ryu Kan Martial Arts in the Holy Trinity School hall, the competition will see around 100 martial artists from Tamworth, Newcastle, Brisbane and the Gold Coast visit town to test their skills, including internationally ranked fighter Kieran O’Hearn.
“He’s an international fighter with years of experience and he’s coming to Inverell to battle it out with us locals,” chief instructor Nick King said. King and O’Hearne both took home silver medals for Australia from the World Koshiki Superkaratedo Championships in Canada earlier this year.
“He’s choosing to come to Inverell to fight. That just shows you the calibre of the competitors that are going to be here,” King said.
King said his students have been solidly training for the event for the past two months. Jin Ryu Kan Martial Arts trains fighters from Inverell, Delungra, Bingara, Warialda, Glen Innes and all the way to Dorrigo.
A family-orientated competition, all ages and skill levels will be on display, and with free entry for all, spectators are welcome.
(We’re) catering from anyone under five, right through to the veterans who are in their 60s.
Nick King
“(We’re) catering from anyone under five, right through to the veterans who are in their 60s, so it’s covering a wide amount of people. And that’s what we wanted to do – is have a championship where, regardless of age or experience, you can compete in a safe environment,” King said.
He said it was huge for local martial artists, and a great chance for businesses to make their mark on visitors.