AN open karate tournament will be staged in Birchwood next month.

Organiser Brian Bentham says the Kizuna World Cup will be ‘the first ever truly open karate tournament that is free from politics or favoritism to any particular style or group.’

He is a member of the World Kobukan Federation and said: “The organisation 100 percent believes that martial arts should be for all and free from politics.

“It is with this in mind that I set upon putting together the Kizuna World Cup.”

The tournament will take place on Sunday, May 4 at the Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Centre in Benson Road, Birchwood.