A flurry of action in both the non-contact and full-contact sections was punctuated by plenty of success for the dozens of Riverina fighters who put their bodies on the line in the pursuit of glory.

Titles organiser Frank Cirillo predicted the next generation of fighters would show up ready to entertain, with the experienced sensei excited about the direction of the sport after viewing the talent yesterday.

"The quality is fantastic this year, without the World Cup fighters we saw the up-and-comers and they're looking very good," Cirillo said.

"Without a doubt these young guys are willing to improvise, but the speed and the accuracy of these kids is astounding."

Despite initial estimates that competitor numbers would be down on previous years due to the earlier staging of the event, 180 fighters from around the country made the trek to Griffith.

Cirillo said it is that desire that has seen some the junior fighters improve dramatically in skill, as they seek to emulate their older counterparts.

"What it's about is turning up to tournaments," he said. "If they go to enough tournaments then they see what they need to do to get to a higher level and that's really what drives them.

"They're rocking and they're doing really well (Riverina fighters) and they are definitely even with the best dojos in the country.

"All the ones that are state champions, because we have a lot of them that made that level this year, and they're living up to their very high standards.

"We've got some very high instructors in here that have very high profiles and they are very result- driven people and we're matching them."

Alannah Jeffery more than matched her opponent in the early rounds of the female non-contact 13 to 15 years class, to score a unanimous decision over Tzara Brooker.

Leticia Ferres breezed through her first round in her lightweight non-contact class and looked impressive as she looked to continue the form that took her to the World Cup this month. In the adult men's non-contact division Peter Moraschi lost an early bout despite showing proficiency in defence to make openings in his opponent's guard.

Full competition results in Wednesday's The Area News.