Instructor Profile John

I've been training at Kickfit for over four years now. I'm 34 years old, my partner is Christine (also profiled on this site) and together we have a 3 year old son.

I am the Head of the Physics department at Trent College in Long Eaton.

I have always had an interest in martial arts and have dabbled in many things over the years; however I found the various styles unsatisfying and often unrealistic. I knew little of Jeet Kune Do but had already started to think along the lines of using what is useful from an art and discarding the rest. Kickfit and Richard Hudson pulled these ideas together for me. It really is a system that you can adapt to your interests and abilities.

Where possible I like to get in five lessons a week, which usually includes kickboxing, JKD and Eskrima. I also like to get to Silat lessons if time allows. Time really is the problem though due to working very long hours. I also attend the monthly Sunday seminars which are great value and allow you to really focus on certain areas of your training.

At Kickfit we are encouraged to think as well as to act and we are open to people bringing new styles and ideas into the school. I myself have started to take an interest in traditional English martial arts and have brought some of this research to the group to share.

People sometimes have worries when considering taking up a martial art and so I'll try to pre-empt some of them using my own experiences.

1) Will I be surrounded by meatheads?

Kickfit attracts a wide range of people from many backgrounds, everything from students to shop workers, builders to doctors. I myself have a PhD in Astrophysics. In the end though that becomes irrelevant. The school has higher standards than any other that I have seen and generally speaking only good decent, people stay the distance.

2) I'm overweight, will it be too hard for me?

I was very overweight when I started at Kickfit and though my weight still fluctuates there is no better way to keep it down than regular training. Nobody is expected to be perfect straight away, you will simply be expected to push yourself to you own limits.

3) I'm asthmatic will I be able to cope?

I am asthmatic, as are some of the other instructors. Again you'll be expected to push yourself to your limits, but you will find that this is a great way of controlling your asthma.