Congratulations to Master Richard Hudson on winning the Super Heavy Weight Single Stick Veterans British Championship title and winning a silver medal in the double stick at the recent World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation full contact British Stick Fighting Championships in Luton.
Congratulations also go out to Jennifer Van Der Eijk who fought blistering fights to win a silver medal in the ladies lightweight single stick. She also beat a much larger opponent in the ladies open weight double stick event.
Mike Schmidt looked awesome with his jumping techniques and won a bronze in the men's light weight single stick and a bronze in the men's lightweight double stick.
Jim Davey won his first fight in his first ever competition in the men's Welter weight single stick.
Darren Eastwood fought a good fight in his first ever competition in the men’s veterans Super Heavy Weight division and after only 3 weeks of training at KickFit International Martial Arts Academy.
Iain Foss fought like a demon in his comeback debut after being away from training for nearly a year due to work and illness. He fought in the men's Heavyweight single and double stick after only one training session on the bags the day before the Championship and no sparring practice! He is a true KickFit Warrior and Eskrimador!!
Jack Shacklock (aged 11 years) won a silver in the kids single stick, only just losing the British Championship gold place to a much larger and well seasoned opponent.
Lewis Russell (aged 8 years) won a bronze in the kids single stick. Young Alex Russell (aged 5 years) fought like a Tasmanian Devil to win the first fight of the day.
Vasu Sood fought a brave fight in his first ever competition and at the tender age of 6 years, he is the one to watch in the future.
Comment from Master Richard Hudson, owner and Head Coach at KickFit...
A big thanks to all my KickFit students who fought on the day and to all their friends who went down to Luton to support and help out.
I am very proud of all my students who fought regardless of whether they won a medal or not as they all showed plenty of guts and technique. You have to be in it to win it!
You could be medal winner or even a World Champion and British Champion. The next British Stickfighting championship are to be held in Bristol in March 2008 and the World Championships in the Philippines in July 2008.
KickFit International Martial Arts Academy is holding an interclub stickfighting competition on Sunday 9th December at its premises in the centre of Nottingham so here is your chance to compete.
What a night ! The charity fight night that was hosted in aid of the LINK Centre for late-deafened people went down a storm. Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a fantastic evening with great food and wine, all of this whilst being entertained with some of the best fights of the 2006.
A great big WELL DONE to the following Kickfit fighters who all fought with great skill and provided the guests with an exciting world class show. Fights on the night included kickboxing, Muay Thai, Eskrima and MMA. All were brilliant and all were well received by the audience.
The second fight of the night was kickboxing between "Pacie" of Kickfit Grantham and Bradley McKenzie from Bushido. A great fight with Pacie picking up silver.
The third fight was between "Jennifer van der Eijk" of Kickfit Nottingham and Lynsey from Sue Fell Kickboxing club. This was billed as light contact kickboxing, Jennifer came away with a silver after a tough start between the two girls and a reevaluation of the rules. Lynsey steamed in with full contact and knocked Jennifer around a bit until it was stopped and the rules of light continuous contact kickboxing was reiterated to Lynsey. Well done Jennifer who got stuck in and carried on like a true sportswomen.
Fight number 4 saw Iain Foss of Kickfit Nottingham against Mark Han of Warriors in an MMA match. Iain fought extremely well and came away with gold in a second round victory. Iain outclassed his opponent with devasting striking skills and talent.
Fight number 7 saw Mike Schmidt of Kickfit Nottingham and Darren Lawson of Kickfit Grantham in a "headhunters" low armour Eskrima / stickboxing / MMA bout. This was fast and mean and provided the audience with something a bit different to what they are used to. This has provoked interest from other clubs with many wanting to "have a go" at Eskrima., re-igniting interest in this great sport. Mike came away with gold.
Full contact kickboxing with low kicks was fight number 9. This was between Dan "The Man" Brewer of Kickfit Nottingham and Tim Cope of Warriors. What a fight, furious with outstanding fighting from Dan. What a guy, definitely man of the match. Dan fought with great skill and confidence and at only 18 years old showed extreme talent power. Dan took gold in a first round victory, knocking his opponent to the floor resulting in the referee stopping the match.
Fight number 10 was Muay Thai and this was between Ian Hinksman from Kickfit Nottingham and Stuart Hawksworth of Dragon Protector. Another hard fight with Ian taking some punishment but responding well and keeping Kickfit Nottingham looking good. Ian came away with silver and we later found out that Ian's opponent is a semi-pro boxer and with this being Ian's first fight he fought really well.
Everyone who fought out of either Kickfit Nottingham or Kickfit Grantham clubs did extremely well and should be very proud of themselves, it's a tough job just to get into the ring, especially in front of a 700 strong crowd, but to do so well and fight with confidence, power and talent deserves extra praise. Well done to you all.
A special thank you to all who helped on the day. Alot of behind the scenes activity went on so that a great night could be had by all. Thanks to all who helped Sally with the VIP tables and seating and security on the night - Chris, Abdul Khan, Andrew Brewer, John Morley, Dale Singh, Mukesh Mistry, Michael Hartshorne and Narda Al Shama.
Thanks also go to Michael Johnson of Derby County football club for providing us with signed shirts from Derby County and Nottingham Forest football clubs to be used as raffle prizes.
If you have any questions or would like to visit the gym, just contact us, we'll be happy to hear from you.