A Dundee kickboxing club is going from strength to strength after returning a haul of medals from the World Kickboxing Organisation Championships.
A team of 34 fighters from Skyaxe Kickboxing – aged between 5 and 36 – travelled down to Barnsley and claimed a staggering 161 medals over the two-day competition.
As well as the individual medals, the team returned with two large trophies after finishing top on both the Saturday and Sunday of the competition ahead of 70 other teams.
Skyaxe come out on top
The first day of the event saw fights take place in the ring, while the second day took place on the Tatami mats, which tested fighters’ karate competencies.
Paul Kean, who coaches the team at his Brook Street gym, was proud of his fighters’ achievements – with some younger competitors winning medals after facing off against kids three years older than them.
“There were a lot of very good teams down there, it was a tough, tough competition,” he said.
“Some of the guys had to go through four or five fights to get to the gold medal position. The standard was very high.
“Over the last couple of months, we did a lot of extra training, 2.5 hour sessions on Saturdays and Sundays to get them ready.
“They all performed unbelievably.”
Of all the medals won over the weekend, one meant most to Paul and the team.
“We’ve got a young 16-year-old lad who is autistic,” he explained.
“He managed to win a silver medal and it was so emotional to see him win a semi-final.
“The whole team were around supporting him and there were a few tears in their eyes.
“There are some superstars in the team who have been competing for a number of years and they are world-level athletes, but that to me on the day was an unbelievable experience.
“That was more important than anything else. He came back so much more confident. It was fantastic to see.”
Kickboxing teaches ‘discipline’
Paul stressed that kickboxing, despite its physicality in the senior competitions, isn’t only about toughness.
The veteran coach, who works alongside his son and professional boxer Paul Jnr and wife at his gym, says the sport is a great way to build self-confidence in young people.
He says he has seen a surge in interest following the lifting of lockdown restrictions.
“We had a lot of new kids coming to the gym, which was huge,” he said.
“The team is on a rebuild at the moment but it’s going really well.
“We have about 130-140 kids training at the moment – 90% of the kids don’t compete but the 10% that do are unbelievable young athletes.
“The most important thing we try to give them through kickboxing is self-confidence, respect and discipline.
“It’s a fantastic family atmosphere around the gym. It’s just one big team, even with the mums and dads raising funds for the kids competing.”
The next fundraising drive is to help cover the costs of travelling to the Unified World Championships in Italy in October.
Paul will lead a team of 23 to Carrara to compete against 30 other organisations from across the globe.
Local businesses have already pledged their support but the team is still on the lookout for further sponsorship.
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