On Friday 4th March local members of the South West Kickboxing Academy (SWKA) Courtney and Nathan Pollard both travelled up to Guildford ahead of the fight day at the Guilford Spectrum. Head coach 4th Dan Steve Lilley travelled up in the morning leaving at 5am to join them at the Spectrum.
It was a long day and Courtney made her debut in the fighting ring, and grew praise from instructors from other clubs for getting in the ring have having ago against an more experienced opponent. Young Courtney who’s 7 looked nervous in her first round, but grew in confidence as she went into the 2nd and 3rd rounds having got used to what was going on and the nerves settling down. Both Steve and Dad Jamie who helped corner Courtney’s fight were very proud of her performance in the ring and the experience she got, even though she didn’t win her bout.
Later in the day it was Nathan’s time to get into the ring as he went toe-to-toe with Ryan Gunnell from the Team Gatwick club in London for the British kickboxing Union (BKBU) U16’s title. Nathan was given 3 weeks’ notice at the chance of this title fight. This was Nathan 2nd time in the ring and Ryan’s 3rd time in the ring. It was a tough bout with both fighters showing signs of tiredness in the final round. The fight was awarded a win to Ryan Gunnell, from Team Gatwick to the surprise of the referee Rob Lloyd who thought the win should have gone to Nathan, and their seemed to be a mixed decision between those who watched the fight to who the winner was, as different people watching had different opinions on who the winner was, some going for Nathan and others for Ryan meaning there was probably a tight split decision for the judges on the show. However, the judges gave the win against Nathan who will have the chance for a rematch later this year. Nathan graciously accepted defeat even though he felt like he had done more than enough to win the fight, and took the decision like a real champion which my head coach Steve very proud. So we will be reviewing the video footage to ensure that when the rematch takes place later this year Nathan will be able to ensure he gets the right decision.
For anyone wishing to get involved or follow in Nathan and Courtney’s footsteps, then please feel free to come and join us at Tavistock College on a Friday Night 7.35-9pm in the gymnasium. You can contact Steve on 07773863518, email sculpting_fitness@hotmail.com or visit www.swkickboxingacademy.com for more details.