By Fuad Esack
Members of the Westridge-based Mitchell’s Plain Kickboxing Club returned home from the recent national K-1 championships in Pretoria with a cache of medals, three gold and a bronze, with Tiffany Simpson, Jordan Phalaza and Michayle Adams finishing tops in their respective divisions and Igshaan Sass third in his category.
Club members also impressed at last month’s Western Cape championships, in Bergvliet, with the four members coming home with gold to book their place at the national championships.
Their success is the result of hard work and dedication, says head coach and founder, Jeremy Petersen, from Lentegeur. Petersen has been involved with the sport for more than 25 years.
He said that although kickboxing is their core focus, they also offer training in other combat sports, including MMA, Muay Thai and boxing.
“So kickboxing involves boxing and kicking,” he said, “kicking to the head, waist and legs.”
He said that the boxing part of their training uses standard boxing techniques and also includes cardiovascular exercise, hit or grid training, functional fitness, boxing, kickboxing and MMA basic as well as grappling.
Petersen said he started out with karate to defend himself against bullying at school and has earned provincial and national colours in the sport before switching to kickboxing.
“I was introduced to the world of martial arts by my dad who was a boxer, a wrestler and he did karate,” Petersen said, who now uses elements from the various fighting techniques to train a new generation of fighters.
If you’d like to join, training sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6.30pm to 8pm, at Westridge Methodist Church, on the corner of Park Avenue and Bonfoi Road. Call 076 028 6123 for more information.