CHARITY FITNESS CLASS HELPS KICKSTART THE FIGHT AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S

A KINDHEARTED kickboxer is organising a charity training session for Bristol Alzheimer’s charity BRACE.
Tom Lakos is holding the event on Sunday February 12th at the Welsh Back Squash and Health Club in Bristol.
The 36-year-old hopes to welcome people of all ages and fitness levels to the session and to show them how they can get fit without paying an expensive gym membership.

All funds from the day will go directly to BRACE which funds cutting edge research into Alzheimer’s in the region’s top universities and hospitals. Tom, of ProTom Fitness, said he was hoping for a big turn out in support of a charity close to his heart. He said: “I can guarantee that no-one will get bored, as both mind and body will be engaged whilst we train. People don’t even realise how quickly an 1.5 hour long training session can fly by! “I wanted to support BRACE because the work they help fun is invaluable. Dementia is such a cruel illness but if we all work together one day we can hopefully find an effective way to treat it.” Mark Poarch, chief executive of BRACE, said he hoped people would support the kickboxing class and help raise money to fund the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia. “The effect of dementia is widespread across the South West, with most people knowing someone who has suffered at the hands of this devastating disease.

“Tom is a great example of how small businesses can make a big difference to regional charities. I’m sure everyone will have a fun and invigorating day!” BRACE supports a number of research teams in Bristol and the South West, including scientists at Frenchay Hospital and Bristol University. Dementia affects 1 in 20 of the over 65s and 1 in 5 of the over 80s although it is certainly not a normal part of ageing. In Avon alone there are 15,000 dementia sufferers.

The kickboxing fitness class is taking place on Sunday February 12th at the Welsh Back Squash and Health Club in Bristol from 12 noon until 1.30pm.

Thanks for raising the money for all these people who attended 

Kick boxing is a relatively modern martial arts system, whose syllabus was derived by combining several fighting techniques from a variety of the more traditional disciplines, including Kung Fu, Kyokushinkai Karate, Thai Boxing, Kyokky Shinkai and Taekwondo.

Martials arts boomed during the early 1970s and interest was greatly increased by their emphasis on competition fighting. Chinese styles of fighting began to take on a more westernised form in the UK, and even more so in the United States, where the first freestyle system were beginning to be developed. Indeed many people claim that  Kickboxing originated in the US during the 1870s.

This, they say was due to various karate practitioners becoming frustrated with the limitations of tournament competitive scoring while karate and the other disciplines were viewed as being entrenched with theories and set kata, and were performed in a controlled environment. Great emphasis began to be placed on specialized techniques, such as kicks and punches being delivered with full-contact karate was already established, concerns were expressed for the safety of competitors. Initially some people felt that kick boxing looked amateurish, and questioned its validity as a traditional martial art. It is viewed by many as a sport that is a relatively new discipline and has yet to establish long-term traditions and history. The world kick boxing Association ( known as the WKA ) apparently came into being in the early 1970s.

There is a close affinity between kick boxing and Thai boxing. While it is believed that the Amercians had created this concept in their attempt to find a sport that could refine full-contact competition, it is believed that the development of kick boxing was borne out of the WKA finding common ground between Eastern and Western fighting culture.

A down-side to the discipline is those early days was criticism of a high risk of injury. This led to improvement in the safety rules, such as contestants wearing protective clothing, there are two main fighting distictions: semi-contact and full contact. Semi-contact is where two fighters are allowed "reasonable" light contact in an attempt to score points off each other, in the same way as fencing. Full contact is usually fought under the same conditions as a standard boxing match, in which a knock-out is the ultimate aim. Individual clubs compete at inter-club competitions or in open, national and international, martial arts tournaments.

Rules vary, but tournament organisers insist on competitors wearing full protective clothing, for even in "semi-contact with control" bouts. Men are expected to wear head guard, gum shield, groin guard, shin, hand and foot pads. Women are expected to wear the same except the groin guard. These rules apply to children as well.

Benefits of Kickboxing:

There are numerous benefits derived from learning kick boxing, which extend into many aspects of everyday life. These includes

- Appeals to both men and women, irrespective of occupation or level of fitness
- Develops strength and flexibility
- Improves mental agility and stamina
- Powerful and skilful sport
- Increases confidence

I had a boxing session at the Foyer in Bristol. Teaching the youngsters for basic stance, jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts than combinations. Some of them was really good and previously did some martial arts in the past. All of those who never did anything like this before they been very enthusiastic and picked it up so quickly. Had a good time and it was nice to see them to get tiered!

Very important to lift the knee high and before the knee extension you put hip rotation into the motion.

When you give a partner, your pads are should be much closer to the person plane, unfortunately onthis video the pads are pretty fare away from each other.