OUKbC Events
Spring Training Camp '09 - Cheddar, Somerset (2009/03/20-2009/03/23)
Grading (2009/03/07)
If you would like to grade, please
ensure you have an your attendance record up to date, with the correct number
of sessions.
For red belt - 10 sessions required
Yellow - 15 since last grade
Orange - 25 since last grade
Green - 30 since last grade
Above this please email Zac if you are thinking of grading.
Grading syllabus can be downloaded here (Word): oukbc_grading_syllabus.doc
Varsity 2009 (2009/02/20)
by Adam Dathi
The 3rd annual Varsity Kickboxing competition opened at Cambridge to the thunderous chant of the spectators. After a 5-1 drubbing at the hand of Oxford last year, Cambridge were expected to come out hard.
The show began with a light middleweight bout between Somerville's James Richardson and the Cambridge captain, Chris Webb. Webb set the pace in the first round, attempting to dominate with round kicks. Although they failed to breach the welshman's strong guard, the spectacle incensed the crowd and seemed even to sway the judges. Realising this, Richardson opted to work on the inside, allowing him to avoid Webb's kicks; a strategy frustrated by the referee continually breaking up the action, even as he unleashed some fantastic right hooks to the body. Despite several devastating straight punches in the final round, Webb was awarded the victory to what was a fantastic opening fight.
As the home crowd roared to the mirage of Cambridge varsity success, Oxford's welterweight Jack Ceadel strode confidently into the ring. After a triumphant varsity last year, Ceadel's fiery resolve had resulted in him never losing a round, let alone a match. From the first strike of the bell, Ceadel attacked with a continuous barrage of intelligent punch-kick combinations. Although disrupted, nothing the Cambridge fighter did could stop his path to a well-deserved win for a second year in a row.
With one win each and the tension ever more palpable, the first half of the evening concluded with the two womens' fights. Oxford's Cicely Marshall (New college) was pitted against Veronika Kantorovich in a featherweight bout that saw technical finesse against raw savagery. Marshall throughout demonstrated a clear mastery of kicks and graceful use of the ring, but was unable to overcome the strong punches of her far more aggressive opponent. In this occasion, the brawler took the win over the Oxford martial artist.
Welterweight Alison Evans then stepped up against Heidi Holmes. From the start Evans took command of the ring and refused to relinquish it. Her clear technical superiority allowed her to capitalise on her greater reach with a painful assortment of front kicks and fast jabs. By the second round, there was no doubt that the Queen's fighter had truly outclassed her opponent in sheer aggression and resolve. A final beautiful round kick to Holmes' head added injury to insult, making light work of what should have been a difficult win.
With all to play for Zac Etheridge - the coach and founder of Oxford's kickboxing club - easily and unanimously defeated James Waddell in the super middleweight class. Etheridge set an early fast pace, coming in strong and working on the inside with a blur of precise punches. Waddell retaliated by grappling and wildly throwing Etheridge into the ropes. His fierce determination could not mask the clear difference in experience, skill and endurance against the older Etheridge. By the third round, the battered Waddell seemed exhausted, propping up on the ropes to recoup energy, despite clearly being a crowd favourite. It was then that Etheridge truly relaxed into the fight; dominating Waddell with his trademark jab-kick-jab combinations that left the judges with no doubt as to who won all 3 rounds.
With the loss of such a popular fighter, the crowd became ever more boisterous and hostile, chanting cusses and insults. It was then that welterweight Naoya Koda (St. John's) entered. At the start of the first round, Koda took control over Rupert Goodway unleashing a furious flurry of punches that left Goodway stunned and defensive. Goodway, a varsity veteran, had clearly been training hard for his fight against Naoya. His gameplan was to aggressively outwork his opponent whilst consistently switching stances from regular to southpaw; yet for two rounds the talented Oxonian refused to give way to his more experienced opponent. It was only in the final round that Goodway's superior stamina finally succeeded, drawing the two sides equal again.
After last year's intimidating performance, Borna Guevel (Somerville) strutted into the ring with well-placed confidence. His super-middleweight fight was a no-holds-barred contest, but Cambridge's Pete Stovall could do little in the face of Guevel's combination of strength, fitness and technique. Stovall began each round landing well-timed punches and kicks. Guevel retaliated with vigour: using hard combinations that proved why he is the powerhouse of the Oxford squad. His victory was no surprise and, considering how much he has improved since his last varsity win, he will no doubt have something special in store for next year.
The penultimate fight saw Jeff Douglass (St. Catz.) against Sam Goldscheider in the most exciting match of the night: Oxford for the win, Cambridge to take it to a decider. The fight provided the electrified crowd with true full contact kickboxing: both fighters trading blow-for-blow and with no holding to break up the action. The first round looked bleak for the St. Catz kickboxer, as Goldscheider swept him to the floor to the delight of the Cambridge support. However, the cheers were soon silenced as Douglass responded by landing 4 devastating right hooks out of south paw stance and continued to dominate the round with precise round kicks. By the second round, the Cambridge fighter seemed to dispense with tactics and unleashed an all out attack with some success: it was one round each. The final minutes saw Douglass transformed. His determined ferocity allowed him to land several unanswered right hooks to the head whilst working his jab-round kick-jab combination. His opponent simply did not have the stamina to respond. As the bell rang to the relief of his battered opponent, Douglass continued to pound him in bloodlust, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind which fighter and which team had won.
The final, heavyweight fight was declared a battle for Cambridge 'pride'. Andy Duniec (St. Anne's) entered the ring in the final of the night against Ollie Okunsunle. Okunsunle danced around the ring to chants of 'Ollie bomaye!' invoking the spirit of the classic 'Rumble in the Jungle'. Like George Foreman, supposedly the heaviest hitter of all time, Duniec proved why he is Oxford's only true heavyweight fighter, unleashing colossal rights and roundkicks to his over-confident opponent. True to the Ali allusion, by the third round the herculean St Anne's man was simply outworked, though not out-performed, by his smaller, fitter opponent: Cambridge had earned their pride. However, this last win did little to alleviate the ecstasy of the Oxford team and supporters, who still remain undefeated in Varsity after 3 years.
Picture gallery to follow soon.
Oxford vs. Reading Showdown! (2008/11/30)
by Saaransh Dave
Sunday the 30th of November saw OUKBC take on Reading University Kickboxing Club in semi-contact fights that were matched up by weight. Many of our novice fighters took this opportunity to gain valuable fighting experience and 6 out of our 9 fighters were competing for the first time. After a strong start with the first few fights going Oxford's way, Reading came back strong but thanks to some stellar performances from OUKBC we came out on top with an overall score of 7-5. An enjoyable day was had by all and thanks to everyone who came down to support our squad.
Photos to follow soon...
Training camp '08 - Newport (2008/09/19-2008/09/22)
by Sarah Parlour
Morning | We left Oxford bleary eyed and early and hit Newport in the afternoon. Within the hour we’d settled into our hostel and were up at the training hall for our first two hour fitness and training session led by Dave and Zac. |
Lunch | |
Night | Après training, saw the first (of four!?) Ring of Fire sessions after some top grub from resident food guru Alicia. Some good drink training got underway before some late night grappling and floor work displays... |
Morning | The pain counter this morning was fairly bad, but bearable. We soon got warmed up with a twenty minute run down to the beach, where James had planned some hardcore fitness fun. An hour of sweat and sand saw some iron man style training, with lots of lifting work and sprint sessions. Never before has late September swimming in sea been so refreshing. We did Baywatch justice for sure! |
Lunch | Afterwards, we hit the beach for the ‘official’ OUKbC rounders match, which saw lots of good posing work in the sun, but rather less batting talent. Then before dinner we figured that we hadn’t suffered enough and went back to the hall for another two hour training session, more pads and sparring, which turned out to be great, if a little painful! |
Night | The evening was a little more low key (for some!), exploring the ‘roaring’ nightlife of Newport and back to the hostel for more drinking and chilling out. |
Morning | The pain counter probably hit a max this morning. But, some good old Tiger Balm did the job and we were back at the training hall gardens for some fitness circuits, courtesy of resident sadist Luke! After we’d all got warmed up from fitness, we thought climbing a mountain would be a great break between training sessions... yes, a mountain - obviously. |
Lunch | The climb was definitely worth it and though we might not have made the top peak, we definitely got some amazing views and learnt some ‘invaluable’ walking songs - much better than Snake Eyes! We returned just in time to leg it up to the training all for another two hour pads and sparring session. |
Night | Last night fun after a top quality barbeque. Standard last night fun... |
Morning | Of course it wouldn’t be enough just to leave quietly, clutching onto our hangovers for dear life. Nope, we’re kickboxers and that means muchos kudos, so two hours training first. Good stuff! |
Afternoon & beyond... | Then we pack up our stinky kit and drive back to Oxford for around 9pm: the end of the most mind-blowing few days. |
Photos to follow soon...
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