Kickboxing arose from karate in the late 1970’s. Practitioners of karate found they wanted to test themselves fully against other practitioners of their art and hence fight full contact. They took the punches and upper body movement of boxing and melded it with the kicks of karate to create an effective and yet, when practiced with correct technique, elegant fighting style.

At Oxford University Kickboxing Club we still consider kickboxing to be a martial art. A martial art is something anyone can practice, whatever their physical abilities and sporting prowess. Martial arts are about self-improvement and challenging yourself to be the best that you can be. No matter how long we have been training, we all still seek that elusive perfect technique. Thus we welcome everyone to our club, no matter their ability, and believe we have one of the most inclusive and friendly clubs at Oxford University.

At the same time, we realise some of our members not only want to better themselves, as is the ethos of traditional martial arts, but they also wish to test themselves against others. For this reason we compete, very successfully, in tournaments including the University Championships and have an annual Varsity match.

We feel our club has something to offer everyone; from those wanting a fun, sociable and non-competitive way to keep fit, to those who wish to don the gloves and fight in the ring. We will train you as if you want to fight, whether you ever want to get in the ring or not, and our only stipulation is that you want to improve your own technique.

Please feel free to email our president for more details or come along to one of our training sessions to try it out for free.

This has to be the most boring part of being a member of OUKbC. However as these documents contain important safety information it is essential that every member is familiar with them. They also indicate what you can do and what you can't do as a member of the Club.

  OUKbC Code of Conduct 2009-2010

  OUKbC Constitution 2009-2010

  OUKbC Rules 2008-2009

  OUKbC Risk Assessment 2009-2010

  OUKbC Membership Form Required from new members

  FSKA Licence Application Form Required from new members

Joining OUKbC

What to wear?
No uniform is required. Just turn up in tracksuit trousers or something similar. It's important that you can move freely in them.

How much does it cost?
The first session is free. After that the cost of a years membership is £50 for all OU students, £60 for post docs/uni stuff and finally £70 for non uni members. This covers the license fee, insurance as well as the wear and tear of equipment. All sessions are then free.

Training times and location?
Training is in the dojo or at the main hall at the Univeristy Sports Centre off Iffley Road. Times change fairly often, please check the homepage for the latest times.

Get your OUKbC apparel here!

Look the part with sturdy wraps (£5), super cool über baggy pants (£15). Bring a cheque to the training session and we will sort you out.

OUKbC Branded Stash!

The branded stash is currently not available. We will announce the new order next term so keep your eyes and ears open!

In terms of delivery of ordered items Sarah will notify everyone via email when they arrive.

Item	Sizes	Logos	Price
Hoodie	S, M, L, XL, XXL	Front: Logo, Back: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£26.00
CCC T-shirt	S, M, L, XL, XXL	Front: CCC, Back: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£10.00
Women's Fitted T-shirt	8, 10, 12, 14, 16	Front: Logo, Back: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£14.25
Men's Polo Shirt	S, M, L, XL, XXL	Front: Logo, Back: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£19.00
Women's Polo Shirt	8, 10, 12, 14, 16	Front: Logo, Back: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£19.00
Medium Sportsbag	57 x 31.5 x 29.5 cm	Side: CCC, Side: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£22.50
Large Sportsbag	68 x 37.5x 35 cm	Side: CCC, Side: 'OXFORD KICKBOXING'	£26.50

• All will come in navy blue with white lettering/logos.
• Aside from the CCC Tee Shirt, which is screen printed, all items are embroidered.
• The CCC Tee Shirt is great for women too, if you just want something loose for training. A size small will work out to be a 10-12 size.
• Sportsbags are great for gym stuff: if you have lots of sparring equipment, you may prefer the large sized bag.
• To get a rough idea of how the items on sale look like refer to these two documents (pdf) - Stock Items and Optional Items
• For details please refer to Sarah's email.
• If you're ready to order simply email Sarah (sarah.parlour(at)st-hildas.ox.ac.uk), make sure subject contains the phrase 'OUKBC Stash', mention the size and the quantity in the email and then provide a cheque at the earliest possibility. Alternatively please speak with any member of the Committee.

 

Coach - Zac Etheridge

I'm Zac, the instructor and also the club's founder. I've been kickboxing since 1995, and I'm a 2nd dan black belt. I've had lots of fights, both full and semi contact and won most of them, including a couple of titles. I've been teaching kickboxing since 2002. Primarily I started the OUKBC as a club where anyone could come along and feel welcome and have fun learning kickboxing. However I'm also quite competitive, and I continually seek to improve my instructing in order to train all our members to the highest of standards, whether they are going for their first grade or they are fighting at the national championships. Expect to see me at every social, and to get press ups if I don't see you!

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Club President - Nick Hopwood

Hi, I'm Nick. I started kickboxing in August 2007, never having done any martial arts before, and my lack of experience still shows! However, the training is so fun, the people so friendly, and the socials so amazing, that I ended up becoming President of the club (and very proud of the committee team I am too). I hope to help maintain the club as a really friendly and welcoming place for people, whatever their goals are in kickboxing. I'm quite easy to spot in training, as I win all competitions for sweatiest member hands down! So if you see someone dripping sweat but technically quite rubbish, it's probably me. If you have any questions or suggestions as to how the club could be even better, let me know!

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Club Secretary - Nick Stratton

Hello! I am the other Nick, your ever faithful club secretary. I am also a relative newcomer to OUKBC, having joined at the start of 2008. I enjoyed the ethos and the antics of the club so much that I found myself on the committee a term later and haven't looked back since. I'm responsible for the administration of the club, making sure that everything is in order for us to safely and effectively train and compete. Feel free to direct any questions or concerns to me and I'll do my best to sort them. As I am now intimately acquainted with your membership forms, I'm looking forward to putting faces to names - so please come and say hi.

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Senior Member - Sarah Pennant

I'm Sarah, in my final year studying medicine. I have been in the club since it began, and have been both treasurer and secretary in years gone by. In my role as senior member I am here to help sort out any disputes, problems or disagreements in the club, so come and find me if there's something you'd like to talk about.

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Social Secretaries - Emily Putz and Sarah Parlour

Hi, we're Emily and Sarah, your devoted social secs. Despite what Zac may try and tell you we are the most essential members of the committee, oh yes. From now on leave your social life in our capable hands and your life will never be the same again. We will be bringing you three major nights out a term and lots of extra treats in between. Everything from meals to club nights, ice-skating to house parties, you'll find something to tickle yer fancy. As the friendliest club in Oxford, OUKbC has been scientifically proven to upgrade your life. This is not just a kickboxing club. This is chocolate-coated, you-never-thought-it-could-get-this-good, kickboxing club.

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Membership Officer - Andy Duniec

Hi, I'm Andy. I am the Membership Officer so as well as general committee tasks, I organise the Freshers' Fair, keep track of who is in the club and ensure that the correct people are on the different mailing lists. I joined the club two years ago and have never looked back. I can't recommend OUKbC enough; the training is fun and you can't help but make friends from all over the university and Oxford in general. I only wish I had joined in my first year!

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IT Officer - Luke Niejadlik

Errr... and that is me, Luke. My responsibility is what you're looking at now - the website, or anything else where I can utilise my geeky skills. If you are a Fresher this year you probably have come across one of my leaflets or maybe had a glance at my Training Camp DVD.
The story of my kickboxing is not too long - I joined the club in May last year. Since then I've been trying to train quite hard to be any good at it. I can definitely compete with Nick in getting sweaty! :-)
If you have any questions or comments in regards to the area I'm dealing with or general day to day Club operation feel free to speak with me!

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More to follow...