Casey (aged 12)

I have been a member of SOUL Kickboxing for 10 months now, I was really unhappy at school and needed something to help me with my feelings and anger.  When I tried out my trial classes I felt very welcome and accepted, everyone was friendly and helped me a lot.

When I started my grading I didn't think I would be good enough to pass, then my name was called out to get my red belt and I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the lesson.  I am now an orange belt and very proud of my achievements, now I want to keep working hard and get my black belt one day.  

Being at SOUL is helping me with my fitness and most of all really helping me with my feelings and overall happiness.

 

Casey's Mum (Parents Perspective/Mum's Words!)

My daughter, aged 11, was having a tough time at school which was making her very unhappy.  Alongside support at home we felt a physical outlet would also be beneficial, so I made some enquiries asking about local clubs on Facebook.

Out of all the recommendations that I received one stood out, that was SOUL Kickboxing, firstly because it was mentioned so many times & secondly due to hearing how supportive & positive the club was.

 Low self esteem will mean that she compares herself to others & always with a negative perception of herself.  As her Mum I tell her otherwise but she only half believes it, whereas SOUL effectively tells her otherwise at every training session through the support & encouragement given to her there, & again every time she moves up a belt, representing her determination & hard work.  In just 10 months she has passed 3 gradings, achieved a class credit & competed in her first tournament, she can't quite believe it!  

I can clearly see how that inferior mindset is being influenced & slowly but surely turned around by the role models training her at SOUL, all of who she looks up to with a huge respect.

The guidance at SOUL is teaching her a belief that she can achieve as much as the next person if she works for it, and challenges herself despite self doubt.  I am very proud of her & very grateful to have her involved with SOUL Kickboxing. 

 

 

Tim Whild (aged 43)

I have been a member of S.O.U.L Kickboxing for just over two weeks now and I am completely hooked.

My son Jake (14) is a brown belt and has been with S.O.U.L for over two years. Under Karen Mayne’s instruction and guidance he has transformed into a highly skilled martial artist. I have attended each of his gradings over the years, and have always been drawn to the lovely atmosphere and relationship between the instructors and students. Everyone is greeted with a smile and even at the highest levels there is no ego, just unity.

Coming from an intensely sporting background I have been a competitive road racer (cycling) since I was 13, and have ridden at Elite level both home and abroad. I hung my wheels up 6 years ago after my job and other circumstances changed, and since then have been working behind a desk as a Hay House author. Kickboxing has saved my sanity!

For those thinking of joining for whatever reason, do it! Be prepared to work hard and push yourself to new limits. It will be worth every minute of your time.

 

 

Chris Solly (aged 38)

My 8 year old boy and I started Soul Kickboxing together as a way of spending some quality father and son time together. It was also a great opportunity to introduce him to the discipline, fitness and skills associated with this type of martial art. He has totally embraced everything that Soul Kickboxing has to offer and I have noticeably seen his self confidence grow as a result.  My only concern is there will come a day when he is bigger, better and stronger than me, but until then his bed time remains at 8. o'clock. 

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Ella (aged 15)

I joined S.O.U.L. kickboxing just over six years ago, when I was nine. I was a scrawny little kid who’d never really done much; I’d been home educated since I was seven, and day to day didn’t have much contact with large groups of people. I saw a poster for the kickboxing classes, and I pointed it out to my mum and asked to do it. I think she was reluctant to let her little shy nine-year-old daughter join a club of what she thought would be scary training, but she let me take the trial class, thinking I would probably dislike it. But in actuality, the opposite happened - I fell in love with it as soon as I stepped into the room. I refused to let my mum leave the hall whilst I was training, and I did not utter a word to a soul, but I still had fun. It was so welcoming. It was an entirely new environment for me, but I immediately felt accepted – there were people of all ages, shapes and abilities, and I felt as though I immediately fitted in. Everyone was warm and accepting, and to a timid nine-year-old kid it was like a miracle come alive. I didn’t grade for a full year after I joined (it’s usually a few months, but I was too nervous!), Ma’am was understanding and supported me the entire way until I could do it on my own. And I did.

 

I’m now fifteen and a brown-black stripe, preparing to take my black belt grading in a few months. I cannot articulate how much kickboxing has helped me throughout growing up. There were times when I was having an awful day, or I was just feeling off, and kickboxing was always there. It never changed. I have always, and will always, recommend it to others - it has changed my life so much for the better. Not only did it teach me discipline both mentally and physically, I also learned how to socialise. It feels like my second home, and I hope that I help others feel as welcomed and as happy as I did, all because of Ma’am and her wonderful club.

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Laura Hitchcock (aged 47)

I tell people I kickbox, and they glance at my overweight middle aged mum of four bod with a ‘really?’ question mark over their heads.
When my timid wisp of a nine-year-old pointed out the kickboxing poster at the local leisure centre, I was dubious. I’d tried to get her to join dance, gym, swim, forest school… none of it appealed. But suddenly, she fancied kickboxing? I took her along for the trial lesson with plenty of doubts – doubts which doubled when I realised it wasn’t a kids-only class, but that she was expected to train alongside grown adults of every shape and size. Her terrified, self-conscious, painfully-shy brain would never stick it, obviously. She wouldn't stay in the hall without me sitting on the side (and I'm not sure she spoke a single word out loud in her first four classes). And yet she walked out of that first class with an excited gleam in her eye which has never left. And slowly her confidence grew. Alongside the obvious physical benefits of regular physical training, she made friends (and yes, learned to actually talk out loud in class). After a slow cautious start she worked her way through the gradings, and I saw her self-confidence grow along with her coloured belt collection. Eventually she lured her big brother in, and they enjoyed the sport together.
Then covid hit. There I was, nagging at them to do the Zoom classes and not sit on their computers all day… while I literally didn’t exercise and sat on my computer all day… So I bargained with them; they’d show up for the Zoom classes as long as I did too. And I did.
The first one nearly killed me. I probably did wet myself. Despite years of watching my daughter training, I hadn’t quite grasped how much basic bootcamp PT was involved. As I said, this overweight middle-aged mum-of-four bod is not built for bootcamp. I couldn’t do a single sit up. Or press up. Genuinely not one.
And yet… we had fun. When actual classes resumed, with my teen’s encouragement I braved a real-life session. And despite my hesitation, the rest of the class didn’t bat an eyelid, accepting and encouraging me as much as my own children had done. I have never stuck to a sport or regular exercise in my life – and yet two years on, I’m looking down the barrel of my fifth grading, and I willingly show up for two 90-minute sessions a week. I love the strength and fitness I am (slowly) building – sit ups! Press ups! BURPEES (well, to be fair, they’re slow nearly-burpees, but they still count)!
The SOUL group feels like a second family – so encouraging, supportive and always fun to be with. Whilst teaching you a spinning outer crescent kick, obviously.

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David Lewis (aged 46)

For reasons that are still largely unclear to me I decided I’d like to learn Kung Foo when I turned 40.  By the age of 41 I’d still not done so. This is, in all honesty, due largely to the absence of Kung Foo clubs in rural Dorset. I had, however, been happily practicing Ashtanga Yoga for several years and absolutely loved it. One of the things I enjoyed the most was chatting to fellow students before the class began. A short-lived joy, as gossiping throughout yoga classes is seemingly frowned upon. And I ran. A lot. And alone. I felt I needed something that leant less towards an internal journey, something I could jointly experience with the people around me. At which point my wife pointed to an advert for kickboxing. So, despite never having hit or kicked anything with any real conviction in my life, I trotted along to a class.

This all happened in 2018. It’s now the summer of 2022 and the last grading I did will stay with me, probably for ever. When you throw yourself into something physically, give everything you have and get to do that with other people, doing the same thing – it’s quite an experience.  When I started, it was initially the sport it’s self that got it’s hooks in me. The movement, the subtle ways you need to use your body to create speed and power, the way in which you have to think under pressure and, perhaps most importantly, the fitness training that underlies it all. These things are great – but it’s S.O.U.L that keeps you coming back. It’s the people around you. It’s easy to imagine the world of boxing and martial arts as an adrenaline pumped alfa-male environment. Quite an off-putting thought for me… But here I found precisely none of that. Ma’am fosters the most friendly, inclusive, and non-judgemental of atmospheres. People of every age (as I write this, I’m 45), fitness level, experience, body-type, and ability. All training together, as one. There’s respect and kindness and fun. The sport draws you in, but it’s the club that keeps you there.

It’s a genuine privilege to train with all the S.O.U.L. instructors and students. I’m so glad I found it and I ‘m pretty sure that everyone who decides to walk this path is changed by it in a positive way. I know I have been, and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

I no longer wish to learn Kung Foo.

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Laura Ramm (aged 33)

I’ve been doing S.O.U.L kickboxing for about four months now and I am obsessed! I’d recently moved back home to Dorset after a difficult time and was looking for a group exercise class I could enjoy, get fit from and hopefully meet some like-minded individuals. The first time I stepped through the class door I was a little nervous, everyone dressed in their kit with their various coloured belts… I hesitated, thinking I was in the wrong place and went to turn right back around. However, I was swiftly encouraged to get straight into things and was paired up with one of the group who showed me the ropes. I absolutely LOVED every second! 

The group has always made me feel welcome and comfortable; everyone is patient, fun and incredibly encouraging, they’ve helped me get to grips with this totally new martial art something I never imagined I’d be doing!

I’m not normally one to run for the bus but over the past months I’ve become so much fitter and you’ll now find me running, jumping, doing press ups, sit ups and burpees!! I’ve lost weight and feel so much more positive and motivated. There’s something about Karen’s class and the incredible group of people who go each week that make me keep coming back. I initially started with just the one session and now I’m up to two a week. I also joined them on the summer camping trip which was a blast!

The S.O.U.L team have been a real lifeline to me in these past months, I don’t know what I’d do without them! Plus, it sounds hardcore when I tell people I do kickboxing!!!

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