Blog: "Once I tried kickboxing I enjoyed it – it's really cool!"
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it’s K for kickboxing, and 12-year-old Gabrielle from Dorset discusses her love of the sport and dreams for the future.
Gabrielle’s blog:
I’ve been kickboxing for three years. My mum suggested I tried the sport out, and I went along one Saturday.
I didn’t know much about it, other than guessing it might be a bit like boxing. At the time I didn’t really want to go, or I wasn’t sure about it. But once I tried kickboxing I found I really enjoyed it – it was really cool.
I liked the instructor, who’s called Mo, because he was strict but in a really helpful way. He’s still my coach now – he gets me to do exercises like jumping straight up from the floor onto a big box, running properly, how to punch and improve my hand-eye coordination.
It took quite a long time to improve, a few weeks to learn how to do certain things like a spinning back-kick. But after you learn the basics you soon get a lot better.
I have cerebral palsy, which affects muscle control and movement. My right leg is also slightly shorter than my left, which affects her balance and co-ordination. My spatial awareness is also affected.
However, when I’m kickboxing I like using my knees and doing a Thai kick, which are both really good kickboxing moves. I don’t compete yet, but I have started sparring in practice.
What is nice about sparring is that it is fighting with an opponent, so using what you have learned on the pads but actually doing it against an opponent. And you have to also use your defence against another person, keep your guard up and use a few blocks.
I like sparring too because afterwards you get a real buzz. Of course you don’t like getting hit, but it really is exciting and you have to concentrate a lot, be alert and try your hardest. And it’s very, very tiring. Afterwards, you feel quite painful, and you have to do a lot of stretching afterwards to relax your muscles as much as possible.
I train at MK1 Warriors on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s an hour each time, with solo training on Thursdays, doing it with my sister on Tuesdays and part of a big group at the weekend.
I definitely want to carry it on – I just love it, really. It makes me feel happier, I look forward to it each week and it’s nice to be good at something.
I’d like to become a kickboxing tutor, teaching young people so they can feel the same way about the sport. I think I already know lots I could teach people. I’d be a good tutor because Mo, my coach, is very good. I can try and be the same as him.
Without kickboxing I think I would be a less confident person, and thanks to it I’m definitely a lot stronger, physically. I feel happier in myself.
