Derek Redmond and the Northampton team dominate at national kickboxing championships

Derek Redmond’s kickboxing adventure continues to gather pace after the athlete came home clutching the silverware from a recent contest.

Redmond and the team from Northampton’s Pro Martial Arts Gym were in dominant force at the British Kung Fu Association (BKFA) National Championships in Walsall, West Midlands at the end of October.

The former athlete – who has been learning kickboxing for only three months – was lined-up to contest three categories – the Points Fight, the Continuous Fight and the Teams Fight.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I got there because it was all new to me,” he explains. “I’ve only competed once but this was on a bigger scale and I had no idea what was in store.

“The Points category was always going to be the one I did best in. This was for beginners so I knew I was really only going to be up against people of a similar level to myself but the Continuous and Teams events were a different story.

“These categories were open to all levels so I realised quite early on that it could come to a point where I would be fighting an instructor with say 30 years of experience behind him – I wasn’t terribly excited at this prospect!”

Redmond’s day got off to a flying start as he lined-up for the Points Fight.

Sailing through the first and second fights he easily made it through to the final, where he eventually took the spoils after a hard minute of action.

He was presented with his champion trophy by Master Yau to the applause of hundreds of spectators from around the country.

“Getting that result is what I had hoped for when I arrived but you can never expect anything in this sport as anything can happen,” he said. “I was so pleased to win, that was the one I had my eye on so I was thrilled.”

Next up was the Continuous category, and once again he eased himself happily through the early fights to finally emerge third, picking up another trophy from Master Yau.

“That was far better than I could’ve hoped for; I really didn’t expect to do so well in that fight. Some of the guys there are really good!

“To come away with a third place is way better than I expected; it’s a real bonus and I delighted with it.”

The last event of the day was the Teams category, and again Redmond was unsure what lay ahead as he stepped into the ring for his first fight.

Dominating the round he had a commanding lead over his rival but then with just two seconds of the round remaining he took a kick to the torso leaving him with a cracked and badly bruised rib. He got up and finished the round but was ruled out of further competition, so a substitute had to stand in for him.

In the end, his team made it through to the final where they came up against the other Northampton squad from the same gym. Derek’s team – Northampton B – were just pipped by Northampton A and took silver.

“I was gutted that I couldn’t go all the way through but these things happen,” he sighed. “I’d had a really good round as well but then he got me. It was a good kick, and I just kind of walked onto it!

“The rest of my team did a great job to finish second. I’d have liked to have made the final with them, even just to go up against the other Northampton squad but I can’t complain.

“I had a really successful day and while I came home a bit sore and moving a bit slower than normal, I’m very happy with how I did and I can’t wait for my next competition.”

* View the official DerekRedmond.TV video of Derek in action at the BKFA National Championships here: