I’m very proud of our Hastings Kickboxing Academy (HKA) team in their performances at the Casino Rooms in Rochester at the weekend writes Carl Denne. 

First up was Sanjay Rajan competing in only his second fight. The Casino Rooms is a night club and represents a massive step up for a youngster at this stage in their development – Sanjay is only nine! 

He was just brilliant, although he was very nervous. He stepped into the ring and listened to everything Jenny and I asked him to do. He very quickly took control of the bout and towards the end of round one was clearly ahead and was being asked to lighten up – which he did. 

Sanjay is very new to the team but he is already showing great skills and is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone and try some complex skills and drills that many take years to learn. 

So Sanjay won his second fight making him 2-0-0! 

Next up was Jake Payne, matched against local lad Ethan Small of Bexhill. Both lads are 14 and both of them are strong and maturing quickly. This was a cracking bout with two talented teenagers. 

Over the last few months Jake has upped his training and he has really raised the bar and that showed massively in the ring. After a slowish start from Jake he began to relax and find his feet, taking control in the second and third round and landing some great hand to leg combos and spinning kicks. His performance meant he won his third fight this year. 

Jake is now 3-0-0 a record that sets him up for some great things this year. 

This was a huge step for these guys. Fighting in a night club rather than a sports hall really changes the atmosphere, even if the actual match is still the same. 

So two fights and two wins and HKA showing again that our fighters learn from any experience they have inside the ring.

I’m so proud of these guys for the performances they put up, they did the club proud and we can all look forward to the next challenge – onwards and upwards! 

For more details about HKA visit www.hastingskickboxing.co.uk. or contact Carl on 07949 221946

Photos courtesy of @mid_kent_photography