Jake Willard (in the white trousers) raised the bar again at the Casino Rooms in Rochester at the weekend in only his second full-contact fight.

Jake was matched against Sonny Grieves from the world-class gym, Mick Crossland’s Combat Academy. Both lads had had time off due to injuries and both were clearly wanting to win.

“We knew this was going to be a hard bout for us,” says Carl Denne, Chief Instructor at Hastings Kickboxing Academy.

“Sonny is a top-class fighter with a few titles to his name and stands a good six inches taller than Jake. This didn’t worry Jake though, he always loves a good tear up!

“It was an uphill battle for him though and although he didn’t win, he will take so much away from this battle knowing not only he survived but was still standing against a world class fighter at the final bell,” says Carl who added, “We always like a challenge at HKA, battling against fighters that are of such a high calibre, if we win then you know its deserved and we are at the top, or we learn a lot from the defeat, making us stronger for the next one.”

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