Candid shot...

My name is Ben. For nearly a decade I've been involved in combat sports, starting with Western boxing and moving into kickboxing. I've worked as a personal trainer, martial arts instructor and self-defence coach with a whole range of clients of all ages and backgrounds. I've had a few fights, and even been lucky enough to fight at York Hall, but fighting has never been my primary motivation. I'm interested in coaching, helping people achieve what they thought they couldn't, and in making combat sports accessible to all. ​

My original idea in setting up this blog was to share some of the knowledge I've gained on self-defence, as I've come across many misconceptions in my time teaching that I wanted to address. Subsequently though I've expanded the remit, to share my thoughts on a range of topics from sparring to pad-work. ​

This is not a blog for professional fighters. My route into this world was not the traditional one - I come from a comfortable middle class background and boxing wasn't a way out of the streets for me. I'm not even an obsessive armchair fan. I was always intrigued by combat sports, but it took me a long time to pluck up the courage to get involved. Over the past decade I've been around a bit, taught a bit, learnt a lot. This is for the average person who has always fancied the idea, but maybe not had the confidence to give it a go. I hope you enjoy it, find it useful, and feel motivated to start a discussion in the forum! Stay humble...