IKF
UNITED KINGDOM - EUROPE
FOR MORE IKF UNITED KINGDOM INFO GO TO
www.IKF-UK.com


IKF EUROPE REPRESENTATIVES
"A Leader stands out by the nature of their commitment, and the integrity of their character."



Colin Payne

Kent
England
IKF
United Kingdon
CO-Representative


Carl Sams

Dorset
England
IKF
United Kingdon
CO-Representative


Neil Holden

Cheshire
England
IKF
England
Representative


Peter Foley

Galway
Ireland

IKF
Ireland
Representative


Keith Nathan

England
IKF
United Kingdon
Junior Division
Representative


Duncan Airlie
James

Scotland
IKF
Scotland
Representative


Dawn Willock

England
IKF
UK Amateur
Rankings
Representative


Steve Logan

England
IKF
United Kingdon
Pro Muay Thai
Representative


Tricia McKeary

England
IKF
United Kingdon
Junior Division
Representative


Loe Hoyer

Holland
IKF
European
San Shou
Representative


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WEDNESDAY, June 24th, 2009, AT 10:00 PM/PST

IKF UK
NEWS

The IKF-UK wish to announce that with immediate effect Mr. Neil Holden (Right) will be stepping down as Director for IKF Europe. Due to both increasing family and business commitments he feels that he can no longer give the time to the job that he feels is required. However Neil will remain very much a part of the IKF team and will continue to promote his very successful events with IKF sanctioning.

Carl Sams (Left) and Colin Payne (Right, below Neil), previously in charge of Full Contact activity will now take up the positions of Co-Directors for IKF Europe and all contact and enquiries regarding IKF sanctioning should now be directed through them. Anyone interested in discussing further IKF sanctioning or any other enquiry with regards to past and future IKF events should contact them via e-mail at ikfkickboxing-europe@btconnect.com All correspondence will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Carl and Colin would like to thank Neil for both his hard work over the past 2 years and also for his faith in them in suggesting to IKF President Steve Fossum that they take over. They hope to build upon the good work he has done and further strengthen the IKF's position as a major force within Kickboxing in all its codes.

It is now just over 2 years since the re-launch of the IKF in Europe under its new management team. From the beginning, IKF-UK has adopted a policy of growth through quality rather than one of quantity whilst looking to implement many of the things that people have felt were needed for the sport even if it initially hurt its business as a sanctioning body as its high standards were not ones that some were happy to accept for their own events, even if those same people supported them in principle. It's probably fair to say that most of this work has been done so far in the Full contact Kickboxing area where it was felt initially that a concentrated effort was required if the IKF was to show it had anything substantial to offer the sport and not just become 'another set of initials'. Many of the things we have implemented since have now it seems been adopted by others albeit sometimes to a lesser degree but we feel this is a good thing if it moves the sport forward. The IKF-UK are happy to work with any group if it feels this will help the sport in general. Evidence of this has already been seen with the co-operation between IKF and the ISKA on items such as safety with medical suspensions through the sharing of information.

Some of the things we feel proud to have brought to the Full Contact area are:

AMATEUR RANKINGS
The IKF have been the first association to implement rankings purely for amateur kickboxing that are open to ALL fighters who follow a generally accepted amateur code whilst being regularly updated. We would like to mention the hard work of Dawn Willock (Right) at MAGB for her work in this area and her commitment to the amateur structure she has worked so hard to push forward. We are pleased that so many people are now referring to 'the rankings'. Even non-IKF promoters are using the IKF rankings and fighters positions in them to justify the fights they are putting on.

A commitment to Amateur kickboxing and its development was always foremost amongst our agenda and the strength of the fighters now coming through is proof for us that we were correct to adopt this having watched the work Dawn had done as an independent promoter. The standard of IKF amateur champions we believe is outstanding and the rankings have helped to highlight some outstanding talent such as Jake Richards, Ashley Collins, Daniel Winstanley, Louise Orton, Sam Allen and many many more. Some associations have still to make a firm commitment to supporting the development of amateur kickboxing but the IKF has from day one implemented a clear divide between the amateur and professional codes.

PROFESSIONAL ROUNDS
Seeking to raise the level of the sport the IKF have established clear bout durations for the professional fighters totally separate from amateur bouts. We have become the first body to introduce 10 rounds for the British Professional title, a move designed to raise both the profile and prestige of this all important title. Since then other associations have moved to increase the number of rounds for their domestic titles and although none have moved theirs to 10 rounds we salute their initiative to raise the bar for the professional titles, a move that we feel would not have been made without the enthusiastic support we have received for the increased rounds we have introduced. For the first time in many years the title of British Champion has regained the prestige that has been missing for some time.

TITLE QUALIFICATION
The IKF has become the first sanctioning body to publicly outline its title criteria and this was published previously. This moves the sport further away from a promoter being able to promote a title fight simply because it suits the needs of his show and that the of the ticket selling fighter he promotes. This we feel strongly is in the best interests of the sport.

SAFETY
IKF-UK are very keen to raise the level of safety measures wherever possible. All medical suspensions are now made public in an attempt to protect fighters who may decide to take a fight shortly after a stoppage loss and we have looked to support any suspensions made public by other associations. We have been the first association to bring in stricter rules on hand wrapping and all hand wraps have to be signed by an official in charge at all IKF sanctioned events. The gloves used by all fighters have to be supplied by the promoter and must be of identical brands in each bout. Again we feel this was a ruling that was way overdue for the sport and further underlines our commitment to safety.

FUTURE
The new management of the IKF have no targets for growth for the near future, leaving the expansion of IKF activity to be guided by quality rather than market forces. Some promoters have upon application for sanctioning decided to withdraw once they are made aware of the guidelines that we wish to see in place and also when we have refused a title fight as it did not adhere to our title qualification criteria. We are happy with this determined as we are that the integrity of any titles fought for must be in line with what we have set out for the sport.

Having said all that, we are now entering the busiest period of IKF activity and would like to thank all those promoters and clubs who have decided to support the IKF in its aims and we look forward to working with them.







THE REBUILDING OF IKF EUROPE


THURSDAY, June 14th, 2007, AT 8:10 PM, PT



IKF
Has New
Leadership
In
England

After a long absence of representation in England and Europe, today the IKF announced that Neil Holden (Right) will take over the IKF Leadership out of Warrington Cheshire England. Full details of the position will be released soon but basically Holden will take up where former IKF Leadership left off. Holden will be in charge of securing IKF Sanctioned events in England as well as IKF title bouts. In addition, possible plans look for the first IKF European Tournament to take place in the future, much like the IKF World Classic, but for European Countries. Whether this will be a United Kingdom only or European Tournament has yet to be determined.

The first proposed plan for IKF England is the sanctioning of two IKF Amateur World Titles on an already scheduled July 21st event at the Urmston Leisure Centre in Manchester England. The idea is to have two IKF Amateur Modified Muay Thai (K-1) Rules titles on the event. Former A.K.A. Amateur World Welterweight Champion, (67kgs), Lee Green (Below Left) would be one of those contenders. Green is the son of the well respected, ( now retired ), U.K. Muaythai fighter Ronnie Green, a protégé of Master Toddy that faced several top Thai's in his career. Lee has began to follow in his fathers footsteps, making two successful title defences of his A.K.A. Amateur World title, and only recently he competed in Thailand at the World Amateur Muaythai Championships. Also planned to fight for a World IKF title is 4 time AKA World Amateur Middleweight Champion (73kgs), Graham Sayer (Below Right). In the future both of these fighters would like to compete in the professional ranks of the 'K-1 MAX' (70kg division), hence the choice of the fighters management team in looking to sanction the respected IKF title.

Holden is the owner of Warrington Kickboxing Studio. He was born in historical city of Chester, Cheshire, England in 1972. He first began his training in 1983 at the age of eleven when he was introduced to Ju-Jitsu and Japanese Kickboxing. Twelve months later Holden then progressed onto Thai-Kickboxing, training in Master Sken's system, known as Sitnarong Muaythai, when he attended a class being taught by Phil Nurse, ( a former European Champion now based in New York ). In 1992, under Master Sken's tutelage, Neil qualified as an Instructor. He has been a full time professional martial arts coach for over 15 years now, a period that has seen him gather a tremendous wealth of experience both as a trainer and a promoter.

Neil has also trained in Japan, at the headquarters of the All Japan Kickboxing Federation in Tokyo, when he took two of his Instructors, Mark Matthews (I.S.K.A. British & Commonwealth / W.P.K.L. Inter-Continental Champion) and Rhys Edwards ( WAKO-Pro. British Champion ), there to train and compete. Having some of his top fighters train and compete in Japan, the home of martial arts, was a great experience and had a tremendous influence on Neil, his system of teaching, and the way of running his School. Following the Japan experience, Neil revised his training system and developed, 'OKAMI-DO' kickboxing, ( Japanese translation WOLF STYLE ). He expanded upon the teaching format he was currently using, which resulted in a new, complete and modern syllabus for his school. Okamido is a very successful Kickboxing system that incorporates only the very best techniques and training methods from Muaythai, Boxing, Taekwondo and Karate.

As the School Director for one of England's leading Martial Arts Centres, Neil currently holds the Senior Instructor Rank of 5th Degree ( over 15 Years Professional Teaching Experience ). He has developed a professional team of Instructors at Warrington Kickboxing Studio that have to date helped him train over 30 Black Belts, along with several National Champions, two European and two World Champions.

Neil has dedicated his adult life to the martial arts and has been training for over 20 years! Even after such a long time, his enthusiasm is still the same as it was the first day that he ever kicked a bag, and as well as running a full-time studio, Neil still trains alongside his Black Belts & Champions six days a week, following a regimented split-system of Kickboxing, running and weight training.

Adding to this mix has been Holden's work towards the acceptance of Amateur Kickboxing into the Olympics through the AKA. The AKA incorporates a unique Olympic style open scoring system similar to that used for Olympic Boxing.

To date, two combat sports that involve striking an opponent have been accepted into the Olympics, under specific safety regulations ( Boxing and Taekwondo ). Rather than pursue a different method, as many other Amateur Kickboxing bodies are currently doing, ( for example the non-use of Bodyshields ), the AKA understands the IOC's (International Olympic Committee) safety requirements, agrees with them, and fully embraces them. Amateur Boxing has been accepted by the IOC as long as it follows specific rules and methods. This being that Olympic Amateur Boxing bouts are conducted with 'OPEN SCORING', using electronic scoreboards and for additional safety 'HEAD GEAR' is always worn.

The 'Open Scoring' helps to reduce the potential of a knockout, ( concussion ). as an early TKO rule is in effect, known as the 'OUTCLASS RULE'. Should an athlete be losing by 20 points ( as shown on the scoreboards during the bout ), then a contest is stopped. The AKA Kickboxing system has adopted these already accepted Olympic requirements and along with the IKF, together the two organizations can expand on the idea.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st, 2007, AT 8:15 PM, PT

The IKF Welcomes
Colin Payne & Carl Sams
To Head Up IKF Leadership In
Europe With
Neil Holden

This past June the IKF Announced the first part of the new IKF Leadership in the United Kingdom, Neil Holden (Right). Today we are proud to announce the remainder of the IKF United Kingdom (UK) Team, along with Holden who will actually organize the IKF throughout Europe. Please welcome to the IKF World Team, Colin Payne & Carl Sams. Payne and Sams will hold the official titles of Full Contact co-Directors for the United Kingdom.

Soon they will be announcing 2 IKF sanctioned full contact events to be held before the end of the year with several dates already in place for 2008. The strong addition of these three top names will assist with the Official IKF World Rankings with regards to British fighters as well as any other fighters around the world that they are aware of.

"We do not see our job as solely to push the claims of British fighters but any that we feel are worthy of ranking." Said Payne. "This in turn will strengthen them even further. No other sanctioning body has the working set of rankings that the IKF does and we will do all we can to improve them even further."

In addition, as Holden has already done with the new Open Scoring Rules, Payne and Sams are also working with IKF Headquarters to create the new amateurs British rankings which will be followed with other detailed rankings for Full Contact style fighting. Their plans do not stop at the UK boarders though. "We will also be working through our European contacts to promote the IKF on mainland Europe." said Payne.

Europe's situation with sanctioning bodies is much like it is here in the USA or anywhere in the world for that matter. While the IKF and a few other larger sanctioning bodies sanction events across the globe, many smaller sanctioning bodies are found in small geographical areas. The situation in the UK as well as in other regions of the world is such that there are no restriction on any and all sanctioning bodies to claim they are a sanctioning body. Although some would applaud this freedom such as promoters who have their own sanctioning bodies, it does have it's downfalls, such as too many unrecognized Champions and a dilution of the sport. This has lead to a situation in England for example, where there are more sanctioning bodies than any other country and when you bear in mind that the UK is less in size than that of many USA states, it has inevitably led to a situation where no one body has any strength across the country and most have just high activity in very small geographical areas. The goal of the IKF is to unite the sport as was done with the IKF Leadership in the United Kingdom, spreading it among three prominent leaders.

A strong part of Colin Payne & Carl Sams history has been their establishment of the British Independent Kickboxing Ratings, which have now been in place for 2 years and have gradually been given increased backing by all the main players in the sport, particularly by the fighters. The ratings are now published every month in FIGHTERS Magazine, the leading combat sports magazine in the UK. The IKF will be fully supporting the British Independent Kickboxing Ratings, to help create a more honest and true ranking system for the sport and to enhance the Official IKF World Rankings as well.

"We would like to see a strong and well structured sanctioning body, which the IKF certainly is, as being an international support network for the sport in this country." says Payne. This is exactly what the IKF plans to do for those in the United Kingdom as well as for those in other parts of the world. To serve as a central location for the sport of Kickboxing.

A Little About Our New IKF Leaders
Colin Payne has had 32 years involvement in the Martial Arts and is the Chief Instructor for the TKO Kickboxing Academy, which has 3 full time gyms in the Kent area of England. He is director of TKO Promotions who have promoted over 50 kickboxing events over the past decade. As a trainer he has developed a long list of Champions and fighters and as a promoter he has brought fighters to England from all over Europe as well as top American fighters such as IKF World Champion Fernando Calleros, Bernard Robinson (Pittsburgh) and Lennox Chance (New York).

Along with Carl and with the involvement of highly respected UK Kickboxing figures Neil Kelly and Mark Gibbs he has helped to implement the British Independent Kickboxing Ratings, the first set of ratings in the UK that were not attached to any particular sanctioning body. By using the structure and stability that the rankings have brought to the UK kickboxing scene, he now believes that with the backing of a major worldwide sanction body such as the IKF that this can only help to move the Full Contact sport forward in the UK and provide greater exposure for the top fighters.

Carl Sams (Right) has been involved in the martial arts for over 20 years and is the Chief Instructor at the renowned Bulldog Gym. The gym has been producing world class fighters for many years including World Champions Trevor Ambrose, John Orchard & Janine Davis.

Originally a Thai Boxer, Carl has chosen to represent the code of Full Contact in this instance but his versatility and well rounded outlook take him into the areas of Muay Thai, Kickboxing & MMA where he trains, promotes and officiates. As a businessman he owns the Bulldog Sports Martial Arts & Boxing Equipment outlets and as a promoter his "Absolute Adrenaline" fightsport brand has been running for over 15 years and is one of the most successful in the country, being recognized across Europe as one of the premier brands for Kickboxing, Thai Boxing & MMA.

Within full contact he is committed, along with Colin Payne and their various associates, to establishing the industry by re-building a solid foundation that can be built on for the future. He believes that the British Independent Kickboxing Ratings system supported by a market leading World body is the way forward and will significantly contribute to the development of Full Contact in the UK. Additionally he intends to work closely with European contacts in order to make the UK the gateway into mainland Europe for the IKF.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2007, AT 4:00 PM, PT

IKF-UK
FULL CONTACT
A Statement From
IKF UK Full Contact Directors
Colin Payne & Carl Sams

It has by now been made public that we have been appointed by Mr. Steve Fossum as the United Kingdom (UK) Directors responsible for Full Contact representing the International Kickboxing Federation. This has come about following lengthy discussions and negotiations with both Steve and IKF Europe Director Neil Holden. It's a step we have not taken lightly but is one that excites both of us.

With gossip and rumor being rife in any sport, but particularly ours, we wanted to make public our reasons for doing so and to make clear our intentions for the future. Intentions that we would openly admit have been influenced by some of the recent debate on the internet with regards to British Full Contact.

Our biggest disappointment is that we weren't able to secure enough commitment from the other sanctioning bodies to form a 'Board of control' and believe us, we tried! For the time being we can see that this is not going to happen so we have done the next best thing within our capabilities.

We (along with others it must be said) have long felt that a change in direction was needed for our sport in this country. It has been held back by the never ending fight, it would seem, for supremacy of the sanctioning bodies, each one looking to establish domestic control, but with very little hope of doing so. Well minded and well meaning bodies & individuals are forever locked in a battle for the 'business' that is out there.

Domestic titles have ceased to mean anything in our sport, fighters have 4, 5 sometimes 6 titles! The ever growing number belittling each of them by the fact that the more there are, the harder it is to find the real champions. This has been made even more obvious to us by the way in which the independent rankings have been accepted by the vast majority of people in the sport. The big fights the sport needs are taking place, fighters want to be number 1…and that has surpassed for most, the desire to obtain a further title.

There has also been a move towards a clear amateur/pro structure in the sport. This certainly needs to be moved forward and this was further highlighted with some of the heated debate recently regarding the 'amateur' status of some fighters. For the long term development of the sport the establishing and acceptance of the difference between the two is for us vital. Simply put, the better the amateurs, the better the pros.

Having expressed our views on the sport in THIS country (England) and what we see as pretty standard needs for the progression here (that go beyond political ambition). Steve Fossum and the IKF have supported us wholeheartedly. This goes beyond what would be called the normal association/representative relationship. Most reps see the promoting/sanctioning of as many title fights as possible as the way to go. Each one further spreading the influence of the association that they work for. We have no wish to repeat the failings of the past and together with the IKF will adopt a different policy and agenda here in the UK. The IKF will work to support a strong independent British based organization whilst giving it the much needed support of a major international association.

We have no wish to repeat the failings of the past and together with the IKF will adopt a different policy and agenda here in the UK.

Professionals
The IKF will NOT sanction ANY domestic professional Full Contact title fights in the UK. They will support totally the work of the Independent British Kickboxing Ratings to establish the true contenders for the International titles sanctioned by the IKF, one of the PREMIER kickboxing sanctioning bodies.

The IKF has one of the few, in fact we believe the ONLY established and working (that is ones not just updated once a year!) set of International Rankings, and through the British Independent Rankings, British fighters will be ranked only through results and achievement, not because of political affiliation or because they just happen to be linked to a promoter who sanctions through them. We will not be repeating the recent trend that has appeared of a 'major opportunity' being offered to a fighter who just happens to be linked to a promoter who has recently gone on board with an organization. We realize this could make our 'business' slow, but quality will be the foremost factor in those decisions and whatever the initials we believe that is in the best interests of the sport here.

So, no British Champion??... Well for now we believe that the title has become worthless and for the time being has become unnecessary. We recognize this is possibly a controversial idea, but we feel strongly that the title madness has got to stop sooner or later. Can it be right for nearly EVERY town/gym to have a 'champion'? When you have countless 'pretend champions' (and please we mean no disrespect here but it has to be said) is it any wonder that our true PREMIER fighters such as John Orchard, Fran Zuccala, etc etc (we have deliberately not mentioned more to avoid upsetting anyone) are not the superstars they should be. The average guy that actually goes to kickboxing would probably struggle to name more than just 2 or 3 of our true top fighters, and yet can probably reel off the names of most of the top fighters in UFC. If 'our fans' have trouble, what about the poor guy in the street?

We will be encouraging good quality professional fights pure and simple, that will create true competition for being number 1 rather than for the attainment of titles that if truths be known have very little meaning. (Bear in mind that today there are probably as many as 10 Southern area champions alone in some divisions…and this is not the biggest country in the world!)

Amateurs
The IKF has a clear and distinct amateur structure that we in the UK will work to support. We will in the near future be working on the first set of rankings for amateurs that has been produced for the UK. Working within their guidelines there will be domestic titles but all amateur title fights will be strictly that, AMATEUR. NO fighter proven to have fought under generally accepted professional rules will be allowed to fight for them. We will work towards establishing a clear amateur structure with which to produce better professional fighters.

We believe we have a unique opportunity to take on board the needs of the British Full Contact community and that's ultimately why we have made this decision, although of course it will be for others to judge whether we are correct in this belief. Because we can forgo the 'business' targets which are probably the main cause of compromising the standards, we can continue freely to work on the much needed industry requirements WITH the backing of a worldwide association. We feel that we have proven our commitment to that with what we have already achieved and negotiations with IKF have been secured specifically with the aim to compliment what we already have started and to continue to raise the standards of British Kickboxing.

Finally having said all the above, we really would like to extend a professional handshake to the other bodies. The last thing we want is another industry split. The board of control may not be happening for the moment but there is no reason for good relations not to continue. Cooperation rather than competition would be far more beneficial to the whole of kickboxing. We appreciate and accept that the agenda of some organizations and governing bodies differs from ours, but so long as integrity remains intact, cooperation is possible. It is those who lack code and integrity that we would seek to distance ourselves from.

Rankings and Possible Conflict of Interest
We realize that people will question our involvement with both the 'INDEPENDENT' rankings and representatives of a sanctioning body. Well, with no titles to sanction (professionally) we do not see the conflict. Also our colleagues in the rankings Neil Kelly and Mark Gibbs have no obligation to the IKF and no matter what happens, Neil & Mark will retain an independent position for what they do within the rankings. We anticipate that further people will be invited to help us with this task, and involvement with the IKF, or any other body for that matter will have no bearing on that.

We have stated this here as a matter of record. We welcome anyone of any capacity to contact us direct if they have any comments or questions. Our respective e-mail addresses are, Colin Payne: colinpayne@blueyonder.co.uk and Carl Sams: bulldogsports@btconnect.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th, 2007, AT 10:45 PM, PT

IKF-UK
GROWING STRONGER!
IKF Welcomes Two New Directors - Promoters
Keith Nathan & Tricia McKeary

It's been a slow but organized process as the IKF rebuilds it's strength in Europe. The IKF Europe Team has already had some prominent individuals join the Team such as Neil Holden, Duncan Arlie James, Colin Payne and Carl Sams but it is now known that Keith "Pele" Nathan and Patricia McKeary of Manchester England have just been added as IKF Junior Directors who will also be involved in adult fights as well. Patricia (Right) holds the WAKO and ISKA British Thai Boxing titles along with the WAKO Pro Commonwealth title. She holds a fight record of 17-7-1.

To many, Keith "Pele" Nathan (Left) needs no introduction. His titles include the ITBF World Title, WKA Title, WAKO Title, British Champion and many other British, Area & National Titles. His fight record was an impressive 47-6. He has trained many World, European and British Champions such as Frankie Hudders, Kevin Harper, Warren Brown, Ashley Guishard, Mary Hart, Lisa Howarth, Jonny Roye, Trisha McKeary, Gavin Sterritt, Steve Holt, The Riley Twins, Charlotte Thompkinson, Amy Thompkinson, Rebecca Maxwell, Pete Dwan, Richard Jones, Steven Jones, Richard Weston, Ewart Liburd, Leroy Atkinson, Morris Riley and Glen Skellhorn.

World Champion Ronnie Green, Pele's friend, got him into Thaiboxing. He used to play a lot of football, he was football mad, that's where he got his nickname 'Pele'. He actually did a trial for Manchester City. He was always getting injured and being kicked and bruised. Ronnie said, 'look at me I'm fighting in the ring and I'm not getting as injured as you are - Why don't you come and train with me in Muay Thai.' This was at Master Toddy's gym in Manchester. At first he actually went to the gym to teach Judo because he did a lot of Judo at the time, but Judo went out of the window when Pele fell in love with Thai boxing. When he first saw it he loved it.

Pele has had a long and prestigious career originally trained by Master Toddy in Manchester, he then went on to train with Master Chana in Preston. Early in his career Pele met dutch stars Andre Brillerman, Fred Royers and Orlando Weit, Then Thailands Fanta and Sitisat, Pele's fist major title success was in 1991 when he challenged for the IMF (International Muay Thai Federation) World Title. He faced Thailands Kitisak under full muay thai rules which allows kness and elbows to the head. The match was staged in London and was broadcast live to Thailand by Thai TV and later aired on Sky Sports. Pele defended Kitisak by a unanimous points decision to win the championship belt. In 1994 Pele was invited to Moscow in Russia to challenge Russian Hardman Valery Kulubaba for the WKA World Thaiboxing title. In front of 15,000 spectators at the Moscow Olympic Stadium Pele battered Kulubala stopping him in the third round. The fight was broadcast by Russian national TV to an audience of millions. Later the Russian promoters called Pele a bone-crushing machine and added "We won't be inviting him back to Moscow".

After his third world title he decided to stop. He already had a club running at Sale West Thai-boxing club (in Cheshire) whilst he was still fighting and ran it for fifteen years, it was a very successful club and produced a lot of champions.

The name Beastmaster came from one of his students from Leeds. He used to get lots and lots of people knocking on the gym door asking him to train them. They'd been training in Thai-boxing elsewhere and wanted Pele to polish them up and finish them off, then he would turn them out as better fighters who even if they got beat, always looked good, they were defeated in style, no tempers and no tantrums, so hence the name 'Beastmaster'. Several years ago Pele decided to go full-time with it, before then it had only been part-time, He decided to be a full-time martial arts instructor. He got a New place in Altrincham, (in Cheshire) opened up there, and called the gym 'Beastmaster Gym' from the nick-name that had been given to him. He had a new gym with a new name in a new town, Pele looked upon it as a blank sheet of paper to start again "doing it my way, in my style."

Pele has trained many fighters who have go on to become champions in their own right. One of his first would be Mary Hart who became the World WPKL - (World Professional Kickboxing League) Thai-boxing Champion. She's still fighting and currently holds the WKA European title now as well. Amy Tomkinson has been with Pele since she was six years old. She's now fourteen and has thirteen championship belts so far, nearly a decade down the line she still has the hunger for it. Warren Brown was already a World Champion when he came to Pele's gym, but recognized that Pele's skills could improve him further, that says a lot for his character. He came to Pele's as a WAKO Pro World Champion and he's achieved another World title since joining Pele. Pele's also trained Frankie Udders, who's recently won an ISKA World title. Also Kevin Harper who won the WKA World title. Rebecca Maxwell, she won a junior world title at a young age which she kept. She's never been beaten, she's nearly sixteen now. Then there's Gavin Sterritt who's a European champion and of course, Patricia McCarey.

Both Pele and Patricia are Great additions to an already Strong IKF Team. The knowledge and experience this Team has from Fighters to Promoters will surly bring more prestige to the IKF World Team! There is yet one more big name we hope to announce soon to add to this already GREAT TEAM. After that, it's time to focus on a Great Future of IKF Kickboxing around the World!



FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9th, 2007, AT 2:00 PM, PT

IKF EUROPE
EXPANDS MORE!

IKF United Kingdom (UK) Full Contact Directors Colin Payne and Carl Sams are pleased to announce that their team has been joined by Dawn Willock. Dawn has over the past few years pushed the agenda of the amateur fighter in the UK probably more than anyone and can be considered a large factor as to why so many people are now pursuing a proper amateur structure in the sport. Dawn will take a prominent role in compiling the IKF UK Amateur rankings, the first such set of rankings for amateurs in the UK.

Promoting as MAGB Dawn has put together a regular series of events in the Midlands area of England over the recent years which have focussed the attention on the amateur fighters. These events have featured many fighters who have gone on to pursue successful Pro careers, amongst these are Rob 'Diesel' Stevens and Qasim 'The Dream' Nisar, both of whom were considered amongst the very best amateur full contact fighters in the world and both of whom have since commenced upon Pro careers which have seen them unbeaten up to now, the solid foundation they gained in the amateurs holding them in good stead as they removed the headguards and moved in to longer contests.

Dawn is helped in her efforts by her husband 'H' Willock who himself runs a successful Martial Arts academy with its own team of successful kickboxers.

Both Colin and Carl are extremely pleased with this latest news and welcome Dawn to the UK team.

"My original motivation when I first started promoting kickboxing was to provide a safe structured environment for novice fighters to develop their ring craft & to hopefully put a little entertainment value in for the paying customers to elevate kickboxing locally" said Dawn. she continues,

"At the time, I believed that apart from a few, generally the standard of 'pro' fighting was not achieving anywhere near it's potential. The most logical way to attempt to change this was the development of a British Amateur / Pro divide."

"The Amateur campaign became my passion & I have been as successful in this as possible for the last few years (with a lot of help from 'H' Willock & Neil Kelly it has to be said!). I recognise that I am limited doing it independently, so eventually I was going to have to have to commit to a sanctioning body to further the Amateur circuit. Although up to now had felt reluctant to commit not being fully happy with all that was on offer. I am now though very pleased to be joining the IKF here in the UK"

"The IKF provides a firm structure, which is my preferred way of working & they constantly update their information & that cannot be argued against as being beneficial."

"They also have taken the revolutionary step of supporting the British Independent Rankings, recognising that in the UK, this is the nearest thing we have to consolidating kickboxing which is sorely needed & supersedes traditional business needs of a sanctioning body. That, along with the fact that I already have good working relationships with Carl Sams & Colin Payne, & that the likes of Neil Holden & Duncan Aires are already on board, satisfies me that it is worth relinquishing my independence to see if we can take things to the next level together."

"My original objective to develop an Amateur circuit obviously still stands. Many said it could not possibly be done, but what started as an experiment has made a positive difference so I am happy to continue to make decisions which will achieve more growth. The IKF have provided a solid opportunity to do that. I would like to thank Carl & Colin for inviting me on board."

Kind regards, Dawn Willock
Welcome to the IKF World Team Dawn! We are Proud to have you as a part of the IKF Team!

MONDAY, December 17th, 2007, AT 5:00 PM, PT

PETER FOLEY AND IRELAND
JOIN THE IKF

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Peter Foley has taken up our invitation to join the International Kickboxing Federation, IKF and has become the representative for Ireland.

Peter is the chief Instructor for the Black Dragon Gym in Galway and has been responsible for most of the competition between Irish and UK fighters for many years now and with the link up with the IKF and with Peter being the P.R.O. and Overseas Director for the Irish Kickboxing Federation we see even more co-operation (and competition of course) taking place between Ireland, the UK and the rest of the world.

Peter has said that plans are already in place for a large Irish contingent that will be competing at the 2008 IKF World Classic in Florida next July so you have been warned! This is great news for the International Kickboxing Federation and we welcome Peter to the IKF. It is just the latest addition to the expanding IKF Europe Team.
Colin Payne & Carl Sams
IKF Co-Directors UK Full Contact

FRIDAY, December 21st, 2007, AT 4:00 PM, PT

STEVE LOGAN
JOINS THE IKF

The IKF Team in Europe is now expanding further, as many promoters and trainers look to give their fighters the opportunity to contest TRUE Championship titles that carry real international recognition. The most recent addition is well known and respected trainer and promoter, Steve Logan (Right)

Logan is one of the UK's leading promoters of Professional rules Thai-Kickboxing. A respected trainer, his leading charge is no other than Damien Trainor, one of Englands hottest prospects, and currently the IKF Professional Muay Thai Rules European Featherweight Champion. (Trainor went on to win the IKF Pro Muay Thai Bantamweight World Title on November 30th 2008 in Birmingham, England when he defeated Gaylord Montier of France by head kick KO in round 3. Damien Trainor World Champion Photo)

Logan's school, K-Star Academy, is a highly successful martial arts brand in the city of Birmingham, where Steve incredibly runs no fewer than three full-time centres! As well as running his trio of K-Star Academys, Steve promotes an active circuit of 6 events per year, which will now sanction IKF Professional Muay Thai Championships.

The IKF would like to welcome Steve to the IKF Team and we look forward to a Fantastic 2008 with the entire IKF World Team!

WEDNESDAY, April 23rd, 2008, AT 8:10 PM, PT

IKF
Welcomes Promoter Arthur Meek
To IKF UK Team

IKF Europe: The IKF UK is pleased to announce that Arthur Meek will be joining the team and sanctioning with the IKF for his next event set for 22nd June, to be held in Bridgewater, Somerset, England.

Arthur has been involved in Martial Arts for many years and is one of the highest ranked Black Belts in Wado Ryu Karate in England as well one of the driving forces behind full contact martial Arts in the South West of England. Both a former national and European Karate Champion and amateur boxer Arthur has been involved as a trainer of kickboxing since the early 90's before taking the plunge as a promoter in 2004.

This next event will feature IKF sanctioned Amateur and Professional Kickboxing as well as MMA. Zoe Mason and Anne Otterwell will meet for the IKF Professional Southern Area Super Lightweight title and local fighter Chris James will meet Rob Burbridge for the IKF Amateur English Super Middleweight title. all of us here at the IKF welcome Arthur to the IKF.


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or (916) 663-2467 - Fax: (916) 663-4510
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