 Mark
Matthews
( Ring name : The
Diamond )
Pictured with his
British
and
Commonwealth
Championship Belts.
Welterweight, 66kgs,
( I.S.K.A. Muaythai
Rules )
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Mark is a very experienced Instructor.
He started training when he was just 11
years old under Phil Nurse
and Master Sken, and has
been involved with the sport for over 17
years.
Mark excelled at competition,
and first began competing at amateur level
on the junior circuit.
He had over fourty bouts as a junior and
had several championship contests, defeating
Chris Macdonald for the
area title, and James Mobbs
for the British title.
Pict : Matthews
---vs--
Lee Cox.
Right High-Kick!
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In 1993 Mark
passed his Instructor grade under Master
Sken, and began coaching with Neil
Holden.
In 1995 he challenged for the British Featherweight
championship ( B.M.T.A. ) against
Damien Gregory.
At that time Gregeory
was struggling to find opponents as he was
unbeaten and was also competing in Amateur
boxing.
This was a considerable step
up in class for Mark, but
he rose to the challenge. The contest went
to the scorecards and with the judges awarding
a draw.
Pict above : Matthews
---vs--
Warren Brown.
Knee-Kick!
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Phil Nurse, Marks
trainer, then relocated to the United States
and Mark continued his training
with Neil Holden.
As a professional Mark competed
in two Grandprix's ( 8 man elimination tournaments
K-1 style ) as well building an impressive
record at International level.
In 2000 Mark won the Area and the English
Light-Welterweight title (
WAKO-Pro.).
Pict above : Matthews
---vs--
Keiren Keddle.
Left High-Kick! |
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At the time the domestic scene was really
exciting with many claiming the king at Welterweight
to be Keiren Keddle. the
Britsh Champion ( W.K.A. ).
Keddle was from the
South of England, and there has always been
(friendly) rivalry between the South
and the North.
Pict
above : Matthews
---vs--
Keiren Keddle.
Overhand Right! |
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Keddle to his credit agreed
to face the all of the Northern fighters that
were being touted, Warren Brown
( Altrincham, Pele's Gym - World Champion
Wako-Pro.), Mark Matthews
( Warrington, English Champion Wako-Pro.)
and Lee Chesters, ( Sheffield,
Mick Mullaney, World Champion WMC )
In January 2001 Keddle defeated
World Light-Welterweight Champion, and Britsh
ranked # 1 Light-Welterweight, Warren
Brown under Muaythai rules ( A-Class
5x3, inc. Elbows ) further asserting
himself as the U.K.'s number #1 Welterweight.
Pict
above : Matthews
---vs--
Keiren Keddle.
Shin-Kick!
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Matthews, who at the time
was British ranked #3 at Light-Welterweight
challenged , Keddle for
his number one ranking on a North vs South
super show, and on the 29th October 2001 the
two champions met for the
British & Commonwealth
Muaythai Welterweight Title
( A-Class 5x3, inc. Elbows
).
Pict
: Matthews
---receiving
his winning
Cheque for £ 1'000.00.
Far Left, Peter Crooke - (European Super-Welterweight
Champion.)
Right - Kirkwood Walker - ( World Heavyweight
Champion) .
Paul Hennessey - International Promoter.
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The contest was a great match and very techical
with Matthews winning the
Championship.
Keiren bounced back from this with
a tremendous win, when in his next contest
he fought for the World Title ( WAKO-Pro
) against the World Champion ( WMC
) Lee Chesters.
Pict
above : Matthews
---vs--
Vincent Swaans.
Circular Elbow!
This further reflects how great an achievement
Mark's win was. Keddle
had taken beaten three of the countries biggest
names at this time, Warren Brown
( WAKO-Pro World Champion ) and Lee
Chesters ( WMC World Champion ),
yet it was only Mark that
could defeat him.
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Some people were calling for Mark
to challenge for a World title, however
Matthews career however then
went in a different direction.
After capturing the #1 Welterweight
ranking, and all the Championships available
at national level ( Area, English, British,
Commonwealth ) Mark
began to compete at International level, which
saw him represent his country on several occasions.
At International level Mark
switched to competing under K-1 rules, and
moved up yet another weight division to
" Super" -Welterweight,
(69 Kg's).
The increased strength at the higher weight
and the K-1 style rules really suited Mark,
with his last three International contests
all being won by knockout.
Pict
: Matthews
---Making his
ring entrance.
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In November 2004 Matthews
was part of an England team that took on an
Italian team.
Marks compatriots were Altrinchams
Johnny Roye ( Pele's
Gym ) against Fabrizio Cavani,
and Leed's Andy Howsen (
Bad Company gym ) against Simone
Granzian.
Matthews faced
Italian Champion Calgero Palmeri
and the two contested the
Inter-Continental Championship
( W.P.K.L. ). Mark
won this bout by 2nd round knockout.
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Mark
is now head trainer in charge of preparing
the Champions at Warrington Kickboxing for
title defences.
His vast experience in the ring is a great
asset to the Studio, as his qualifications
speak for themselves.
Pict : Matthews
---vs--
Rucci.
Body Kick! |
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Some of the
leading domestic opponents Mark
has shared the ring with..
Wayne McCoy ( English
Champion )
David Parkinson ( British
Champion )
Lee Cox ( British Champion
)
Tony Basnett ( European
Champion )
Pict : Matthews
---vs--
Rucci.
Head Kick! |
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Morris Reilly
( World Champion ) -
twice, one win each.
Warren Brown ( World
Champion ) -
twice, one win each.
Keiren Keddle ( World
Champion ) -
twice, two wins.
Basha Valon ( Belgium )
Vincent Zwaans ( Holland
)
Youcef Attrach ( France )
Bruno Rucci ( Belgium )
Calgero Palmeri ( Italy
)
Pict
: Matthews
---vs--
Rucci.
Right Punch!
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Mark
Matthews
( Ring name : The Diamond )
Pictured with his
Inter-Continental
Championship Belt.
Super-Welterweight, 69kgs,
( W.P.K.L. )
Regarded by many as
one of Englands most exciting fighters.
(
Click for
more pics )
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Martial Arts Resume:
Amateur Championship Titles
Held:
Junior Counties (
Area ) Champion.
Junior British ( Area ) Champion.
Professional
Championship Titles Held :
Counties Super-Lightweight
Champion
Counties Light-Welterweight Champion
English Light-Welterweight Champion
British Welterweight Champion
Commonwealth Welterweight Champion
Inter-Continental Super-Welterweight Champion
Instructor Qualified in Kickboxing to
'6th' Dan.
Mark
Matthews - Grade / Promotions
1992 - Started teaching as an
Apprentice Instructor
for 1 year at the Wolf-Gym.
1993 - Instructor Level 1 - Red
Band Instructor certification
from Master Sken.
..........Date of
promotion : 15th
June 1993
1995 - Instructor Level 2 - (
2nd Dan
) = 2 Red Bands on the Black Belt.
1998 - Instructor Level 3 - (
3rd Dan
) =
3 Red Bands on the Black Belt.
2002 - Instructor Level 4 - (
4th Dan
)
= 4 Red Bands on the Black Belt.
2007 - Instructor Level 5 - (
5th Dan
)
= 5 Red Bands on the Black Belt.
2013
- Instructor Level 6 - ( 6th
Dan )
= 6 Red Bands on the Black Belt.
Notes on Instructor Grades:
'Dan'
simply means 'Level'.
A 1st Dan is next
promoted to 2nd Dan,
after a further 2
Years teaching.
A 2nd
Dan is next promoted to
3rd Dan, after a further
3
years teaching.
A 3rd Dan is next
promoted to 4th Dan
after a further
4 years
teaching.
A 4th Dan is next
promoted to 5th Dan
after a further
5 years teaching.
A 5th
Dan is next promoted to 6th
Dan after a further
6 years teaching.
In total it takes 20
years to get to become a Level 6 (
6th Dan ) Instructor.
6th Dans, in Japan, are giving the title of SHIHAN,
which means Master Level / Expert Level Instructor.
The relevance of the DAN
GRADE, is that it shows a potential
student the level of experience an Instructor
has built up over his career. Of course people
only want to learn from the best teachers they
can find.
Imagine having an operation. If you could choose
between a surgeon with only 2 years experience
or another one with 20 years experience, then
you would be inclined to go with the one with
greater experience. Likewise, you should do the
same when seeking a Martial Arts Instructor.
Checking an Instructors TRUE certification
and TRUE experience is
something that is now more important than ever
within the martial arts industry as increasingly
people claim to be 'qualified' and 'experienced'
coaches after merely completing Personal Trainer
courses lasting just several weeks!
Mark
pictured ( far right )
with
Grand Master Azuma,
Neil Holden and
Lee Hasdell.
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In
addition to his Muaythai Kickboxing skills, Mark
also posseses excellent ground fighting skills.
He
holds a Black belt in KUDO,
a mixed-martial-arts ( M.M.A.
) system
from Japan that includes
striking techniques from Kickboxing
as well as takedown and submission techniques
from Judo.
Mark pictured ( far right ) with Grand Master
Azuma, Neil Holden and Lee Hasdell.
To see details of the M.M.A. system KUDO click
the following link - KUDO
Mark
Matthews
pictured with
Ernesto
Hooste
K-1 Kickboxing
World Grandprix Champion!
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Sparring Partners!
Mark
Matthews
and
Eval
Denton
Welterweight
World Kickboxing Champion!
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Mark
Matthews
and
Warren
Brown
Following their Super-Lightweight
Championship bout, April 2000.
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Mark
Matthews
with his trainer for his Pro. fight career,
Neil Holden, and corner man, Craig Booth.
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 Picture:
Trainer
Neil Holden,
and
Mark's Muaythai teacher
Phil Nurse.
Mark's first Pro. Championship
Title, Area Super-Lightweight Title (
63.5kgs ).
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