| 2006
Latest News | 2004
- News Archives
The LATEST
NEWS section of this website contains
results from those students that have decided
to take Belt Grading exams, or to Compete. All
new enquires to the school must realise that these
areas are not compulsory!
The majority
of our members train specifically for fitness,
for self-defence and to improve their self-confidence.
Only a small proportion of our members
actually compete or grade.
However, we
hope that you will appreciate this LATEST
NEWS section, as it shows the high
calibre of students that are members of our martial
arts school and reflects the high standard
of tuition given at Warrington
Kickboxing Studio.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January : 29th
2005:
Fantastic Results, 4 Championship Wins!
 A
clean sweep for Warringtons Kickboxing Champions
at the first A.K.A. event of the 2005 season.
Joint Top of the Billing at this event was Simon
Longden ( Brownbelt) and Graham Sayer (Blackbelt
- Instructor).
Simon Longden ( Pictured
right with the A.K.A. Belt ) captured the
British Welterweight Title, while Graham
Sayer made a mandatory defence of his
Middleweight Championship.
Also part of the Wolf-Pack Team were Brown Belt
Senior Student, Nathan Joyce and Blackbelt Instructor
John Glover. Both also won the
English Title in their respective weight categories.
Graham
made the Second defence of his English Middleweight
Title against James Cahill of
Halifax, his mandatory challenger and the current
England Ranked Number 2. Graham's
first defence just 2 months ago, an incredible
achievement.
Fantastic results
for Warrington Kickboxing Studio and a credit
to the Blackbelt Training System that we have
within the Okamido (Wolf-Style) Kickboxing system.
For further details on the Amateur Championships
visit:
www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February
: 20th 2005:
Super-Sayers 3rd Title Defence!
 Blackbelt
Instructor, Graham Sayer , the
current reigning English Middleweight Champion
travelled to Leeds for the 2nd A.K.A. event of
2005.
Here he made a 3rd succesfull defence of his
Title against Yorkshires Haq Hussein
of the Golden Bear Gym, winning by T.K.O. in round
3.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February :
26th 2005:
Blackbelt thats Deadlier than the Male!
 Paige
Farrington has trained at W.K.S. for
3 years now and is the 6th lady to achieve the
coveted Okamido Blackbelt.
A dedicated student, Paige is currently competing
in the amateur ranks and doing very well! Now
ranked #2 in England at featherweight, after narrowly
missing out on winning the Counties Championship
to Lisa Hackett of Leeds.
A leading title contender, we have no doubt that
Paige will be a Champion in the coming future!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March : 19th
2005: Lane
Lands English Title!
 Saturday
19th March was the date for the 3rd A.K.A. Amateur
Kickboxing event of the 2005 season.
A total of 14 matches were contested between
players from Altrincham, Bolton, Bristol, Leeds,
Manchester, Milton Keynes, Runcorn, Oldham and
Warrington.
Top of the bill saw
Andy Lane - Warrington
vs
Mike Jones - Bolton
for the English Light-Heavyweight Title.
This was only a brief contest, as Andy
Lane recorded a 1st round stoppage of
his opponent, defeating him with some rapid shin-kicks
to the legs.
For further details on the Amateur Championships
visit.-----www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April : 16th
2005:
Woods makes the Grade!
Mark Woods has trained at W.K.S.
for 3 years now and is the 24th person to achieve
the coveted Okamido Blackbelt.
A dedicated student, Mark
is competes rugulalry in amateur kickboxing matches
and is the current reigning Counties Light-Heavyweight
Champion, holding the ranked #1 position
in his division.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May
: 21st 2005: Warrington
Defend 3 Titles!
 On
Saturday 21st May 2005 the biggest A.K.A. event
of the year thus far was staged. A total of 30
Amateur Kickboxing matches contested between players
from Altrincham, Bolton, Bristol, Birmingham,
Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Runcorn, Oldham,
Oxford, Bury-St-Edmonds and Warrington.
This show saw some of Warringtons leading Kickboxers
making defences of their Championship Titles as
well as a new Champion joining our ranks.
Andy
Lane in Action...............
Craig Stevens
( Warrington ) contested the Vacant Counties Welterweight
Titles against Altrinchams Liam
Brown. This is the title formerly
held by Warringtons Andy Glover and Stevens win
was a great result - keeping the belt in Warrington.
Alex Maunder
( Warrington ) made a succesfull defence of her
Counties Middleweight Title against Leighs Emma
Jones.
Andy Lane
( Warrington ) continued his present form defending
his title against Bristols Scott
Wood and , winning by T.K.O. in
the first round - thats 4 straight T.K.O. wins
for Lane on the run.
Alex
gets her hand raised.......
 Top
of the bill saw Graham
Sayer( Warrington ) in the 4th
defence of his English Middleweight Title against
Wigans Chris Edwards.
Sayer again won by T.K.O. and is now hoping to
get a crack at the British Title in September.It
was a fantastic day, and with great results too
for
W A R R I N
G T O N !
Graham
Sayer sporting his Title Belt--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July : 23rd
2005:
Warrington's Rising Stars!
Saturday 23rd July 2005 was the date of the fifth
A.K.A. event of the year. This martial arts competition
featured players from Altrincham, Bristol, Bury
St-Edmunds, Widnes, Leeds, Leigh, Manchester,
Milton Keynes, Northwich, St.Helens, Widnes and
Warrington.
The event saw 50 players matchup for a total of
25 bouts, with A.K.A. Championship Titles contested
and defended. This was the final of 3 contests,
( March and May included), recently organised
by Warrington Kickboxing
Studio to raise monies towards
the N.S.P.C.C. and brings the total now raised
by the school for various childrens causes to
over £4’000.00.
Nine of our Kickboxers did extremly well. We
had four players make their debut, and on this
occasion we were particularly pleased to have
three of those being some of our ladies.
 We
were also very happy with Chris
Heath who’s win over Phil
Gibbs ( Altrincham ) and James
Young who’s win over Paul
Morton ( Manchester ). Both have
now broken into the 10 in the A.K.A. national
rankings for their weight categories.
Chris Heath,
a computer programmer, has now moved upto #5
in the Welterweight rankings
and James Young,
a Police officer, to number #6 in
the Cruiserweight category.
Further results for Warrington Kickboxers...
Debut ( 1st time ) John Lea ---------------Featherweight
------Win Points
Debut ( 1st time ) Lucie Stevenson ----Featherweight
-------Win Points
------------------------Phil
Williams ---------Welterweight
---------Win T.K.O.
------------------------Chris
Heath -----------Welterweight--------
Win T.K.O.
Debut ( 1st time ) Clare Robson ---------Middleweight
--------Win T.K.O.
Debut ( 1st time ) Clare Baldwin ---------Middleweight
--------Win T.K.O.
------------------------Robert
Elmer ----------
Middleweight-------- Win
Points
------------------------Dave
Murray -----------Cruiserweight
--------Win Points
------------------------James
Young ---------Cruiserweight
--------Win Points
For further details on the Kickboxing Championships
visit which includes action photos and a page
featuring video clips of certain contests that
you can view over the web - click
www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August
: 5th 2005:
Sayers 2nd Degree Success!
 The
2nd Degree Blackbelt is the 10th
and final grading exam in Okami-do Kickboxing.
This is the Instructors
Qualification and people that
pass the test wear the Instructor Insignia
RED BAND across their
Blackbelt - (see gradings
page).
Graham Sayer
was recently promoted to 2nd Degree Blackbelt,
after completing 12 months as an assistant Instructor.
During this time he was continually assessed on
various skills. These were teaching, refereeing,
cornerman work, free-sparring, padwork, defensive
skills, board breaking and 2 written tests.
After passing the above criteria, Graham
passed the final test of the 2nd Dan exam, the
‘20
man kumite’,
This was the toughest test faced so in his martial
arts carear. As well as being physically very
demanding, this is also a test of character, as
you need dig deep into your fighting spirit and
to have total focus to complete the task.
Over 40 minutes and with out abreak, Graham
faced 20 opponents,all of who’m were rested,
and were determined to push Sayer
beyond his limits. Graham's
all round martial arts skills and competition
experience helped carry him through the pain barrier,
and at the end of round 20, although exhausted,
Sayer
was more than pleased that his final test was
completed.
 Since
Graham,
first joined Warrington Kickboxing Studio he has
shown dedication and determination in all aspects
of his Okami-do Kickboxing training. Now, upon
passing his 2nd Dan, Graham
is receiving the rewards for his work. We are
very proud to have him as a leading member of
our school, as he is an inspiration to others
of what they too could achieve.
( Pictured
above and below Graham Sayer in Action!
)
 Sayer
is currently ranked #1 in the
A.K.A. National rankings at Middleweight. At present
he is the holder of the English title in what
is the most hotly contested division with many
talented kickboxers from across the country.
Grahams
competition achievements read very well indeed,
especially at championship level when he has represented
Warrington. As a Champion he remains undefeated
in 6 Title matches.
March -------2004
---Wins Counties
Title:- --opponent
: Martin Towey ( Wigan )
May ----------2004
---Wins English Title
:---- opponent: Keiron
Kelly ( Birmingham )
November -2004
---Defends English Title : opponent: Adeep
Khan ( Birmingham )
January ----2005
---Defends English Title : opponent: James
Cahill ( Halifax )
February ---2005
---Defends English Title : opponent: Haq
Hussein ( Leeds )
May ----------2005
---Defends English Title : opponent: Chris
Edwards ( Wigan )
Well done Mr Sayer!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release:
Title Challenge Confirmed!
 Its
On! Graham Sayer
( Warrington
), 5 times English Champion, will face defending
British Champion, Ben
Dukes ( Leeds
) for his British Middleweight Title. Also on
the line will be the Commonwealth title!
Dukes
is a very tricky customer, chosing to compete
in the Southpaw ( Right-Side Lead ) stance. He
has an excellent 1-2 Punch combination, and very
strong round kicks! He recently stopped his last
opponent early, and will be looking to repeat
that form again. Credit must be given to the confident
Champion for making his first defence in Warrington,
Sayer
though, is a determined player, and will be looking
to fly the flag for Warrington, as he did in February
when he himself succesfully defended his English
Title in Leeds. Graham,
who has never been stopped before, or ever taken
a count, will be looking to push Dukes to his
limits.
(Pict:
Sayer after a recent Title defence)
Two
prestigious titles on the line, (The British and
The Commonwealth), with two of the countries leading
Kickboxers ( Sayer
vs Dukes
) facing each other. This should make for some
awesome amateur action!
Tickets available from Monday 19th September,
for this event on Saturday 24th September 2005.
Drinks and Food available!
To see the challenge that Sayer
faces, you can view Ben
Dukes in action, capturing the
British Middleweight Title. Go to the following
link and chose the video page.
www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August : 20th
2005:
Fighting Fit at 40!
Congratulations to Paul Burrows, who
joins our four other succesful members
to recently join Warrington
Kickboxing's Blackbelt Ranks.
 Mark
Woods (April 2005)
Paige Farrington (February
2005)
Adam Giblin (October
2004)
Andy Glover (August
2004)
Michelle Preston (May
2004)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------(
Certificate + Blackbelt
)
 On
Saturday the 20th August, after several weeks
of serious preparation, Paul Burrows
finally gained his BLACKBELT
in 'OKAMI-DO' Wolf-style
KICKBOXING.
Paul Burrows has
trained at W.K.S.
for 5 years now and is the 25th
person to achieve the coveted Okamido Kickboxing
Blackbelt.
 A
dedicated student, Paul competes
on a regular basis. He has had 10 contests and
campaigns at Middleweight. In that division he
is ranked #23 in England.
A person is only as old as they feel and of particular
interest is Pauls age. He the
most senior person to ever take the Okamido Kickboxing
Blackbelt test, as he is 40!
 This
is a great credit to Paul. His
preparation was very thorough, training at the
Studio 3 times weekly and running 3 times weekly
on alternate days to his Kickboxing sessions.
Six times a week he has followed this specific
program for 3 months.
( Paul Burrows representing Warrington
against Nathan Royle
of Manchester )
 Paul
is fitter than many young men half his age, and
is a fine example that if you have a personal
aim and dedicate yourself to attaining that goal,
then you can achieve anything.
As a Martial Artisit, completing
the Blackbelt test is fantastic
news for the Student, but for aSchool it is also
an equal achievement, and we are very proud to
add Paul to our ranks.
Well done Mr Burrows!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept : 24th
2005:
Champion Performance!
Fantastic results for Warrington at Saturdays
( 24th Sept ) A.K.A. Championships.
Graham Sayer came through his
toughest test yet, with a points win over the
defending British Middleweight Champion Ben
Dukes.
Ben hails from the very respectable
Bad Company Muaythai gym in Leeds, a school that
is currently having some impressive wins internationally
in Italy, Thailand and Japan!
 
Sayer on the charge!
An exceptional win for Graham
and for Warrington
Kickboxing Studio further
confirming our leading reputation for excellence
on the national circuit.--Sayer
now holds the British and Commonwealth
Middleweight Titles!
 Also
competing at the weekend, Warrington’s Lee
Sanderson made a mandatory defence of
his Cruiserweight Counties Title. The Champion
was in good form and defeated his opponent, Sean
Wiggins ( Bury-St-Edmunds ) by T.K.O.
in round 2. Lee is now being
lined up to contest the English Championship belt.
Rising star, Chris Heath, faced
a step up in opposition, when he was matched against
Richard Gent ( Bury-St-Edmunds),
a former British Title contender. This was for
the Counties Welterweight title, recently made
vacant by mandatory decision after the holder
failed on two opportunities to make a defence.
A great match saw Chris again
with his hands raised after getting a points win!
( Photo:True Sportsmanship
as the challenger becomes the NEW Champion! )
Congratulations to other Warrington Kickboxers
that also won their matches!
-----------------------Sean
Moran ----Welterweight
----Win Points
-----------------------Kit
Wong --------Welterweight
----Win Points
-----------------------Clare
Robson -Middleweight
----Win Points
-----------------------Robert
Elmer --Middleweight
---- Win Points
Full report, and photos online at
www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oct : 22nd
2005:
Morley Makes the Grade!
Congratulations to Andy Morley, who
joins our Six other succesful members
to recently join Warrington
Kickboxing's Blackbelt Ranks.
Paul Burrows (August
2005)
Mark Woods (April
2005)
Paige Farrington (February
2005)
Adam Giblin (October
2004)
Andy Glover (August
2004)
Michelle Preston (May
2004)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------(
Pict : Certificate + Blackbelt
)--
On Saturday the 22nd October, after
several weeks of serious preparation, Andy
Morley finally gained his BLACKBELT
in 'OKAMI-DO' Wolf-style
KICKBOXING.
 This
was a very
intense,
four hour examination, and Andy
demonstrated very impressive skills in striking
with Kicks, Punches, Knees, Elbows and Open Palm
Strikes through explosive padwork drills.
He also passed tests in several
other areas including sprint-running 3 Kilometers,
first aid,basic teaching skills and principles,
referee and cornering skills, Showing basic weight
training exercises using the bench, dumbells and
barbell as well as sitting a written exam.--
 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------Following
all of this Andy then went onto
Kumite (Sparring) ,
5
x 3 minute rounds FULL ORIENTAL RULES,
which allows Kicks, Punches, Knees & Elbows!
Finally to complete his
Blackbelt examination Andy
had to demonstrate the power generated with certain
strikes that could possibly be used in a self-defence
situation. One Strike Knockout techniques that
have to be full-contact and aimed at specific
vunerable points of the body, like the Temple,
Jaw line, Nose, and Neck.
------------------------
 This
he did with Board Breaking, (10
Boards with 10 different techniques!).
Breaking boards with Punches, Knees, Elbows, Open
Palm Strikes ( Chopping Blows - Knife Hand Technique)
and Shin-Kicks.---------------------
Andy Morley has
trained at W.K.S.
for 4years now and is the 26th
person to achieve the coveted Okamido Kickboxing
Blackbelt.
 A
dedicated student, Andy competes
on a regular basis. He has had 12 contests, and
campaigns at Light-Heavyweight. In that division
he is ranked #5
in England and is hoping to soon get his first
title challenge.
Taking the Blackbelt test in any
martial arts style
( Karate / Taekwondo / Judo ) at that age is an
achievment, let alone the Okamido Kickboxing
Blackbelt, which is a very physically
demanding exam!
( Andy Morley competing )------
 This
is a great credit to Andy. His
preparation wasvery thorough, training at the
Studio 3 times weekly and running 3 times weekly
on alternate days to his Kickboxing sessions.
As a Martial Artist, completing the Blackbelt
test is fantastic news for the Student, but for
a School it is also an equal achievement, and
we are very proud to add Andy
to our ranks.
Well done Mr Morley!
Also moving through the belt ranks, we had Robert
Elmer pass the Brown Belt, as well as
Paul Quayle and police officer
James Young both pass their Advanced
Brown Grade. All three are possible Blackbelt
candidates for 2006, well done!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release:
European Title Challenge!
 
Warringtons Graham Sayer,( Top
Left ), one of Englands leading Kickboxers, and
the current British and Commonwealth Middleweight
Champion, will feature in a contest against
Dutch Kickboxer Arthur Boerjan,
( Top Right ), in an
England
vs Holland
International contest
for the
A.K.A.
European Middleweight Title.
( Pictured above the prestigious
European Title Belt ).
Warrington Kickboxing will also
be fielding a squad on this show which, as well
as novice and intermediate level kickboxers, will
also include some of our Champions making title
defences.
Chris Heath, will be looking
to defend his Counties Welterweight belt, as too
will Andy Lane be looking to
defend his English Light-Heavyweight title for
the second time.
Lee Sanderson, the current Cruiserweight
counties champion who has made 2 succesfull defences
already, wil be hoping to step up a level and
contest the English Title.
Tickets will be for on sale from Monday 31st
October for this daytime show that will be staged
at Woolston Leisure Centre on Saturday 12th November
2005 - ( Starts at 2pm ).
Keep visiting this site for the latest updates!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov:12th 2005:
The New Champion of Europe!
Warringtons Graham Sayer ( England
), defeated Arthur Boerjan (
Holland
) for the European Middleweight Title.
Audience and Athletes upstanding for the National
Anthem of Holland and Great Britiain.
 
Graham Sayer
- Warrington ( Red / White + Black )
Arthur
Boerjan - Holland ( Blue &
Gold European colours )
Graham Sayer - Searching looking
to connect with a High-Kick!
Graham Sayer, A.K.A.
European Middleweight Champion
wearing the Blue+Gold (European Colours) Championship
belt!
This was a great event, further showing how the
Okamido ( Wolf-Style ) Kickboxing
System works at the highest level. Our blackbelt
system, is the system of Champions!
Well Done to Graham Sayer -
2nd Degree Blackbelt Okamido ( Wolf-Style ) Kickboxing,
the New European
Middleweight Champion!
This is not to overshadow our other rising stars
that also need a mention. Chris Heath
who has been moving up through the rankings this
year, like a true Champion made a successful defence
of his Welterweight Counties Title against Paul
Pemnant of Bury St Edmunds - ( Chris in
action below ).
Other Winners from
Warrington Kickboxing
Studio were...
James Young - Cruiserweight
Mark O'Brian - Cruiserweight
Danny Keenan - Lightheavyweight
Robert Elmer - Middleweight
Kit Wong - Welterweight
Kirsty Hudson - Welterweight
Kyle Scott - Featherweight
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release:
Winner - Schools League 2005
2005 was the most successfull year to date for
Warrington Kickboxing
Studio on the national Amateur
circuit. Last season Warrington finish a proud
2nd in the Schools league Championships,
to arch rivals Birmingham
( click 2004
- News Archives ).
This season saw Warrington
Kickboxing Studio better its 2004
ranking, taking the number one slot and the 2005
Schools League Championship. The following
is the TOP 5 schools in England.
Other Schools that have competed during the 2005
season but are not in the top 5 of the leaderboard
are ( In alphabetical order ) Bolton,
Bristol, Bury-St-Edmunds, Halifax, Knutsford,
Liverpool, Northwich, Oldham, Oxford, St Helens,
Widnes, and Wigan. A
top 5 ranking is a good achievement. But finishing
in 1st position is great news
considering there were a total of 17
areas represented.
--------------------1---------------WARRINGTON
--------------------2---------------MILTON
KEYNES
--------------------3-(Joint)-----MANCHESTER
--------------------3-(Joint)-----LEIGH
-------
------------3-(Joint)-----LEEDS
--------------------4---------------BIRMINGHAM
--------------------5---------------ALTRINCHAM
This is due to the dedication and commitment
of Warringtons Instructors Neil
Holden,
Craig Booth and Mark
Matthews as well as the fantastic
results of the students, not only winning the
championships but defending the titles no fewer
than seven times, against opposition
fom across England. During the 2005 season our
members racked up the following impressive results!
Simon Longden ( Warrington
) defeated Dave Armstrong ( Knutsford
) for the British Welterweight Title.
John Glover ( Warrington
) defeated Nick Taylor ( Altrincham
) for the English Lightweight title.
Lee Sanderson ( Warrington
) made a succesfull defence of his Counties Cruiserweight
belt against Sean Wiggins ( Bury
St Edmunds ).
Graham Sayer ( Warrington
) succesfully defended his English title no fewer
than 3 times, against James Cahill
( Halifax
), Haq Hussein ( Leeds
), and Chris Edwards ( Leigh
).
Alex Maunder
( Warrington
) made a succesfull defence of her Counties Middleweight
belt against Emma
Jones ( Leigh
).
Chris Heath ( Warrington
) defeated Richard Gent ( Bury
St Edmunds ) for the Counties
Welterweight title and then made a succesfull
defence against Paul Leczyki
( Bury St Edmunds
).
Andy Lane ( Warrington
) defeated Mike Jones ( Bolton
) to capture the English Light-Heavyweight title,
and then made a succesful mandatory defence of
the title against Scott Wood
( Bristol
).
Topping the year for Warrington, were Graham
Sayers last two contests.
He vacated his English Title to challenge the
British Middleweight Champion Ben Dukes
( Leeds
). This was also for the Commonwealth Title and
Graham won this contest on points.
An opportunity then came for Graham
to represent his country and challenge for the
European Middleweight title against Arthur
Boerjan ( Holland
).
This saw Graham defeat the
Dutchman inside of 3 rounds to finish the year
as the new European
Middleweight Champion, and thus
securing Warringtons
position as the Leading school in England
for 2005.
To view in more detail the complete
updated national
rankings click...
www.aka-england.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 17th:
Senior Grades Passed!
 Congratuations
to all of those that succesfully Graded on Saturday
(17th). Especially to the three
new senior ranks.
Everyone was very impressive in their tests.
Wether they were demonstrating exercise drills,
use of equipment, or pad drills using kicks, punches
knees and elbows.
The advanced kicking was very good too, along
with the free-sparring and board breaking.
Brown Belts were achieved by Clare Robson
and Phil Williams, with the Advanced-Brown
Belt, the final test before the coveted Blackbelt,
being passed by Chris Heath (
Currently one of Warringtons Champions at Welterweight
). Hopefully Chris will be able
to attempt the Blackbelt sometime in 2006.
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