Kevin is pictured with his certificate in the appliance bay at Broughton Fire Station
13 June 2008
One of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s firefighters has achieved the highest award in kickboxing. Firefighter Kevin Hancock, a member of the retained duty system at Broughton Fire Station, attained his black belt earlier this year.
Kevin, a member of the Realistic Self Defence Association based in Newport Pagnell, took up kickboxing three and a half years ago. Achieving black belt status usually takes four years or more, but Kevin took to the sport quickly, skipping a grade to reach the top level at a faster rate.
Training three times a week, Kevin was assessed in several different skills to pass the level including kicking, sparring, body mobility, focus, set moves and sparring against the instructor.
He also has taken part in many competitions and demonstrations in the local area, and with the RSDA, Kevin has the opportunity to learn other martial art disciplines such as Thai boxing with every third training session being an alternative technique to kickboxing.
Kevin has been a Retained Duty System firefighter with Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service since 1983 and works as full time firefighter with Bicester Ministry of Defence.
He originally took up kickboxing as support to a friend. “My friend was really keen to take the sport up so I joined too. I enjoyed it and continued and my friend has now taken yoga up instead,” said Kevin.
Despite suffering black eyes, several cuts to the nose and swollen legs Kevin still enjoys the sport and is looking to the next level, which will be to attain his Instructors Belt.
The Realistic Self Defence Association provides a wide variety of martial arts training programmes which incorporate both physical and non-physical skills.
The association provide a unique blend of both traditional martial arts and modern day training programmes including Kickboxing, Modern Combat, and Wing Chun, which are specifically tailored towards the respective student. For more information visit their website at http://www.rsda.org.uk/.