Category Archives: news

This Category identifies all generic news about the club

CUKBS wins Varsity Kickboxing 2014

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Varsity2014It is with great pride and pleasure that I can announce that on Saturday 8 March the Cambridge University Kickboxing Society (CUKBS) won, once more and for the 4th consecutive time, the Varsity Kickboxing tournament against Oxford University Kickboxing.

We will add details about the individual fights at a later stage but I feel it is  important to write this little post just to officially state our victory, already strongly celebrated on Facebook.

Congratulations to all fighters Anna, Francesca, Prithvi, Tim, Raz, Dom and Kostas that all contributed to this victory. A great thank you to all members of CUKBS, ARUKBC and CARISMA which helped with training and preparation for these fighters.  A super special thanks goes also to Duncan, Georgios, James and Jarek which all helped and contributed, with their expertise and efforts, to train and prepare these fighters. Videos and further information about the fights will follow in due course.

News about the Beginners Course October 2013

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busyclassWe had an amazing success and nearly 20 new people joined last night,Tuesday 22 October 2013, and we can easily state we are now at saturation point.  While the beginners course will continue as usual for the next 3 consecutive Tuesday and Thursday classes (e.g. 24, 29, 31) we cannot accept any more people until next order. October is notoriously a very busy month but this time we exceeded our expectations.  Depending on how things go we might have a beginners course in November but, more likey, in January.

Please notice: you must join the beginners’ course just if you are a total beginnner. Any previous experience in striking martial arts (kickboxing, muai thai, karate, tae kwon do, kung fu, etc…) is appreciated and will allow you to join without going through the beginners’ course. Please get in touch with us if in doubt.

If you’d like to check our prices please look at this page. Please notice that Kelsey Kerridge charges a day entry to every non member entering their premises.

Three wins for CARISMA at the Suffolk Combat – September 2013

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20130915_134104On Sunday 15 September 8 CARISMA fighters attended the Suffolk Combat event organised by Pete Dunnett of CKA and managed to secure 3 first places.

Here a short description of each fight:

  • Kostas Ziovas, member of the Cambridge University Kickboxing Society – CUKBS – on his third fight, was the first fighter from CARISMA being on the ring and despite a good combination of alternated punches and kicks was defeated by just one point.
  • Alex Kravetz, also at his third fight, managed to deliver some good combinations of punches and kick and securing the first win of the day albeit by one point.
  • Natasha Taylor, on her second fight, was definitely affected by nerves and not performing as we have seen her in the past.  Facing a very aggressive and pushing opponent she managed to use a variety of accurate punches and kicks to score repeatedly and secure the second win of the day.
  • Nina Street, at her first fight and with just 3 months of experience in kickboxing, managed to deliver a very good fight with variety of combinations of effective punches and kicks but she was defeated by a slightly more experienced opponent.
  • Lukasz Siobisz, at his first fight, showed a good repertoire of kicks and punches but was defeated by a slightly more skilled opponent who managed to score more.
  • Max Larkinson, at his first fight, delivered a great show with very good combinations of well alternated punches and kicks, interleaved with great foot work and accurate timing.  He secured and obvious third first for the day.
  • Jarek Rzepecki, at his second official fight despite his long experience in martial arts, delivered a good fight with the broadest variety of techniques seen on the day.  Despite what it looked as an obvious win he was defeated by judges’ decision.
  • Raz Jabary, member of CUKBS – on his second fight and following a recent injury, delivered a very good fight with some powerful combinations of kicks and punches.  Despite the initial recommendations of strictly enforced Light Contact style the referee allowed a level of contact that was way out of our expectations and Raz, somehow confused, kept fighting with a level of pressure that was just not enough to keep his opponent at bay.

A successful career in fighting sport must start somewhere and small regional tournaments are the right environment for building experience from scratch, while ensuring safety and reasonably fair judging.  We thank Pete Dunnett and his team for another well delivered event.  Videos of the fights will be available soon.

CARISMA running a demonstration for PACT Summer Event 2013

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2013-06-22 12.14.36Last Saturday 22 June 2013 PACT was running their traditional Summer Event and CARISMA helped entertaining some of their guests with a demonstration of kickboxing, multicombat and self defence. The weather was not helping a great deal and it rained, even if just a few minutes. The grass was slippery and uneven so we practiced with shoes but it went very well. Big thank you to Natasha, Simone, Tim and Jarek that offered their time and expertise for this demo.  We also have a video of the event that will be published soon.

pact-logo-bannerPetersfield Area Community Trust (PACT) was founded in 1997 and aims to organise supportive structures to foster local community spirit in the Petersfield area of Cambridge. We are a forum which seeks to further the interests of residents and to fulfill community needs. As Salus Wellness is located in the heart of Petersfield we are more than happy of getting involved and helping PACT in any way we can.

CARISMA secures two National Champions at the ICO National tournament

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(L to R) Luca, Phil, Charlie, Ollie, Alex and Massimo

(L to R) Luca, Phil, Charlie, Ollie, Alex and Massimo

Glorious day for CARISMA on Sunday 14 April, at the ICO National Kickboxing tournament organised by Peter Dunnett of CKA in Bury St.Edmunds.  CARISMA secured, with five of our athletes taking part in the tournament, two national titles (Olaoluwakitan “Ollie” Osunkunle and Luca Senatore), and 2 second places (Phil Richardson and Charlie Gilmour).

Phil Richardson, category men -70Kg, (part of Cambridge University Kickboxing Society  CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2012 that won against Oxford on 2nd of May) fought the final with his usual rich arsenal of punches and kicks but could not avoid being hit several times by an opponent with very fast legs, securing a second place.

Charlie Gilmour, category men -75Kg, (also part of CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2012) did a very good fight, against an opponent that on paper looked very good but resourced to simple combinations of simple kicks and punches.  After an initial draw the judges decided to have an extra 30 second-round where  Charlie’s opponent managed to play that extra bit to secure a victory leaving Charlie with another second place for the day.

Ollie Osunkunle, category men -85Kg, (also part of CUKBS and member of the Varsity team 2008, 2011 and 2012) fought the semifinal against a tough opponent, who was convinced that blocking punches with his head was a good idea.  Despite Ollie’s very controlled techniques his opponent felt dizzy after a few strikes and the referee penalized Ollie with a point deduction for excess of contact… Despite the disadvantage Ollie secured this first victory and went on to fight the final.  In the final Ollie demonstrated a great level of control of the ring together with a broad variety of techniques applied at different ranges.  He totally annihilated his opponent, who had to be stand counted twice during the fight, and secured the first belt for the day.

Alex Kravetz, category men -90Kg, with just 6 months experience in kickboxing and at his first external fight, fought the semifinal with good technique but his lack of experience allowed his opponent to secure the victory.

Luca Senatore, category veteran men 80+Kg, the most experienced CARISMA fighter at this tournament, went straight into the final against a very heavy handed opponent whose strategy was to pin Luca against the ropes and punch him.  Luca showing great foot work and evasive strategies managed to score endless times with both punches and kicks, achieving an undisputed second victory and belt.

Once more CARISMA has demonstrated that good technique and strategic work, combined with regular and consistent training, keeps delivering great results and this event is there to prove it.

Videos of the event will follow in due course.