“Combat Kickboxing Academy” (CKA) is a family run club with all members of the family training, and Peter Dunnett’s eldest son, Lewis, achieved his 1st Dan Blackbelt at the age of eleven and he is also a 1st Dan Kickboxer with over 20 fights. Peter’s wife Mandy, is also C.R.B checked, First Aided and Child Protection registered. The club also runs First Aid courses for all members.
2008 is the 4th year of the CKA and they are now training for five nights each week plus competing in venues all around the country from Nottingham and Birmingham in the North, including Kent and Surrey in the South and to Reading out to the West.
They can now boast 25, yes TWENTY FIVE recognised title holders, and that means 25 CHAMPIONS !! All three of Peters sons are British and English title holders with Lewis being the International Sports Kickboxing Association (ISKA) gold medalist and all of the other Champions are "kids" under 16 who live in or around Walsham. Another 3 titles are held between them by two adults. And lets not forget the yougest title holder who is only 7 years old and fought three rounds in an 18 foot square boxing ring in front of 700 fans, and this was in Surrey !!
Many of these title holders have been challenged for their titles and they have successfully defended them thereby further proving their skills. At the recent ISKA British Championships the CKA came away with 4 GOLD Medals, 1 SILVER and 1 BRONZE and 4 fourth places as well as being placed as the winning club of the day which you can see was a very impressive achievement.
The next goal is the Great Britain Qualifiers which take place in Stourbridge (Birmingham!) in March where if they achieve their expected results they will be travelling with the GB squad to The Czech Republic and this should include NINE title holders who actually live in Walsham. Children are taken for training from the age of 5 and they also include some with various learning difficulties such as ADHD where their parents have had nothing but praise for their progress and many say that their behaviour has definitely improved. Added to that is the fact that they are in partnership with councils who help out under-privilaged children in the area.
Peter has had over fifteen years experience in Karate and Kickboxing with over twenty five fights under his belt! He holds titles in both arts, and he has also represented England fighting Full Contact against Norway and, as well as Kickboxing, Peter teaches self defence, groundwork and street techniques. He caters for the student who just wishes to train for fitness, confidence or small competitions, right up to the student who wishes to compete at a higher level and take part in larger shows, hosted by some of the top promoters in the country.
Peter ensures that all students have full safety equipment when training, and with over two hundred students at the present time he feels that his hard work has been rewarded by the excellent standard of his students. He runs all of his classes himself including the two held here in Walsham every Wednesday evening, and he also runs similar classes in four other local villages where all of his gyms have a fully matted area, hanging punch bags, uppercut bags, floor to ceiling balls, a free-standing numbered punch bag, crash mats, kick shields and focus pads. They also have a 16 foot square kickboxing ring and they do not just train for competition but they also train for general fitness, weight loss, social fun etc.
During 2007 Peter and his wife organised and ran a summer camp where they actually hired 21 caravans for a three day break that was attended by over 150 parents and members. Yet another activity involves inviting up to 3 other clubs to "light continous" (fight) each other with the last one involving 57 fights (114 competitors!) with over 200 spectators and including music, refreshments and their own MC.
Peter is S.A.F.E. registered, Child protection registered with the Amateur Martial Association, C.R.B. checked and fully First Aided. The classes have now been running in Walsham for the last few years and they are very well attended, and all of the equipment has been thoroughly checked prior to Peter receiving his Coaching award when he was congratulated on his extremely high standards, and how well the club was run as a whole, and what an excellent environment for young people to train in.
