Wayne Otto OBE 5th Dan, nine times World Karate Champion and Kent alumni, returned with his international team of elite karate instructors for the second annual Ultimate Karate Boot Camp.
For the first weekend of August, nearly 100 karate athletes joined the Boot Camp to benefit from the instructor team’s vast experience and expertise. The Boot Camp focuses on athletes with experience at national or international level competitions, and teaches fitness and conditioning, training drills and routines, attacking and defensive techniques, fighting scenarios and strategies and so much more.
Along with Wayne Otto, the instructors include an impressive team; Elisa Au Fonesca 5th Dan and Alex Biamonti 5th Dan; Raik Tietze, World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and Plyometric and Cross Trainer Expert; Greg Francis, World Champion Silver medalist; Albert Foresythe, Sprint Trainer and England International; and Tarek Amin, Mental Trainer Coach.
Graham Holmes, Director of Sport at Kent said, “Kent Sport is delighted to see this international event building on the success of the first year. The sport facilities and campus provide an ideal setting for the Boot Camp and we are proud to partner with Wayne Otto and his team to provide this opportunity for aspiring athletes from the University and all over the world.“
Two Kent Sport scholars, Jasmine Pomeroy and Rebecca Barton-Hagger participated in the Boot Camp. Jasmine said, “The Ultimate Karate fighters Boot camp was yet again an amazing experience. Being able to learn from and train with world-class coaches and competitors is extremely influential making each session inspiring, rewarding and very hard work. I definitely learnt a huge amount in a very short space of time, which will help me going forward. Bring on next year!”
Rebecca Barton-Hagger described her experience, “The Boot Camp for me was incredible – despite the hard work and long days, the atmosphere was electric and kept me buzzing for the whole weekend! There was always something to look forward to from perfecting our “bread and butter” techniques to learning brand new throws, combinations and take downs. I have the World Championships coming up in November this year, and I feel like the weekend has taught me how to adapt and use my newly increased repertoire more effectively. I feel like my judgement, timing and tactics have improved ten fold and I’m looking forward to putting everything into practice before the Worlds.”
The next Ultimate Karate Fighters Boot Camp will be Friday 29 to Sunday 31 July 2016, for details visit www.kent.ac.uk/sports/karatecamp. In the meantime, see The Ultimate Karate Boot Camp Facebook page for videos and photos of the 2015 event.