Tyler Atkin - champion kickboxer

In July we announced that the Old Bostonian Association would be sponsoring BGS student, Tyler Atkin in support of his participation in the England team at the 2015 WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships held in Germany this month. We are very pleased to hear that Tyler has brought home the gold medal for being placed first in his category at the championships.

As a condition of the sponsorship we asked Tyler to write a report of his experiences. Here is Tyler's report.

My WFMC journey

Day 1: Today I woke up at 12 o’clock in the morning, as we needed to travel 3 hours to Manchester airport. We arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the morning and we had to wait for Wayne (the coach) and the rest of the team. Once Wayne arrived, we all got our team kit, which was white with red stripes. One we had got our kit, we got changed into it. As soon as everyone had finished, we proceeded through the airport and on to the plane. 

The plane journey was meant to be around about 1 hour and forty-five minutes. However we managed to get there twenty minutes ahead of schedule, so we had to wait outside for Frank the bus driver to take us to the hotel. We ended up spending about an hour on the bus, and we arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the evening. When we got to the hotel, we went inside and got our keys. We went into our designated rooms and unpacked. When we had finished, we had to chill until 6 o’clock. I had nothing to do, so I threw on some shorts and a tank top and went into the hotel gym. I spent about an hour in there and then I went back up, so that I could have a shower and change into something nice. 

We went down for dinner and we saw an all you can eat buffet. I couldn’t eat too much though, as I wanted to make it under 40 kg tomorrow. So I ended up having a salad and some meat. I then went back up and started watching Netflix. Shortly, Richard (my step-dad) came upstairs and we all fell asleep. 

Day 2: Today I woke up at about 8 o’clock and I got changed into my team kit. Today was weigh-ins, and I was hoping to get in under 40kg. I went down for breakfast and then Wayne said we had to be downstairs for 9 o’clock. I went upstairs, grabbed some stuff and went down. We had to order 3 taxis, so that we could all go at once. We got there and had to wait outside for about ten minutes. We then went inside and got some forms to fill in. I went upstairs to weigh myself and I was 38.8kg, so I had made weight. I then gave my form in and we went home. There wasn’t much to do, so I went on Facebook until it was dinner time. When it was dinner time, I went upstairs and put loads and loads of salad on my plate. At this point I allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted, as I didn’t have to watch my weight anymore. 

After dinner, I went upstairs and went to bed… 

Day 3: Today was the big day!!! I woke up early, so that I could get some breakfast and get a taxi to the event. When we got there, we found a place to put our bags and sat down. 

Not long after I sat down, I was asked to stand up and walk somewhere. I was given a Switzerland flag and was to walk through a crowd when I heard the person say Switzerland, this was part of the opening ceremony and signified the joining together of the countries. I did as instructed and stood there for a while. Soon after I was told to give the flag back and I went back to our team. I went and got changed and waited for my fight to be called. When it did I went into the ring and fought. I caught my opponent in the tummy with a front kick which made him sick and wasn’t able to continue, so I won. I got changed back into my team kit and waited for the rest of our team to fight. Once everyone had finished, we all went back to the hotel and had some dinner. After that we all went upstairs and got some sleep for the final tomorrow. 

Day 4: I had been waiting for this day my whole life!!! I repeated my usual morning pattern and got a taxi to the venue. We all waited for the ending ceremony to end. Once it did, I went upstairs and got changed into my fight kit. I heard my fight get called and I went in the ring. I was nervous, however slightly confident. I heard the bell ring and went straight into competition mode. Me and this other boy went all two rounds, he was a very tough world class opponent but fortunately I won by decision. I collected my medal and certificate and went to the hotel. When I got back I went to the dining room and stuffed my face with food. We were all very tired, so after dinner we went bowling and went to bed. 

Day 5: Today we went back home and flew from Dusseldorf. One of the fighter’s dad’s picked us up from Manchester and took u all home… 

Here is the link to my fight.