Ljay’s host kickboxing competition

FAMILY run Kickboxing club LJay’s Elite Martial Arts held their first ever kickboxing competition recently in the Kilnamanagh Family Recreation Centre.

Called ‘The Way of The Warrior’ the event attracted clubs from all over the country to compete and over 40 fights took place with competitors from various different ages as well as skill levels competing and representing themselves and their clubs.

LJay’s Elite Martial Arts has been a presence in Kilnamanagh for over a decade now. Run by Lorraine Riddell as head coach alongside her sons.

This was the first time that they had ever held a show anywhere near the scale of The Way of the Warrior and the event was unique as it showcased those who were fighting for perhaps the first time along with National Elite level fights and fighters towards the end of the evening.

Lorraine’s eldest son Jake is a head coach in the club and an accomplished fighter in his own right representing Ireland in numerous international tournaments and picking up various accolades along the way.

He highlighted the magnitude of holding the show in Kilnamanagh and the benefit that the participants hopefully gained from getting involved.

“I’ve been training in kickboxing for nearly 25 years now and I’ve never been able to fight on a show like that in Kilnamanagh or in Tallaght.

‘I’ve fought on shows all around the world and I’ve brought friends and family with me but I’ve never been able to do it here.

‘I wasn’t competing on this show because I was running it but that was a big thing for me.

‘As a kid starting out I would’ve loved to be able to show people and perform. Especially for a sport like kickboxing which isn’t as mainstream or visible as team sports or boxing.”

“Learning is way more valuable than the result. You can be beaten and learn so much whether it’s kickboxing related or it’s about yourself.

‘There were fighters that went home and learned a lot about themselves. Maybe they were braver than they thought they were or maybe in a kickboxing sense about techniques etc. That’s what kickboxing is about, improving, becoming better and challenging yourself.”

“I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am now without kickboxing and I am speaking for my brothers as well as myself saying that.

‘Kickboxing might not be the way that all people get there but that can happen, facing a challenge can lead to you becoming more resilient and stronger in yourself.”

Overall the event was a massive success with the club hoping to organise a similar event next year, in the meantime the club’s next important date on the calendar will be in two weekends time as members travel to the United Kingdom to take part in the Bristol Open from October 17th -19th, the competition is one of the biggest kickboxing events in the U.K.