NEWS

TUESDAY 24TH MARCH 2020

*** Important Membership Information ***

Dear USKA Fight Factory Student, Parent, Guardian,

Thank you for those of you who have sent messages of support and best wishes at this difficult and testing time for all of us.

Following the Governments latest announcement yesterday evening it is very much looking like this thing could drag out much longer than first expected.

We were hoping it was going to be a matter of weeks before we could get back to training but it looks more now like we are looking at months.

With this in mind we have an important update regarding training fees in particular those that have been set up using our GoCardless service provider.

After contacting GoCardless given this unprecedented situation they have given us the facility to effectively freeze people's payments by zeroing their monthly fees.

By doing this rather than cancelling it will make it much easier to reinstate the subscriptions without having to set up new links once we have been given the all clear to resume training should that be the option that people want to take at the time.

By the end of today everyone's payment plans will be set to £0.00 meaning no further payments will be collected until further notice.

We will endeavour to still bring you content on our USKA Fight Factory TV Facebook page but given that we do not have access now to the gym or the ability for our instructors to meet this too could become difficult. We will do what we are able to do.

Until we see you all again please stay home, stay safe and stay healthy.

Kind regards,

USKA Fight Factory

SATURDAY 21ST MARCH 2020

USKA FIGHT FACTORY TV

We have now set up the new USKA Fight Factory TV Group which offers exclusive online video content to all of our members who are currently signed up to one of our pre-paid payment plans.
With the current Coronavirus Pandemic happening now and our inability to offer physical classes at the moment we will be bringing to you on here Training Tip Videos, Interviews, Live sessions, Fight Videos, Seminars and Grading Practice Videos.

Currently there are almost 20 videos on there and more being added daily with our first live session being broadcast on Monday 23rd March at 3pm.

The good news is that this group and service will also continue when normal service resumes meaning it will be a great addition and tool for you to improve your martial arts training in the future.

If you are a current member of the USKA Fight Factory please join the USKA Fight Factory TV group and getting working on some of the drills that will keep you ticking over.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2020

***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT***

Important USKA Fight Factory Announcement Regarding Coronavirus Pandemic.

With these uncertain and testing times regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic we have sadly made the decision at the USKA Fight Factory to close our classes provisionally for two weeks as from this evening Wednesday 18th March.
The climate will will be closely monitored over this time to see when it is safe to re-open which we very much hope is not too long appreciating that USKA is a big part of many of your lives as it is ours.
When it is safe to re-open we will make announcements on our Website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

Knowing that your training is a big part of your weekly routine we are exploring the possibility of putting together some Members Only video training drills and live online classes for you guys to be getting on with at home to tick over if it looks like we will be off for a prolonged period.
With this in mind we ask that you show continued support for your club my keeping your memberships active at this time and not cancelling your GoCardless accounts.

If you have any queries or need additional information please feel free to contact us at neilfex1@aol.com or phone 07815785661.

Thank you all for your continued support which as a club we will very much need at the moment if we are to come through and continue operating once this has run it's course.

For now, please all stay safe and stay healthy and we look forward to catching up with you all real soon... Osu!

SUNDAY 15TH MARCH 2020

Another 17 USKA Female Division students earned their next belts today following their 3 hour grading examination at the USKA Fight Factory.
Examiners Ruqayya Griffith and Lucy Kings-Wheatley fresh off their own USKA Black Belt examination yesterday put the girl through their paces with grades being contested from Red, White, Yellow and Green Belt.

Well done to all the girls who successfully made the grade especially our Star A Grader Serena Khan who gained her Red Belt with a fantastic pass mark of 97% / A.

SATURDAY 14TH MARCH 2020

A monster Grading today at the USKA Fight Factory seen 72 new grades awarded across 9 different coloured belts.

With so many people grading, time on the mats totalled over 8 hours including the compulsory warm up class at the start of the days proceedings.

We had our Female Division instructors Ruqayya Griffith and Lucy Kings-Wheatley pass their USKA Black Belts after over 9 years of training with Ruqayya attaining a B+ score of 89% and Lucy attaining a straight A score of 98% in front of USKA Chief Instructor Neil Kelly and ICO World president Andrew Hennessy who acted as grading examiners.
Well done to both girls on amazing performances and two truly deserved passes.
Special mentions to our other A star graders Isabelle Brookes (93 / A- Red Belt), Ugnius Siupinis (93 / A- Red Belt), Muhammad Sami (91 / A- Red Belt), Abdul Ahad (96 / A White Belt), Sami Kelly (91 / A- Blue Belt) and Shakeel Hussain (93 / A- Jnr Brown Belt).

Grades are definitely not given and have to be earned at USKA so a big well done to everyone who reached the bar this time around.

FRIDAY 13TH MARCH 2020

Big day tomorrow for our Female Division when our two Instructors Ruqayya Griffith and Lucy Kings-Wheatley both attempt their USKA Black Belts.
After over 9 years of training more often than not up to 6 times a week both girls are feeling confident and ready to do themselves proud and turn in performances worthy to have them inducted into the very exclusive USKA Black Belt club.
We wish them the very best of luck on their grading and have every confidence that they will nail it after all the hard work they have put in.

FRIDAY 13TH MARCH 2020

Due to the present situation regarding the Coronavirus we think it is only sensible to take the following precautions in attempt to keep the USKA gym as sanitised and safe as possible while still closely listening to Government and Health officials advice and guidance in the course of the next few weeks.

First and foremost anyone who is not feeling well should not attend the gym in particular if they have a cough, high temperatures or shortness of breath.
If anyone in your household is experiencing these same symptoms it is probably also a good idea to not come to the gym just in case.

For the time being we will not be using the gyms shared focus pads. We will work around our training with alternative drills.
There will also be no shared use gloves available at the gym, you have to choice of either purchasing your own or abstaining from those classes that you would need them on for the immediate future.

Hand washing.... Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water in the gym before the start of the class and before you leave is a must and compulsory for anyone who wishes to train.

Be sure to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or if not possible your sleeve when you sneeze or cough then repeat the hand washing procedure.

Any future changes to classes and events at the USKA Fight Factory will be posted both here on our social media and also our website at www.uskakickboxing.co.uk

Many thanks for your cooperation with all of this above at this time.

WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2020

We will be hosting a short informal memorial gathering for our brother, friend and team mate Khuzaimah 'Zaymi' Douglas on Sunday 15th March at the USKA Fight Factory from 6pm - 7.30pm.

There will be refreshments available as we watch some tribute videos followed by an open mic where we encourage people to share there thoughts and memories of Zaymi.

Khuzaimah's family will be in attendance.
This is an open all inclusive gathering with everyone welcome to the place where Zaymi loved and spent so much of his time.

Hope to see you all there.x

TUESDAY 10TH MARCH 2020

On 20th February 2020 we received the devastating news that we had lost one of our own at the USKA Fight Factory.

At only 19 years of age our beloved brother, friend and training partner Khuzaimah Douglas was taken from us suddenly and it has left a void and a space in our hearts that will never be replaced.

Khuzaimah was an exceptionally talented Martial Artist who in just under 4 years of training won 12 World Championship Gold medals and had the World at his feet in terms of how far he could have gone within his chosen sport.

Khuzaimah's nature as a person was an infectious one and he left a positive mark on everyone he came into contact with from the smallest of little ninja at the gym to the most senior of adults making him one of the most personable members of the USKA gym and one that has had the most impact in his passing.

We in Zaymi's memory must change and excel in everything we do, be better at everything we do and make him proud with the way we live our lives, conduct ourselves and how we approach our art.

We miss and love you Zaymi and one day will get to go a few more rounds with you in Jannah Inshallah.

Please pray for Khuzaimah and his family and do good in his name.

Inna Lillaahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raaji'oon

(To Allah we belong and to him is our return)

SUNDAY 8TH MARCH 2020

The latest TMA Fight Series instalment at the 2^nd City Suite in Birmingham today lived up to all expectations with 18 great bouts of contact sports action.
The show titled ‘The Dream Continues’ was headlined by Professional Unified Super Lightweight ICO and WRSA Champion Qasim ‘The Dream’ Beg as he attempted to add the IKF version of the strap to his ever growing collection.

Including Qasim We had 6 USKA Fight Factory Fighters in bouts on the Undercard making this a bumper night of action for the home team.

First up for we had a well matched contest in Nikita Raubiska against Aero-Kick’s Dre Corbett in a 3 round Light Continuous bout.
Nikita was doing the cleaner work but Dre’s pressure was relentless making it a very close bout.
The judges were split on their score cards with Nikita winning a close but deserved Split Points Decision win.

Next up we had ‘Killah’ Kaifah Imran in a 5 round Light Continuous bout against TMA’s Kelsey Welshman to contest the BLCC -30kg Midland Area Title.

Over 5 intense and at times scrappy rounds due to both girls really wanting to win it was Kaifah’s cleaner work on the outside with her kicks that grabbed the judges eyes with her crowned the new Champion by Unanimous points decision.

Third up for USKA we had Charlie ‘Steamroller’ Stokes take on TKA’s Cian Johnson in a 3 round Full Contact bout. Charlie was stepping in as a replacement for a team mate who had pulled out with injury on Thursday and was giving away over 5kg’s in weight but was eager to seize the opportunity to feature on such a great show.
Unfortunately for Charlie though it wasn’t to be with Cian one step ahead of him over the three rounds to claim a worthy Unanimous Points Decision win.
No excuses, we lost to the better man on the night and lessons will be learned by the experience.

The forth USKA fighter in the ring was Shakeel ‘Showtime’ Hussain in a 3 Round Full Contact Bout against TKA’s Connor Bradbury.
Shakeel showed good composure, pace and variety over the three rounds to pick himself up a convincing Unanimous Points Decision.

Next up for USKA we had Ra’ees ‘Cool and Calm’ Kiani contesting the WRSA English Full Contact Title against Finn Brooks from Selby Martial Arts over 5 Rounds.
Ra’ees found his flow early keeping his range and mixing up his shots well from body to head.
Just beginning to find his optimum flow we were disappointed that the bout had to be cut short after the third

round due to an injury to the shoulder of Finn leaving him unable to continue.

Ra'ees was announced the winner by 3rd round corner retirement and crowned the new WRSA -65kg English Champion.

We wish Finn a speedy recovery following his injury.

Next we seen the return of USKA’s Elliot Gohari following a 7 year lay off from the sport.
Elliot has been back in the gym working hard and has lost a lot of weight in his short time back trying to get himself back to fighting fitness.
His opponent over this 3 Round full contact contest was Wes O'Neil from Manchester.

Elliot found his flow straight away dropping his man with a head kick and following two more punch combination knock downs the referee jumped in and waved off the contest by way of TKO in the very first round.

This will serve as a great confidence booster for Elliot who is now looking forward to climbing his way to the top after relighting his love for the sport.

Main event time now for USKA’s finest Qasim ‘The Dream’ Beg who was attempting to add the IKF Super Lightweight World title to the ICO and WRSA belts that he already held.
His opponent was the tough Raul Gimbel from Spain who came with an impressive record and reputation and was very much ready to try and spoil Qasim’s home town party and seize his opportunity with both hands.

The Dream was in fantastic shape for this contest though and it was going to take something very special to derail him.

Qasim started strong stringing combinations together to the body and head and the Spanish fighter took them well showing he would be a hard nut to crack.

Cutting his opponent in the 3^rd Qasim was starting to make a dent and was investing heavily in the body attacks in an attempt to weaken his man and break him down.

In the 7^th round Qasim switched to Southpaw and landed a perfect straight left that sent Gimbel down to the canvas for a count.
At the start of the 8^th round an unintentional clash off heads opened up another cut over Raul Gimbel’s eye and the doctor was called to assess the damage.
Feeling that it would affect the vision of the Spanish fighter the fight was called off on his instruction and we would have to go to the judge’s score cards who would score it including all the completed rounds of the contest.
All three judges had it the same, a complete shut out in favour of Qasim with point totals of 70-62 on al three cards.
Qasim moves now to 49-0 and looks forward now to a June date for his next contest where we hope to announce something big with it being his 50’th contest.

All in all a good night for team USKA amidst the most difficult of build ups following the death of our team mate and Brother Khuzaimah Douglas who should have also been featuring on this card.
All the fighters on the night dedicated their performances to Zaymi and know he was there in spirit watching proudly over them as they climbed through the ropes to do their thing.

A big thank you to Gavin Burrows and the TMA Fight Series team for allowing our fighters a platform to do their thing and to each and every spectator that turned up to cheer our guys on throughout the night.

#TheDreamContinues

#ThreeTimesUnifiedChamp

#DreamTeam

#ForZaymi

SATURDAY 7TH MARCH 2020

A ripped and ready Qasim 'The Dream' Beg weighed in at a shredded 61.8kg ahead of his IKF Super Lightweight World Title fight tomorrow night against Spain's Raul Gimble who marginally outweighed Qasim tipping the scales at 62kg.
The Dream who is already the ICO and WRSA Champion attempts to add the IKF strap to his collection and extend his undefeated run to 49-0 in front of his home crowd at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham topping a fantastic bill of Kickboxing action on the TMA Fight Series promoted show.
USKA also have 6 fighters on the bumper 18 fight undercard featuring Nikita Raubiska, Kaifah Imran, Charlie Stokes, Shakeel Hussain, Ra'ees Kiani and Elliot Gohari so all our spectators are guaranteed bang for their buck.
The doors to 2nd City Suite open at 2pm with the first fight kicking off at 2.30pm.
We do have a handful of standard tickets still available at £25.00 if anyone still needs them but will be handing all unsold tickets back to the promoter at 12pm tomorrow so get in touch if you are after one.
We guarantee you a Kickboxing show not to be missed as we continue the dream to collect all the belts.

SUNDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2020

In the most difficult of circumstances following the passing of our beloved student, fighter and friend Khuzaimah Douglas last week out troops bravely rallied on Sunday to fulfill commitments and fight at the BKA Kickboxing Gyms latest BLCC event in Burton-On-Trent.

17 fighters including plenty of much needed travelling support turned up with a full coaching team of coaches Kelly, Quinn and Beg showing unity and strength in numbers at this sad and testing time.

The team consisted of Hawwa Sarfraz, Dawid Gizewski, Nikita Raubiska, Kaifah Imran, Khyro Forbes Brown, Eissa Ahmed, Charlie Stokes, Myesha Imran, Isabelle Brookes, Aamina Sarfraz, Jad Joma, Sami Kelly, Saned Ibrahim, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Ra'ees Kiani, Aryan Singh and Elliot Gohari.

Main event for us on the day seen Myesha Imran capture the Girls BLCC -45kg English Title by Unanimous Decision in a brilliant fight against TMKA's Lauren Quantrall from Milton Keynes over 5 rounds of non stop action.

Without exception the USKA Family supported each and every fighter as they climbed into the ring and they all performed excellently throughout the day inspired by Zaymi's memory amazingly only conceding 1 loss in 18 bouts.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the other coaches, clubs and fighters who offered there wishes of condolences and support throughout the day, it was truly appreciated and won't be forgotten.

#ForZaymi

SATURDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2020

We had our busiest ever USKA Ninjas grading today at the USKA Fight Factory with 45 of our youngest students being assessed on what they have been learning on their classes with the added pressure of performing in front of family and friends. With children as young as 4 years old attempting each and every grade from our USKA Ninjas Syllabus it was due to be a busy one but with help from Instructors and senior grades at the club we managed to get through it in two hours. The Ninjas grading covered basic technique, an exercise circuit, pad work and a extremely physical relay circuit meaning that each and every candidate really had to work hard to gain their new belts.

These classes have really gone from strength to strength of late and the standard is really going through the roof which is highlighted on grading days.

A big thank you to all the helpers, coaches and instructors who gave up their time to help out on today's grading and to all the Ninja's parents for their continued support of your children in helping to achieving their goals.

The next USKA Ninjas grading date has been set for April 11th.

SUNDAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2020

USKA Fight Factory had fighters competing today for the second consecutive Saturday and Sunday taking part in the WMO National British Championships.
The tournament was held at the Lutterworth Sports Centre in Leicestershire.
The WMO has a reputation for its old school approach to mat sports with only competitors in attendance who are ready to fight turning up knowing that you have to really fight for your wins.

Looked after by USKA coaches Sean Quinn and Amer Kayani we had five fighters in action including Charlie Stokes, Ryan McQueen, Shakeel Hussain, Lucy Kings-Wheatley and Ra'ees Kiani.
After a tough day of competition our fantastic five kept a clean sheet conceding no loses picking up 5 Gold medals and National titles.
It is great to see our fighters succeeding across all the governing bodies championships showing that we don't sit in our comfort zones and are willing to take on all comers wherever they may be.
Congratulations once again team on another great effort... Osu!

SATURDAY 8TH FEBRUARY 2020

A team of 10 USKA Fighters competed today at the North Solihull Sports Centre in Birmingham in the WFMC European Championships.
The team headed by coach Sean Quinn consisted of Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Remy Mann, Myesha Imran, Aamina Sarfraz, Rohan Kumar, Shakeel Hussain, Connor Asron, Ra'ees Kiani and Ellliot Gohari.

Performing well across the board we finished the day with 15 Golds and 5 Silvers (2 of which were USKA Vs USKA finals) topping the medal tally of clubs in attendance.

At USKA we believe that one of the secrets to success is staying busy and competing as often as possible, with this in mind the team is out again tomorrow at the WMO British Championships on the mats where they always get stiff opposition and tough fights.

Good look all and well done on today's success!

SUNDAY 2ND FEBRUARY 2020

We had 12 USKA fighters in action at the Cannock Chase Leisure Centre in Cannock on Sunday at the ICO British Championships which also doubled up as the first leg of the Lordswood Tri-Series events for 2020.

Coached by Neil Kelly, Sean Quinn and Qasim Beg our team consisting of Julia Glowacz, Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Aadam Ali, Charlie Stokes, Aamina Sarfraz, Ryan McQueen, Shakeel Hussain, Connor Aston, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Ra'ees Kiani, Elliot Gohari, took part in Ring Continuous, Low Kick, Sport Boxing and Mat Continuous disciplines showing their versatility with the different styles of fighting.

On close of play our team tallied 22 Golds, 6 Silvers (2 of which were USKA Vs USKA Finals) and 1 Bronze medal.

Overall we finished 2nd on the medal table to a team who had almost three times as many competitors so I think we can be content with our days work.
Well done to everyone who strapped up the gloves today and to all our coaches on another sterling job. Osu!

SATURDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2020

11 of our fighters hit the road on Saturday heading to Barnsley to compete in the WKO English Championships at the Metrodome Leisure Complex.
Coached by Sean Quinn our team including Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Ehsaan Mahmood, Remy Mann, Myesha Imran, Aamina Sarfraz, Rohan Kumar, Ryan McQueen, Shakeel Hussain, Ra'ees Kiani and Elliot Gohari took part in Ring Continuous, Full Contact, Low Kick, Sport Boxing, K-1, Mat Continuous disciplines.

The USKA contingent were very busy jumping from ring to mats throughout the long day but managed to cope with the pressure to turn in some very impressive results indeed.
Our final tally read 24 Gold, 7 Silver (4 of which were USKA Vs USKA Finals) and 5 Bronze.
Despite having the most amount of Gold medals from a single club disappointingly the criteria for top club at the tournament had been changed for this event with Silvers and Bronzes also being taken into account leaving us 2nd on the overall on the medal table which made it feel more of a numbers game.
Despite that credit must be given to our travelling warriors who once again represented and did us all and themselves proud.
Well done to all of you on yet another great day at the office.

SUNDAY 26TH JANUARY 2020

USKA Fight Factory fighters hit the ground sprinting today at the Aero-Kick BLCC event in Birmingham in their first competitive outing of the year.
We had 25 fighters in action in 23 bouts under the watchful eye of coaches Neil Kelly and Sean Quinn.
The team consisted of Abdullah Riaz, Zain Amer, Remeshae Forbes Brown, David Gizewski, Nikita Raubiska, Julia Glowacz, Kaifah Imran, Eissa Ahmed, Maryam Sarfraz, Aadam Ali, Charlie Stokes, Myesha Imran, Ryan McQueen, Aamina Sarfraz, Rohan Kumar, Shakeel Hussain, Jacob Ashford, Jad Joma, Sami Kelly, Haatim Shand, Mustapha Khan, Ruqayya Griffith, Khalysah Plummer, Elliot Gohari and Steve Parish.
Some outstanding performances from our fighters today saw the team keep a clean sheet conceding no loses despite many of them giving away weight and age in contests that they went into the underdogs.
A great start to the competition season that has shook off the Christmas / New Year rust and put us in great stead for the long list of Championships we have coming up over the next few months.
Well done to you all..... Osu!

FRIDAY 24TH JANUARY 2020

!!!TMA Fight Series Big Fight Announcement!!!

Unbeaten and Unified ICO and WRSA Super Lightweight Champion of the World Qasim 'The Dream' Beg returns to the ring on Sunday 8th March at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham attempting to add yet another Professional World Title Strap to his collection when he challenges Spain's Raul Gimble for the Vacant IKF World Title.

Qasim is fresh off his epic Unification battle with Dylan 'The Natural' Cheema and is keen to keep the winning momentum going with his mantra of 'We're coming for all the belts' with Gimble being next in the firing line.
The experienced Gimble hails out of RR Team Gym in Cordoba, Spain and brings an impressive 37 fight record with him to the ring with his team very confident they can pull off the win and turn Qasim's dream into a nightmare derailing the Birmingham man in his own back yard.
The Beg Vs Gimble fight headlines a great lineup of fight action featuring some of the UK's finest talent in bouts that will be announced in due course.
Tickets are now available for this great show from the USKA Fight Factory gym priced at £25.00 for standard tickets and £40.00 for limited VIP table tickets that include a meal and waitress service. All support for the fighters is as always extremely appreciated.

#TmaFightSeries

#TheDreamContinues

#WeComingForAllTheBelts

FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY 2020

***New Class Announcement***

With ever increasing numbers on our USKA Ninjas classes we are very pleased to announce that by popular demand we will be introducing a new weekend class from Saturday 1st February at 9am-10am.
This extra Ninjas class will relieve some numbers from our weekday classes and also afford young members that can not make those classes the opportunity to train with the team.

❗️ Education through Martial Arts For Young Minds❗️

One of the most popular kickboxing classes at the USKA Fight Factory is the USKA Ninja's. USKA Ninja's classes are designed and aimed for children between 4-8yrs old and are the perfect introduction to their Martial Arts training. The classes run by our team of expert qualified instructors and coaches incorporate interactive and basic co-ordination skills with fitness, flexibility and concentration games along with kickboxing technique and discipline in a fun hour long workout. Parents of our USKA Ninja's have commented on how their children's behaviour at home and school and overall concentration have improved after only a few classes. Bring your child along now to take part in the fastest growing and most effective FUN FILLED WORKOUT around!

✅ DISCIPLINE

✅ SELF DEFENCE

✅ CONFIDENCE

✅ FOCUS

✅ FITNESS

✅COORDINATION

✅ RESPECT

SUNDAY 12TH JANUARY 2020

We will be gifting two of our old Century Wavemaster XXL free standing bags to two USKA Fight Factory members this weekend when we replace them with two new bags.

They have gone more than a few rounds over the years and have plenty of wear and tear but could be a useful training aid to some of you.
If anyone would like to be considered for one of these bags express your interest by giving your name in at reception and any names will be randomly drawn next Saturday morning (18th Jan) after sparring class.

THURSDAY 2ND JANUARY 2020

The USKA Fight Factory has over the years built up a reputation as being a gym that produces quality fighters that are always fully prepared every time they climb through the ropes to compete.

This success is largely down to the work they put in on the USKA Fighters and Sparring sessions.

Our Fighters Sessions cater for all ages and levels of ability and cover all aspects of Boxing and Kickboxing training and fighting.

Whether it's getting ready for competition or just training for fitness and fun this structured session is the one for you.

The hour long Class will feature Shadow Boxing, Padwork, Bagwork, Footwork, Fitness, Strength and Conditioning, Head Movement and basic sparring drills and cover all aspects of the sweet science of boxing and kickboxing in detail all under the watchful eye of our Hall of Fame coaches.

These sessions are suitable from Novice level as you can work at your own pace until you find your feet.

These sessions can be found on a Monday between 8-9pm, Wednesday 7-8pm and Friday 8-9pm.

Sparring is probably the most important training aspect of being a fighter for both a Kickboxer and a Boxer.

Our Sparring sessions are where you can put into practice everything you have learned in a controlled environment against your team mates.

This is where you actually learn to fight. You get to see what works and what doesn’t.

You find out exactly what needs to be improved on and under the guidance of your coach get to work on new things and make adjustments.

If sparring is required for your next grading this is also the sessions that you can get your practice in on.
These sessions can be found on a Monday between 7-8pm, Friday between 7-8pm and Saturday between 12-1pm.

On Sunday 22nd December we held our end of year Superwoman Competition and Female Division Presentation awards for 2019.

The day began with our annual Superwoman competition, where the females would be competing in a 10-event fitness competition, in age appropriate categories to get as much points as they could.

Some of the events which they faced were squat thrusts, step ups, shuttle runs and so on. With each and every competitor giving it their all, it was nice to see them challenge themselves in new areas of their training.

The top 3 competitors of each category were

Following on from our Superwoman competition it was the end of year party and annual presentations to congratulate some of the top students from the Female Division for 2019.

USKA Female Division Ruqayya Griffith conducted the presentation with the following speech...

It’s now time to start off with our student presentation awards for our 3^rdyear running.

Before that, I’d like to give a short review of this year.

As I move onto my 5^th year of teaching, the classes have significantly grown in numbers over the years and in fact has become one of the most popular classes at the USKA fight factory. To help with the growth of our classes, we have bought a further coach on our coaching staff being Lucy Kings- Wheatley who I strongly believe can assist me, in taking the Female Division to a whole new level. We have been fortunate to add several classes to our existing successful Beginner’s class and now we have an Intermediate and Advanced class solely for the females. With the increase in classes, it is clear that the girls are equally as passionate and determined as the current mixed classes to succeed in Kickboxing. We have consistently hit record numbers of over 50 students and I confidently believe that in 2020 we will have over 100 students being part of the Female Division.

Our recent successes of the Female Division include 4 successful gradings with each and every student passing their belt. In particular, we had 2 students achieve their Green belts in December being Hajrah Mahmood and Sumayyah Mahmood.

We now move on to our presentation award for today. The first 2 being student runner ups.

This student is definitely a natural when it comes to Kickboxing. She has consistently been training for over 3 years and not once has her hard work gone unnoticed. Seeing her on my classes, week in and week out, I knew this girl has a lot of potential to become successful in the sport. With her work ethic and mindset, she is a role model for the younger students and lower grades and is always looking at ways to pass on her knowledge. Whether this being by holding pads for the beginner’s or encouraging others in sparring. This year she has gone the extra mile by attending all 4 classes each week to prepare for her Green belt. Seeing her step up her training has resulted in her passing her Green belt with an exceptional score of 92 / A-.

This award goes to...

Sumayyah Mahmood

Moving on to our second runner up.

This student is by no means a natural in comparison to others on class. Despite of this she still gives 110% on all her classes. Having recently been diagnosed with a health condition, she doesn’t let this phase her and still gives her all on class. In previous years the passion in her training was usually missing and often being outshone by her sister. But this year I have seen a new spark in her training and a change of attitude. She bounces off her sister really well and has also increased the number of classes she attends.

This has resulted in her also achieving her green belt and becoming the 2^nd student to pass their green belt solely under the tuition of the Female Division.

This award goes to...

Hajrah Mahmood

Now we move onto our students of the year. One being for a junior and one for an adult.

For the first time ever, this was an easy choice regarding the younger members as the concentration amongst the younger students has not been the greatest which has put this person as the front runner.

This person is far from the loudest person on class but her hard work has not gone unnoticed.

She often catches mine and Lucy’s eye and both of us are always impressed with the standard of her work and her technical ability. We have seen a noticeable difference in her confidence in and out of training. Despite others around her laughing and joking, she remains focused and applies herself well on class. She has recently started sparring. Initially with her being quite hesitant to actually hit somebody due to her friendly personality and this being totally out of her character.

We have seen a huge improvement in her sparring over the past few months. Also, she has recently passed her White belt with an exceptional score of 92 / A-. Both me and Lucy, strongly believe that if she remains as focused as she is, she will definitely go far in Kickboxing. This was an absolutely easy choice for our Junior of the year.

This award goes to...

Haalah Sultan

Now we more onto our last award of the evening being our Adult Student of the Year.

There were a couple of students in consideration for this award but this person has gone the extra mile and made her deserving of this award. Over the past year, her technical ability has consistently improved making her one of the best students on class. She remains attentive on all her classes by focusing on locking down each technique to the best of her abilities. She often approaches us and will ask us questions in order to fine tune a particular technique and it is clear that with her mindset she wants to be the best person on class. Besides her attitude to her training she is also a full-time mum, in particular to a child with special needs.

She finds time to be a regular on class and I can’t remember the last time she has missed a session. This student gives nothing less than 100% on all her classes.

Her attention to detail has resulted in her passing her white belt with a 92 / A-. In the future she has expressed to us that she wants to step into the ring and compete at least once.

Both me and Lucy believe that if her work ethic continues as it is, her future in Kickboxing is bright.

This award goes to...

Amera Ali

I also want to congratulate those who were in the running for such awards. Even though there is no formal award. I would like to acknowledge Dahlia Sultan, Judith McTiernan and Haleema Khan. And well done to all those who attend on a regular basis.

This concludes our female division event and classes for 2019. It has been a very busy year and a well-deserved break. In 2020, we hope to expand the USKA Fight Factory possibly allowing us more opportunities to increase the number of classes and possibly put on a fighter’s sessions solely for the females alongside several mid- week classes.

Thank you for everyone who has helped to make today possible and such a success.

Our sessions will resume on Sunday 5^th January 2020. On behalf of myself, Lucy, and the other instructors we would like to wish our members and friends a Happy Christmas, holiday period and a new year.

SUNDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2019

USKA FIGHT FACTORY YEARLY REVIEW 2019

It’s now time for our Student presentation awards for 2019 and as always I’d like to give a short review of our year as a club highlighting some of our successes both in and out of the ring.

2019 has seen growth in USKA like never before with classes packed and unprecedented memberships and retention from our students in all areas of the club.

To help with the growth of our classes we have brought in two further coaches on our coaching staff in Qasim Beg and Lucy Kings-Wheatley who are both doing a great job alongside already existing coaches Sean Quinn and Ruqayya Griffith.

We have had busy grading examinations and even though the numbers have been up we have managed to maintain a very high technical standard keeping that all important bar as high as ever.

We have had 6 more USKA Ninjas complete the USKA Ninja’s syllabus of belts to Blue Belt in Sufyaan Qayam, Ryan Hulance, Isaac Haris, Dean Fahd, Ehsaan Khan and Inayah Khan.

We hosted two World class Seminars featuring Superstars Raymond Daniels and Stuart Lawson which were extremely well received with our students really embracing the content and hopefully using that knowledge as power that will improve their all round game.

This is something we are hoping to build on in 2020 bringing other World Class Martial Artists for more Seminars to our door.

In October we were awarded funds from West Midlands Police Active Citizens fund to afford full scholarships to 10 carefully selected youths in an attempt to eradicate the problem of knife crime in our society.
We have filled three of these slots already and will continue to do so in 2020 to ensure the project is a success.

Competitively we have had a phenomenal year and in terms of success the most fruitful year in the clubs history.

We attended two World Championships at with the WKO World Championships in Barnsley in July and the ICO World Championships in Scotland in October.

Fight Camp for these Championships have kept the Fight Team on the boil all year seeing them consistently doing well at Area, English, British and European level competitions.

Our competitive title tally this year seen us pick up 10 Midland titles in ICO Competition, 31 English titles in ICO, WKA, WKO and BLCC Competition, 85 British titles in ICO, WKO, AFSO and WKU Competition, 5 Five Nations titles in ICO Competition, 32 European titles in The Unified European Championships and a WRSA Professional European Title Belt last week with Lee Whitfield, and a massive and Outstanding 78 World titles at the ICO and WKO World Championships and only last week a Professional WRSA World Title when Qasim ‘The Dream’ Unified the Super Lightweight Title belts.

In total that is an unbelievable 242 recognised Governing Bodies Championships in comparison to the 121 titles we won from last year. That is double!

Outside of these titles we have picked up Grand Slam Grand Championship trophies at other high level competitions and have bettered last year’s win ratio from 95 to 96% at BLCC Competition from novice to seasoned competitor.

At the end of June a Champion returned home when Qasim ‘The Dream’ Beg returned to the ring following a 4 ½ year lay off.

Qasim made short work of his three Comeback opponents finishing them all in by first round KO and in the process he regained his old ICO Championship belt.
A tougher test awaited though when Qasim challenged the WRSA Champion Dylan ‘The Natural’ Cheema in a World Title Unification just last week.
The bout lived up to all the pre fight expectation and after one of the best fights ever seen in a British Kickboxing ring Qasim convincingly claimed the victory via a points decision and became a Unified Champion and amazingly a three times Professional World Champion.

Looking back at the two World Championships as I think they deserve a special mention we had 14 fighters compete in Barnsley at the WKO World Championships and 15 fighters compete at the ICO World Championship in Scotland.
From the two World Championships they brought home an incredible 121 Medals including 76 Golds, 33 Silvers and 12 Bronzes.

I’d like to just take a second and give credit to our World Championship Fight Squad and present them with a little token to celebrate their efforts… Could we have up…

Abdullah Riaz who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Kaifah Imran who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Nikita Raubiska who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Ehsaan Mahmood who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Charlie Stokes who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Remy Mann who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Aamina Sarfraz who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Myesha Imran who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Rohan Kumar who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland

Hammaad Shand who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Ryan McQueen who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Shakeel Hussain who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Qasim Hasan who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Khuzaimah Douglas who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Faith Velland who fought at the ICO World Championships in Scotland & the WKO World Championships in Barnsley

Can we give our World Championship fighters a big round of applause on their achievements.

It’s hard to imagine bettering that tally next year but one thing is for sure we will try.
We already have at least two World Championships to look forward to next year home and abroad and with the right effort, preparation and application anything is possible.

We start our awards off today with four of the most deserving awards that we give out every year…….

our USKA Coaches and Instructors Awards.

We are lucky enough at USKA to have some of the most passionate, dedicated and talented coaches in the business which translates in them helping to produce some amazing talent.
With the growth of the classes at the Fight Factory it was essential that we grew our coaching team and also that we had the right instructors that would pay the same attention to detail that our students have always been accustomed to.

Our team all are looking in the same direction and work together well sharing the common goal to bring the best out of each and every student in their care.

Our first Instructor award…

goes to a young lady who has not been teaching for us long but even in that short time has turned into a really good instructor and coach.
Her own ability is unquestionably second to none with multiple World titles and an unbeaten Full Contact record to her ledger and with these credentials she will be looking at passing on some of that knowledge to the next generation of girls and ladies on our Female division classes.
This award goes to one of our USKA Female division Instructors…..

MISS LUCY KINGS-WHEATLEY

Our next Award today is another USKA Instructors award…

This award goes to another of our Female Division coaches who until recently when Lucy joined the coaching team had single handily managed to bring on the USKA girls up to an amazing level.
The class numbers through her instruction are hitting record numbers and the standard is very high with two of her students recently passing their Green belts with two very good grades indeed.
She is very passionate about improving the standard of the ladies and girls of USKA and at the same time is chipping away at her own Martial Arts development with her planning to take her 1^st Dan Black Belt in March 2020.

This Instructors award goes to....

MISS RUQAYYA GRIFFITH

Our next Instructors award today…

Goes to a man that needs no introduction but I’ll give him one anyway.
As a student of USKA for over 20 years it was decided in April that Qasim Beg would return to the USKA Fight Factory gym in the role of a full time coach and at the same time return to his Professional Full Contact career in an attempt to recapture his Professional World title and fulfil his potential as being one of the country’s best ever Full Contact fighters.

Qasim’s addition to the coaching staff at the gym has been invaluable with him passing his wealth of knowledge on to all the up and coming fighters and also casting his expert eye across all the members on the technical classes.
He is showing real passion and pride in teaching with everyone under his tuition knowing fully that everything he is showing them has been tested and proven right up to the highest level of competition.
Qasim regained his ICO Professional World title in September by 1^st round Knockout and only last week Unified the ICO and WRSA World title via a masterclass Unanimous points decision against Dylan ‘The Natural’ Cheema.
With even bigger and better things in the pipeline being planned for Qasim in 2020 he is well on his way as cementing his legacy as being a true bonifide legend of the sport.

This award goes to the one and only....

QASIM ‘THE DREAM’ BEG

Following Qas’s win last week we would like to officially award him now his WRSA World title belt that he won last week in that amazing Unification title fight.

Our last Instructors award today…

Goes to one of the driving forces behind USKA.
Sean ‘The Mighty’ Quinn has been a standout coach at the USKA Fight Factory for many years and is as passionate if not more passionate now than he was when he first started out.
On each and every session that Sean conducts he makes it his mission for it to be as good a class as he can possibly deliver and takes as much pride in teaching an absolute beginner on their first class as he does working with a World Champion.

Sean despite having an incredibly busy and full lifestyle outside of the gym always makes time and fully commits himself to the USKA Fighters both on classes, extra training and at tournaments up and down the country most weekends throughout the year.
He is equally as passionate working with the youngest members of the gym on our USKA Ninjas classes showing week in and week out the patience required to minds so young.

USKA 100% would not be where it is today if it wasn’t for this man and each and every USKA student can accredit much of their success to his teachings.

This award goes to our Martial Arts Hall of Fame Coach ....

SEAN ‘THE MIGHTY’ QUINN

Before we move on to our student awards it is time to give credit and acknowledgment to someone who pretty much manages single handily to run the administrative side of the USKA Fight Factory day in day out throughout the year.

With the incredible growth of USKA over the last 12 months this has not been an easy job but Alva seems to manage it front desk despite having a terrible three year old clinging on to her legs behind reception for most of the time.
Alva is the first impression people have of the gym and the fact that so many people are staying to train with us is a testament to her making them feel welcome and at ease on their first few visits.

Another very important cog in the USKA wheel and not given anywhere near the credit she deserves.

Our full appreciation goes to…..

MISS ALVA BEIRNE

On to our student awards now...

This has been another incredibly hard year to whittle down our final candidates for our USKA Student awards for 2019.
We have made short lists and even shorter lists and for the first time ever all of our coaches having input on who they think are the students who most deserve the accolade based on the full last 12 months of training.

We have gone back and forth and many things have been taken into consideration in our decision making process.

We have also taken into consideration etiquette, attitude and conduct with that being very important when it comes to the character of any good martial artist.

The truth is we could probably make argument to give out twice as many awards with many who haven’t made the cut today still very worthy but alas we have had to make final decisions taking everything into account

In no particular order our first student award now...

Student Award 1

Our first student award this year goes to one of our beginners who has the potential to go a long way within the sport if he remains focused and passionate about what he is doing.
When he joined us he was not the most confident child in the world which was the main reason his mum brought him to join us here at the USKA Fight Factory.
Instantly finding a love for the sport he has thrown himself into his training and you can see him week by week becoming more confident in his surroundings which has also brought his confidence out in other areas of his life outside the gym.

Just passing his second bet last week we have marked him as one to watch for the future.

This award goes to…

MUSA RAFIQ

Moving on now to our second student award...

Student Award 2

Our second award goes to a young lady who at the start of the year had her first BLCC contest and by the end of the year was a multi discipline, multiple World Champion from two separate World Championship tournaments.
She came to us with previous Martial Arts experience but her competitive potential had never really been tapped in to.
Through hard work and dedication and trust in her new coaches she has dealt with the highs and lows that a competitive career brings to prevail at the highest of levels to bring home the Gold’s.
On her technical classes she has worked hard to steadily improve and has turned in some excellent Grade results showing that she has a good understanding of her syllabus and the mechanics of her technique.
A great year which we hope that will improve even further next year this award goes to...

FAITH VELLAND

Our third student award...

Student Award 3

An award now for one of our Ninja’s who never seems to have a bad night in the gym which is extremely rare for any chid let alone one so young.

Her behaviour is second to none with none of the Ninjas instructors or helpers ever having to pull her up on her discipline for breaking rules.

She quietly gets on with her training and is probably flying under a lot of people’s radar but her training effort has been noted and today it will be rewarded.

This student award goes to...

SAADIYA HUSSAIN

We move on now to our forth student award...

Student Award 4

Our next student award goes to one of our all rounders.
With technical skills for days that also cross over into competition this young lady is one of the most proficient members of the USKA Fight Team.
Despite having her GCSE Exams earlier in the year she was still a regular on the USKA classes over the last 12 months and even managed to get some competitions in and perform really well.
The competitive highlight though came in September when she made her Full Contact debut against a French girl who was the reigning European Champion with over 20 gala fights to her resume. She won a Unanimous points decision and impressed everyone in attendance with her silky skills.
For her second Full Contact bout she went one better and took on a reigning World Champion against a girl who had an awesome record of 35 wins and only 4 losses. She in a tough fight took a majority points win and agreed a rematch knowing she could have beat her more convincingly.

Winning her full contact division at the Unified European Championships she moved to 3-0 and then in her rematch with the World Champion she turned in a much better performance to earn herself a Unanimous points decision and finished her year with a Full Contact record of 4-0 and beating a European Champion and a World Champion in the process.
As well as her Full Contact successes she started coaching a Female Division class at the USKA Fight Factory and has steadily built it’s numbers up showing she has the ability to teach others what she herself has been taught.

Our next award goes to...

LUCY KINGS-WHEATLEY

Moving on now to our fifth student award...

Student Award 5

Our next award goes to a young man who has come back from the brink

Formerly one of our biggest fighting stars who was amazing in the gym and winning everything there was to win on the tournament circuit he for a number of different reasons went through a hard time and lost his motivation and direction going off the rails both inside and outside of the gym.
Descending into a very dark place his parents decided to give him a break from the gym to give him time to sort himself out and rekindle the love he had for the sport.

Following a short time away from the gym his fire was burning again and he was eager to recapture his form and continue where he left off at his peak.
On his return to the gym he was a different child, refocused, re-energised, and super disciplined.
Since then he has gone from strength to strength winning World titles, gaining his Blue belt and conducting himself impeccably as a positive role model for the younger students at the USKA Fight Factory gym.
He truly is an example of how someone can turn things around and his story will be inspirational to other children experiencing the same kind of thing in the future.

This award goes to…

CHARLIE STOKES

Time now for our sixth student award...

Student Award 6

Our next award goes to one of our young fighters who has had a very good year competitively and has improved dramatically since her first competitive fight at the start of the year.
Pretty much going straight into Open tournaments has served her well and accelerated her progress so much in fact that she has entered two World Championships and picked up Gold medals in each in three different disciplines.

Outside of competition she has worked hard on her technical classes and has progressed through to Green Belt grade.
She is a regular helper on USKA Ninja’s classes showing that she is happy to give back to the younger members of the gym which is also an important part of the decision making process when awarding these presentation trophies.

This award goes to...

MYESHA IMRAN

Our seventh student award now...

Student Award 7

Our next award goes to a student who really just gets on with business every time he trains and puts 100% into every class he attends.
His hard work and focus on his classes could go unnoticed to some with him being a quiet unassuming lad but all our Instructors unanimously noted him as a worthy candidate for an award this year meaning that he is suitably impressing on all his sessions.
Doing exceptionally well on his technical work and his gradings he has also crossed over and took part in his first competitive outing on a BLCC which hopefully will lead to more of the same next year.

A very worthy award winner…

JACOB ASHFORD

Student Award 8

Our next award goes to a young lady who has been with us for some time but had somewhat plateaued in previous years.

This year however we have seen her step it up in all areas of her training and shown some marked improvement which has been apparent to all the USKA coaches and Instructors.
Her technical ability has improved dramatically and she has even made a return to the ring where she performed very well indeed.
We hope she builds on this for next year and continues to improve at the same rate through hard work and dedication.

This award goes to…

MARIAH MAHMOOD

Student Award 9

Our next award goes to a fighter of the gym who has flare and flamboyance in abundance In his fighting style separating him from his competitors.

A tremendous year pretty much winning everything and culminating in no less than 10 World titles from two World Championships.
His Competitive successes were recognised in November when the ICO Technical committee recognised him as being their best cadet fighter of the year.

Alongside all his open tournament wins he has also picked up the BLCC English title and made his successful Full Contact debut only last week.

Another USKA Ninja’s helper which like we said before is very important in bringing our young Martial Artists through.

This award goes to...

SHAKEEL HUSSAIN

The first of our Student of the year awards for 2019...

Our first student of the year has literally had a full 12 months with us after joining the gym in January this year.

After training in other gyms before finding USKA it is clear to see that he has now found his home having an absolutely amazing year on the mats and in the ring competing in many different disciplines and picking up titles for fun at pretty much every competition he fights in.
His style has evolved superbly and he is unrecognisable to the fighter he was just 12 months ago with USKA very much putting it’s stamp on him with the way he is fighting..

He always puts in a good account of himself on every class he attends and he has progressed through his first four belts at USKA with flying colours and high grades.

All our coaches Unanimously voted him for this award today meaning he is impressing everyone.

Our first Student of the year award goes to the mean machine…

RYAN McQUEEN

The second of our Student of the year awards for 2019...

To be considered for this award you need to be fully invested in the gym and everything it is involved in over the full 12 months of the year.

Our second student of the year has done just that and has improved in every area of her training both on the technical classes and her practical fighters sessions.
Starting the year as pretty much an absolute Rookie, time invested in the gym has seen her grow and mature in front of our eyes over the last 12 months to turn in some very good grading results and even better performances on the mats and in the ring in competitions.
Often pitched in out of her depth against fighters far more experienced than her she has closed the gap by sheer heart and determination with a real never give up attitude.
She has picked up British, European and World titles all in one year with some really inspirational performances.

She manages to stay focused in her training and away from the over social side of things that sometimes distracts the girls from what they are actually here to do.

Aside from her martial arts she is a lovely girl and helpful in and around the gym with the younger members and is an absolute pleasure to teach.

Our second student of the year award goes to…

MISS AAMINA SARFRAZ

Moving on now to our Fighters Fighter of the year award for 2019...

Our next award is for the fighter from the fighters and is aptly named the USKA Fighters Fighter award.

Any fighter who has competitively stepped on the mats or in the ring over the last 12 months gets a vote on who they think is most worthy of this award.

They might choose their favourite fighter, they might choose who they think has most improved, they might go with someone who they feel has shown lots of heart or they might choose the person they feel has performed best against the best opposition.

Their choice is their own and their vote is confidential.

The following fighters were nominated with 1 or more votes…
Abdullah Riaz, Charlie Stokes, Dawid Gizewski, Elliot Gohari, Kaifah Imran, Khuzaimah Douglas, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Mustapha Khan, Myesha Imran, Ra’ees Kiani, Remy Mann, Rohan Kumar, Ryan McQueen and Zain Amer

In third place position with 6 votes was….
Aamina Sarfraz

In second place position 7 votes was…

Nikita Raubiska

In First place position with a total of 10 votes our Fighters Fighter award goes to…

SHAKEEL HUSSAIN

Our last award for today will be our Student Scholarship award for 2020...

USKA Scholarship 2020

The scholarship award is now in to it’s 11th year and for over a decade now has really gave it’s reciprocates a great opportunity and platform to really develop themselves with 12 months of all you can eat kickboxing.
The Scholarship basically funds all costs relating to one students martial arts development over a full year including Training fee's, membership fee's, licence fee's, grading fee's, equipment sponsorship and competition entry fee's in a package that can be worth well over £1000 pounds.

With such a massive award at stake myself, Sean and the other USKA coaches assess and deliberate throughout the year to see who we feel is most worthy of such an incredible opportunity.

Over the last 12 months we have gone back and forth between many of the active students at the gym taking many things into consideration and finally we have all unanimously have come to a decision.

The USKA Scholarship award for 2020 goes to...

JACOB ASHFORD

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make today possible and such a success.

Our classes will be on as normal until Sunday 22nd December and then we will break up for the holidays.

We are back in the New Year on January 5th for Ladies classes and January 6th for all other sessions with gradings planned for March and Open Competitions and a BLCC competition planned for the end of January so anyone wishing to take part in these we will be wanting you back on our return dates.

Before you go we’d like to very quickly get a group picture to mark the day and to remember the class of 2019.

Just to wrap things up I would just like to thank everyone for their support today from myself, Alva, Sean, Qas, Ruqayya and Lucy we hope you’ve all had a great day... Osu!

SUNDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2019

A great time was had by all today at the USKA Fight Factory end of year Iron man competition and celebration party.
The Iron Man competition had over 100 competitors take part over 6 tough events in front of all their supporters.
The atmosphere was great with everyone cheering each other on showing real team spirit.
On the completion of the competition everyone was treated to a great spread of food which was gratefully provided from the gyms family and friends.

Once bellies were full it was on to the party games where the little ones enjoyed a game of pass the parcel, a game of Championship Balloon popping and the now customary dice rolling game that involved a lot of lolly pop licking and cream pie splatting.
We would like to whole heartily thank everyone who helped today to make the day so special from the competition officials, the food providers and everyone who assisted in the setting up, the running and the cleaning up of what turned out to be a great event.

SUNDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2019

Well the TMA Fight Series 'When Champions Collide' event at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham lived up to all the hype and then some on Sunday where Kickboxing Fight Fans were treated to a brilliant 14 fight card of action.

USKA had 5 fighters in action against very tough competition in some really competitive fights against opponents who had all come to win.

First up we had Ra'ees 'Kool and Kalm' Kiani Vs the Unbeaten Tyler Morgan from the Oldbury School of Black Belts. Both fighters held Midland Titles which set the stage for a great fight and after three fast paced high quality rounds Ra'ees was crowned a Unanimous points winner.

Second up for USKA we had Lucy 'Lazer Legz' Kings-Wheatley a rematch against Welsh Dragons fighter Victoria Perkins. They both had met three weeks ago when Lucy won a Majority Points decision. The rematch seen Lucy pitch her 2-0 record against WCA World Champion Victoria's amazing 35 -5 record.
After another great back and forth both Lucy once again emerged victorious this time with a Unanimous Points decision.

USKA's Shakeel 'Showtime' Hussain made his Full Contact debut against the very talented Sam Beavon from the TKA Kickboxing gym in Tamworth.
Both fighters had not long returned from separate World Championships with multiple Gold medals so this was sure to be a highly skilled contest between two awesome rising talents.
Following three back and forth rounds Shakeel's arm was raised as a worthy Unanimous points decision winner.

Next up we had Lee 'The Wizard' Whitfield Vs Medghi Hassaine from France for the WRSA Professional European Title.
Lee runs the Bai Lang Kickboxing gym in Telford but fights out of the USKA Fight Factory under chief coach Neil Kelly.
Hassaine brought with him a reputation as a big puncher with most of his wins coming from Knockouts but he proved to be very skillful and gave Lee lots to think about over the 10 round contest. Lee however was technically one step ahead of him and earned himself a hard fought Unanimous Points decision to lift the belt putting himself in number one contender slot for the Word Title sometime next year.

Then it was time for the big one, the much anticipated Unification fight between ICO World Champion Qasim 'The Dream' Beg and WRSA World Champion Dylan 'The Natural' Cheema.
Unification's very rarely happen in Kickboxing with both belts on the line at the same time and this fight had everyone talking about who they thought would win, the young star on the rise in Cheema or the old experienced warrior Beg.
Over 12 rounds the crowd were treated to an amazing back and forth battle that totally lived up to expectations with both fighters have their moments in a real blood and guts battle fully earning each others respect.
Qas's cleaner work prevailed winning him a Points decision seeing him crowned Unified ICO / WRSA Super Lightweight World Champion.
This will hopefully be the springboard for more Unification's for The Dream continuing his quest for ALL THE BELTS!!

A big thank you to Gavin Burrows at TMA Fight Series for the opportunity, Dylan Cheema for the part he played in a great fight and to each and every Fight Fan that purchased a ticket and supported the re-growth of our great sport.

On to the next one!!!

SUNDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2019

Following yesterdays Grading at the USKA Fight Factory it was the turn of the Female Division today with 15 girls attempting their next belts in front of club instructor Ruqayya Griffith and USKA Chief Instructor Neil Kelly.
The first five Grades from Red Belt to Green Belt were in contention and the girls did not disappoint all passing with respectable grading results.
Ruqayya is doing a great job with the Female division with numbers at an all time high and producing a standard of Female Kickboxing in Birmingham that hand on heart I can say is second to none.
Well done girls on yet another impressive grading examination.

The full list of successful results is as follows...

Lyba Azam --- Red Belt

Haleema Khan --- Red Belt
Uzma Maqsood --- Red Belt

Shazia Farooq --- Red Belt

Haalah Sultan --- White Belt

Rumaysah Tahari --- White Belt

Dahlia Sultan --- White Belt

Maryam Faisal --- White Belt

Ru Zhou --- White Belt

Maymuna Faisal --- White Belt

Amera Ali --- White Belt

Michelle Plummer - White Belt

Ayesha Ali --- Yellow Belt

Sumayyah Mahmood --- Green Belt

Hajrah Mahmood --- Green Belt

SATURDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2019

So the scene is set following today's weigh in of Champions for the TMA Fight Series 'When Champions Collide' main event tomorrow at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham.ICO World Champion Qasim 'The Dream' Beg and WRSA World Champion Dylan 'The Natural' Cheema both scaled a ripped and ready 63kg bang on the Super Lightweight limit.Tempers flared between the two after the Cheema Camp threatened to pull out of the contest as late as Wednesday night in an argument about which champion should walk out second.The Dream Team were unfazed by their diva antics and said they should be more worried about the things that do matter when the first bell rings.Despite the drama we have ourselves a fight and tomorrow we will see a Unified Champion crowned in what should be an amazing fight for the crowd.

SATURDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2019

74 New Grades were inducted into the USKA Kickboxing record books today following a 5 hour grading examination at the USKA Fight Factory.
8 Grades from Red Belt to Jnr Brown Belt were contested with each and every candidate being put through the scrutiny of the USKA syllabus under the watchful and detailed eye of Grading examiners Neil Kelly.
Anyone who has ever participated in an USKA grading will know just how hard they are with no favours given meaning anyone who doesn't reach the prescribed standard leaves empty handed having to go and regroup fixing their shortcomings and showing what they are made of to come back stronger next time out. It is a bitter pill but one that ultimately in the long run is for their betterment as a Martial Artist.

We had some outstanding results today with our A-Team of passes including Tobias Cox (Red Belt), Ateeq Al Rahman (Yellow Belt), Hashim Mohammed (Yellow Belt), Julia Gowacz (Orange Belt), Rohan Kumar (Orange Belt), Ryan McQueen (Orange Belt), Kian Beech (Green Belt), Ehsaan Mahmood (Purple Belt), Aryan Singh (Blue Belt), Remy Mann (Jnr Brown Belt).

Well done to all our successful Graders on yet another outstanding effort.

SUNDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2019

On Sunday 1st December In the last BLCC competition of the year at Aero-Kick gym in Birmingham we had 12 fighters in action.
Coaches Neil Kelly and Sean Quinn cornered Zain Amer, Dawid Gizewski, Julia Glowacz, Maryam Sarfraz, Ehsaan Mahmood, Eesa Hassanjee, Safwaan Gul, Aamina Sarfraz, Ryan McQueen, Jad Joma, Steve Parish, Elliot Gohari in 13 bouts and we finished the day with only 1 solitary loss after good performances across the board.
This last competition of 2019 rounds up a Phenomenal competitive year for Team USKA with them all deserving a well earned rest now with the next BLCC competition scheduled for 26th January 2020.
A big well done to everyone who has climbed through the ropes or stepped on the mats in USKA colours over the last year. We are exceptionally proud of each and every one of you.

SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2019

On Saturday 30th November four USKA Fight Factory members were honoured at the ICO Annual awards for 2019 at the ICO's 10th year anniversary Celebrations at the Hatchford Brook Golf Course in Birmingham.
Following a nomination process candidates were narrowed down to the most deserving top three nominees for final selection at the awards evening.
We are thrilled to announce that Ehsaan Mahmood was awarded the top junior fighter award for 2019, Shakeel Hussain was awarded the top cadet fighter award for 2019, Khuzaimah Douglas was awarded the top senior fighter award for 2019 and Neil Kelly was awarded the top coach award for 2019.
Many thanks to the ICO for the recognition of their awards which the USKA contingent were very happy and proud to receive.

SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2019

Saturday 30th November witnessed the Return of the Jedi to USKA when World Renowned Fighter and Instructor Stuart 'The Jedi' Lawson honoured us with his presence conducting a three hour Super Seminar at the USKA Fight Factory.
Stuart for many years has been considered one of the Pound for Pound greats of British kickboxing and he did not disappoint on the seminar treating it's attendees to an amazing session which had everyone fully engaged.
We would like to whole heartedly thank Stuart for an awesome session and also Congratulate him on being presented with the ICO Lifetime achievement award that he received on the evening of the seminar at the ICO Awards evening.

SUNDAY 24TH NOVEMBER 2019

Today USKA Fight Factory fighters attended the inaugural Unified European Championships Co-hosted and sanctioned by the WKO, the AFSO and the WRSA Kickboxing Associations.
We had 13 fighters in action including Abdullah Riaz, Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Ehsaan Mahmood, Charlie Stokes, Myesha Imran, Aamina Sarfraz, Ryan McQueen, Shakeel Hussain, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Aryan Singh, Ra'ees Kiani and Elliot Gohari, competing over 4 different fighting disciplines.
After a really good day of competition we finished proceedings with an impressive 40 medals including 32 Golds, 6 Silvers (2 in USKA V USKA finals) and 2 Bronze medals which topped the medal table and had us awarded the top club of the tournament trophy from over 80 clubs in attendance at the closing ceremony.
5 of our competitors made the Top Ten individuals of the tournament (Ra'ees Kiani, Shakeel Hussain, Ryan McQueen) with Ehsaan Mahmood awarded the Top Male Competitor title belt and Kaifah Imran the Top Female Competitor belt.
We also were awarded two officials choice competitors of the day in Ehsaan Mahmood and Lucy Kings-Wheatley for outstanding inspirational performances.
A very productive day and a great finish for team USKA from Championship tournaments for 2019.

Well done all!

TUESDAY 19TH NOVEMBER 2019

In what already looks like a fantastic card of Kickboxing action at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham on Sunday 8th December we are pleased to announce that there will be more USKA interest on the undercard showcasing some of the USKA Fight Factory's finest young talent.

Shakeel 'Showtime' Hussain will make his Full Contact debut over 3 x 2 minute rounds against the very talented Samuel Bevan from the excellent TKA Kickboxing gym in Tamworth.
Samuel has just returned from the WKU World Championships in Austria with an incredible 4 Gold medals and Shakeel has recently returned from the ICO World Championships in Scotland with 5 Gold medals making this a mouthwatering clash of multi World Champions in a fight for the fans that can not fail to impress with given the standard and quality of the two protagonists.

Ra'ees 'Cool And Calm' Kiani rematches the teak tough Andrew Perkins from the Western Dragons gym in Swansea, Wales in a Full Contact Contest over 3 x 2 Minute Rounds.
Ra'ees caused somewhat of an upset on last weekend in Weston-Super-Mare dropping Andrew for a count in the second round on-route to a points decision in a ding dong fight that seen both fighters have their moments.
Andrew finished the fight very strong indeed and will want to continue where he left of in this rematch eager for revenge.

Lucy 'Lazer Legs' Kings-Wheatley is also involved in a rematch with Multiple World Champion Victoria 'Tigger' Perkins again from the renowned Western Dragons gym in Swansea, Wales in a Full Contact contest over 3 x 2 minute rounds.
Lucy pulled off the impossible in Weston-Super-Mare last weekend in only her second Full Contact fight winning a very close Majority Points Decision over Victoria in another excellent crowd pleasing bout.

Victoria jumped at the chance of an immediate rematch and will want to put the record straight against Lucy.

USKA Fighter Lee 'The Wizard' Whitfield who runs the successful Bai Lang Gym in Telford fights for the WRSA Professional European title against former Champion Alex Davis over 10 x 3 minute rounds in a fight that will earn the victor a Professional World Title shot in 2020.

The Big One!!!

Qasim 'The Dream' Beg Vs Dylan 'The Natural' Cheema

Two reigning and defending Professional World Champions will collide to Unify the ICO and WRSA World Super Lightweight Titles over 12 x 2 minute rounds in a clash that has got everybody talking and everybody divided in opinion on who will come out victorious in a winner takes all fight for pride and glory.

Dylan the young hungry WRSA Champion Vs Qasim the experienced battle hardened unbeaten ICO Champion.

If that wasn't enough outside of USKA we have...

Ryan Davies Vs Dan Morgan for the Professional WRSA British Title over 7 x 2 Minute Rounds

Donovan Wint Vs Reuben Williams for the Amateur Midland Title over 5 x 2 Minute Rounds

Jack 'Bruiser' Dilloway for the Cadet WRSA World Title over 5 x 2 Minute Rounds

Plus a stacked undercard featuring Faye Blount, Dave Hill, Brad Finn, Romaine Porter, Luke Porter, Dylan Matthews and More.

Remaining few tickets are available from the USKA Fight Factory gym but be very quick to avoid disappointment because they are going like hot cakes...

£25 theatre style seated (Kids tickets up to 13 years £20)

This is a show not to be missed!!!

SUNDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2019

From the Fantastic Four last night in Weston-Super-Mare to the Fantastic Five Nation Five today at the Lordswood Tri-Series ICO 5 Nations Championships at the North Solihull Sports Centre in Birmingham.
Five USKA Fight Factory fighters including Kaifah Imran, Ehsaan Mahmood, Myesha Imran, Aamina Sarfraz and Shakeel Hussain took to the ring today alongside their coaches Neil Kelly, Sean Quinn and Qasim Beg to contest ICO 5 Nation Titles at the final Lordswood Tri-Series event of the year.
The small contingent performed excellently throughout the day collecting 5 Gold medals and 1 Bronze medal which coincidentally was in a category that we also picked up Gold in by another USKA competitor.
Well done to the team on yet another strong showing!

SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 2019

It was four out of four for Team USKA tonight at the WCA Sanctioned Tuff House Gym show in Weston-Super-Mare when our fantastic four fighters Remy Mann, Ryan McQueen, Lucy Kings-Wheatley and Ra'ees Kiani climbed through the ropes and put on an excellent display of kickboxing.
First up Remy turned in a Master Class against his opponent Jack State in a Low Kick contest earning himself a Unanimous Points Decision.

Ryan earned himself a second round stoppage overwhelming his opponent Freddy Fuidge following heavy body kick attacks.

In only her second ever Full Contact fight Lucy won a hard fought Majority points decision against World Champion Victoria Perkins and finally Ra'ees dropped his opponent Andrew Perkins in the second round with a body kick on route to a Unanimous points decision.
Impressive results from the USKA Fight Factory Four especially considering they only took these fights at 11 days notice.

Thank you to Team Tuff House and the WCA for having us and allowing our fighters to showcase their talent. We had a blast!

SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2019

Four USKA Fighters travel to Weston-Super-Mare next Saturday (16th November) for some last minute fights to help out a show that has been plagued with pull outs.
Remy Mann fights Jack State in a Junior low kick contest, Ryan McQueen fights Freddie Fudjie in a Junior Kickboxing Contest, Lucy Kings-Wheatley fights World Champion Victoria Perkins in a 3 round Full Contact Contest and Ra'ees Kiani fights Andrew Perkins in a 3 round Ful Contact Contest.
On paper some really tough fights for Team USKA especially given that they are taking these fights on such short notice but as always they definitely won't be going to make up numbers and will be looking for the wins.
If anyone would like to make the trip to Weston-Super-Mare to support our Fantastic Four tickets are on sale priced at just £15.00.

SUNDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2019

It was a busy day for USKA today at the Combat Sports Centre's BLCC event at the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre in Solihull.

24 Fight Factory fighters including Abdullah Riaz, Zain Amer, Hawwa Sarfraz, Dawid Gizewski, Julia Glowacz, Remeshe Forbes Brown, Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Ehsaan Mahmood, Khyro Forbes Brown, Eesa Hassanjee, Safwaan Gul, Aamina Sarfraz, Myesha Imran, Jacob Ashford, Shakeel Hussain, Mohammed Isa Khan, Jad Joma, Qasim Hasan, Ra'ees Kiani, Aryan Singh, Mustapha Khan, Faith Velland and Elliot Gohari took part 26 contests over the course of the day in two kickboxing rings.
Coaches Neil Kelly, Sean Quinn and Qasim Beg were very busy looking after what seemed like to be back to back fights for the team.

We ended with a mixed bag of results but valuable experience was gain for everyone that climbed through the ropes.

Win, Lose, Draw or Demo we are proud of everyone's efforts and look forward now to the next BLCC event at the Aero-Kick gym on Sunday 1st December that will wrap up a great year of competition for team USKA.

SUNDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2019

On 30th October 2019 Birmingham's Unity FM aired an interview featuring USKA Fight Factory's Qasim 'The Dream' Beg and his lifelong coach Neil Kelly.
The interview conducted by presenter Nasser Mockbill was based around the theme of Raising a peaceful and wise generation through Martial Arts and the Sport of Kickboxing.
Qasim and Neil talked about their journey together so far and also their plans for the future around the Sport that has had such a huge impact on both of their lives.
Outside of the Sport Neil as a Muslim revert talked about his journey to Islam and the impact it has had on his life and his gym.

We thank everyone at Unity FM for their time and effort in making the interview happen.

So the Superfight is set!

On Sunday 8th December at the 2nd City Suite in Birmingham two reigning and defending World Champions will colide to Unify the ICO and WRSA World Super Lightweight Titles.

Tickets are available from the USKA Fight Factory gym at the following prices...

Gold : £500 ringside tables of 10 includes waitress service & hot Indian buffet on each table

Silver : £300 tables of 10 or can be sold separately at £30 (Kids tickets up to 13 years £20)

Bronze : £25 theatre style seated (Kids tickets up to 13 years £20)

SATURDAY 26TH OCTOBER 2019

26 USKA Ninjas flew through their grading examinations today at the USKA Fight Factory performing excellently in front of their family and friends.

Some of our youngest members confidently showcased what they have been learning on their USKA Ninjas classes including Basic Technique, Pad Work, Exercises and finished off with an exhausting Relay Circuit.
A big thank you to all our USKA Ninja parents for your continued support and for all the helpers that turned up to assist as these gradings would not be possible to run without you.
Finally a big well done to all our Ninjas for once performing brilliantly, you make us very proud!

Here is a full list of all our successful Ninjas...

Isa Zaman --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Yusuf Amir --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Rayyan Ahmed --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Ibrahim Amer --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Isra Mohammed --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Eesa Amir --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Hafsa Amir --- USKA Ninjas Red Belt

Dawud Sarfraz --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Mohammed Hasan Siddique --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Sabeeyah Hussain --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Mohammed Idrees --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Mohammed Ishaaq Zayd --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Adyan Hussain --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Musa Masud --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Saadiyah Hussain --- USKA Ninjas White / Yellow Stripe Belt

Ayaan Rehman --- USKA Ninjas Yellow Belt

Deen Nisar --- USKA Ninjas Yellow Belt

Ayaan Ali --- USKA Ninjas Yellow Belt

Rocco Barnes --- USKA Ninjas Orange Belt

Maleeha Imran --- USKA Ninjas Orange Belt

Ethan Barnes --- USKA Ninjas Orange Belt

Mohammed Uwais Shafiq --- USKA Ninjas Orange Belt

Danya Fayyaz --- USKA Ninjas Green Belt

Inaaya Rehman --- USKA Ninjas Purple Belt

Dominik Leszczynski --- USKA Ninjas Purple Belt

Zeeshan Rehman --- USKA Ninjas Purple Belt

FRIDAY 25TH OCTOBER 2019

We are lucky to have another all time great of Martial Arts visit us on Saturday 30th November to deliver a Seminar that is not to be missed. As a multiple World Champion and Co-founder of the World famous Paragon Kickboxing gym in London Stuart Lawson returns to the USKA Fight Factory almost 10 years to the day of his last Seminar making this truly the Return of The Jedi! Get in touch to book your space on this World Class seminar with this bonafide Hall of Fame Kickboxer and legend of UK Martial Arts.

1pm - 3.30pm ~ Seminar
3.30 - 4.00pm ~ Autograph and Photo Oportunity

We have limted spaces on this course.

Reserve your space now at the USKA Fight Factory priced at only £25.00 per person.

MONDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2019

We are all wrapped up and home safely following the closing gala evening on Sunday evening at the ICO World Championships 2019 in Scotland.
An amazing event with a great standard of competing, organisation and officiating from ICO Team Scotland.
The team of 15 USKA fighters did not disappoint finishing the tournament with a spectacular 63 medals including 42 Golds, 14 Silvers (7 of which were USKA Vs USKA finals) and 7 Bronze medals.
5 of our fighters finished in the top 10 competitors of the tournament and once again we closed as top contingent team within ICO Team England.
Myself Sean and Qas are exceptionally proud of the team and what they have achieved over the tournament and are thrilled that all their hard work over the last 6 months paid off bringing home such fantastic results.
Thank you to everyone who played a part in their success and a big Congratulations to our team on an amazing achievement.

So from the two World Championships we have attended this year our final tally stands at 121 Medals including 76 Gold's, 33 Silver's and 12 Bronzes.
Keep checking back as we will try and get some footage together of our fighters in action and post it on here as soon as possible.

WEDNESDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2019

Tomorrow 15 fighters and three coaches from the USKA Fight Factory gym will travel to Scotland to compete in the 2019 ICO World Championships.
The team have endured a gruelling six month training camp 5 to 6 days a week to prepare themselves for the Championships and to equip them to be able to contend with some of the best fighters from around the World.
All that is left to do now is for them to have the belief in themselves to be able to go and do what we all know they are capable of.
We won't wish them good luck because luck is for the unprepared and that does not apply to team USKA.

Pictured below is our 2019 World Championship team

Back Row... Hammaad Shand, Rohan Kumar, Myesha Imran, Aamina Sarfraz, Ryan Mcqueen, Shakeel Hussain.
Middle Row... (Coach) Sean Quinn, Khuzaimah Douglas, Faith Velland, Qasim Hasan, (Coach) Qasim Beg, (Coach) Neil Kelly.
Front Row... Charlie Stokes, Ehsaan Mahmood, Kaifah Imran, Abdullah Riaz, Nikita Raubiska, Remy Mann.

SATURDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2019

It was 3 wins out of 3 for team USKA tonight at the Strictly Business Boxing XVIII card at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
Disappointingly all three fighters had to face replacement opponents following a series of unfortunate events that left their original opponents unable to compete.

Shakeel 'Showtime' Hussain contested the BLCC -55kg English Title against Solihull Combat Sports Centre's Jake Thermaine winning by Unanimous points decision.

Ehsaan 'The Head Hunter' Mahmood contested the AFSO -30kg British Title against Dundee Kickboxing's Derren 'Dynamite' Currie winning by Unanimous points decision.

Qasim 'The Dream' Beg continued his 1st Round Knockout run stopping his opponent Martin Hammond early after three knockdowns.

As a fighter all you can do is beat the fighter in front of you and our three fighters did that comfortably enough but it is disappointing that they did not get the tests that they were looking for.

On behalf of all three fighters we would like to thank the Strictly Business Boxing promoters and the TMA Fight Series for the opportunity to compete on the card and to wholeheartedly thank all the supporters that came to cheer our guys on.

SUNDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER 2019

The TMA Fight Series England Vs The Rest of the World fight card at the Premiere Suite in Cannock on Saturday 14th September did not disappoint the fight fans with main event of the evening seeing USKA's Former ICO World Champion Qasim 'The Dream' Beg attempt to win back to ICO Super Lightweight title he never lost in the ring against French European Champion Jonathan Maine. Qasim was coming off a 1st round knockout win in July following a four year absence from the sport and had trained exceptionally hard looking forward to getting some rounds in against the Frenchman Maine who came with a really good reputation. After a minute of feeling each other out in the first round Qas sunk a right body hook in that seen his opponent wince. Seeing the effect it had Qasim faked the same punch again but this time took it to the head and it was lights out for Maine 1 minute and 18 seconds into the very first round for a second time in a row. Now a two times World Champion Qasim intends to build on this and Unify the division to cement his legacy in the sport. He will be fighting in Birmingham on 12th October in a non title contest with his eyes set on adding another World title to his collection early December to cap off a successful comeback year. We would like to thank Gavin Burrows at TMA for affording Qasim the opportunity to do his thing on his shows and to all the fans that came to support Qasim. and Lucy. All the action is captured here by FightNightLive-TV with commentary from the one and only Malcolm Martin.

SUNDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER 2019

A full team of 23 USKA Fight Factory fighters competed yesterday at the Warriors Fight Club BLCC event at the Meadway Sports and Social club in Kitts Green in Birmingham.
The team headed by coached Neil Kelly and Sean Quinn consisted of Hawwa Sarfraz, Dawid Gizewski, Zain Amer, Julia Glowacz, Maryam Sarfraz, Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Ehsaan Mahmood, Eesa Hassanjee, Ibrahim Iqbal, Charlie Stokes, Remy Mann, Aamina Sarfraz, Myesha Imran, Rohan Kumar, Ryan McQueen, Shakeel Hussain, Jad Joma, Sami Kelly, Qasim Hassan, Ra'ees Kiani, Mustapha Khan, Faith Velland.
After some great performances in 25 individual bout we only dropped one decision in a closely fought contest showing lots of skill and will throughout the day.
Well done to everyone on their efforts as we look forward to the next BLCC event on Sunday 3rd November at the Combat Sports Centre in Solihull, West Midlands.

WEDNESDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2019

USKA Fight Factory played host to one of Martial Arts all time greats this evening when the G.O.A.T. Raymond 'The Real Deal' Daniels conducted an awesome 3 hour seminar to a packed room full of star struck attendees.
Raymond teaching his unique spin on combat sports was engaging and funny from start to finish whilst covering kickboxing fundamentals in a way that only he could drawing from the experience from all of the different fighting styles he has competed in nearly 35 years in Martial Arts.
Breaking down the reasoning behind every move Raymond's instruction was second to none and everyone in attendance will have taken something from the session that will help them develop as fighters in the future if they practice and try to develop what they have learned.
Following the session the G.O.A.T. conducted an informative question and answer session followed by a photograph opportunity and autograph signings.
A big thank you to Raymond for taking the time to visit USKA and share his knowledge with us. We will definitely be having him back again when he tours the UK in 2020.

SUNDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2019

13 of our Female members took a step closer to Black Belt today at the USKA Fight Factory after passing their grading on our USKA Female Division Grading Examination.
The Grades in contention ranged from Red Belt (1st Belt) to Purple Belt (6th Grade) and in total including the warm up Grading Preparation class the highest grades were on the mat for a total of 5 hours really testing themselves not just technically but physically over the course of the day.
Congratulations to all our successful candidates and a special well done to our A star grader Amera Ali on her 95 / A- Red Belt Pass.

Our full list of successful results are as follows...

Safa Amir --- Red Belt

Shabana Akhtar --- Red Belt

Amera Ali --- Red Belt

Anaya Kiani --- White Belt

Vicky McGovern --- White Belt

Judith McTiernan --- White Belt

Mia Stokes --- Orange Belt

Khalysah Plummer - Orange Belt

Faith Velland --- Orange Belt

Kaifah Imran --- Green Belt

Myesha Imran --- Green Belt

Harisah Imran --- Green Belt

Aamina Sarfraz ---- Purple Belt

SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2019

The TMA Fight Series England Vs The Rest of the World fight card at the Premiere Suite in Cannock on Saturday night did not disappoint the fight fans in attendance with 8 really good fights of contact sports.

Opening up the card for USKA we had gala debutante Lucy 'Lazer Legs' Kings-Wheatley in a really tough match on paper against France's highly rated European K-1 Champion Emeline Thomas.

Thomas brought with her a Gala record of 15 fights and with this being Lucy's first Full Contact fight a few eyebrows were raised wondering if she could hang at this level at only 9 days notice.
Lucy performed really well outscoring her opponent with silky skills and her trademark accurate kicking style to win all three round on all the judges scorecards for a Unanimous points decision.
The main event of the evening seen USKA's Former ICO World Champion Qasim 'The Dream' Beg attempt to win back to ICO Super Lightweight title he never lost in the ring against French European Champion Jonathan Maine.
Qasim was coming off a 1st round knockout win in July following a four year absence from the sport and had trained exceptionally hard looking forward to getting some rounds in against the Frenchman Maine who came with a really good reputation.
After a minute of feeling each other out in the first round Qas sunk a right body hook in that seen his opponent wince. Seeing the effect it had Qasim faked the same punch again but this time took it to the head and it was lights out for Maine 1 minute and 18 seconds into the very first round for a second time in a row.
Now a two times World Champion Qasim intends to build on this and Unify the division to cement his legacy in the sport.
He will be fighting in Birmingham on 12th October in a non title contest with his eyes set on adding another World title to his collection early December to cap off a successful comeback year.

We would like to thank Gavin Burrows at TMA for affording Qasim the opportunity to do his thing on his shows and to all the fans that came to support Qasim and Lucy, it truly means the Word and we thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.

FRIDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2019

Both USKA Fighters easily made weight today at Metro Inn Hotel at the Weigh in for the England V The Rest Of The World Event that will take place at the Premiere Suite in Cannock tomorrow evening.
Lucy Kings-Wheatley who is making her Gala debut came in at 61.5kg against the very highly rated French European K-1 Champion Emeline Thomas.
This is a big ask for Lucy against her more experienced opponent but she and her USKA coaches are confident they can use Lucy's silky skills to pull off the upset and claim the win.
Our World Title contender Qasim 'The Dream' Beg scaled in at 62.2kg against his French opponent and current European Champion Jonathan Maine for the main event fight of the evening which on paper looks like a brilliant match up.
Both fighters are happy, relaxed and refuelled and are looking forward to putting on a great show for everyone tomorrow night.

We have our last few tickets available from the USKA Fight Factory gym tomorrow morning priced at £30.00.

The Premier Suite, Danilo Road, Cannock, WS11 1BJ.
Doors open 5pm, First fight 6pm

SUNDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2019

It was back to the Metrodome in Barnsley for Team USKA today for the 2019 WKO Open British Championships.
With 48 clubs from all over the UK in Attendance and 600 starts it was another busy day for the WKO organisers who did a good job of getting started on time and running smoothly throughout the long day of competition.

USKA had 16 fighters in attendance including Abdullah Riaz, Kaifah Imran, Nikita Raubiska, Ehsaan Mahmood, Remy Mann, Charlie Stokes, Myesha Imran, Rohan Kumar, Hammaad Shand, Ryan McQueen, Aamina Sarfraz, Shakeel Hussain, Qasim Hasan, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Ra'ees Kiani and Faith Velland along side USKA Coaches Neil Kelly, Sean Quinn and Qasim Beg.
Our contingent were competing over 9 different rule sets showing great versatility adapting to different disciplines and styles.

With this being the last competition for our fighters before the ICO World Championships in Scotland in October it was important for us to get as many tough fights as possible in the bank meaning it was going to be a hectic day for fighters and coaches alike.
After some solid performances throughout the course of the day we finished with an incredible medal count of 47 Golds, 11 Silvers (5 of those were USKA Vs USKA finals) and 2 Bronze medals. This amazing tally seen USKA way out in front on the top schools list with us winning the best club of the tournament trophy.
To top of the day we also had 9 of our fighters feature in the top 10 competitors of the tournament based on their results highlighting just how well they all did...

Ehsaan Mahmood
Top Overall Competitor

Top Overall Male Competitor Award
8 Golds

Ryan McQueen

Joint 2nd Overall Competitor

5 Golds

Shakeel Hussain

Joint 2nd Overall Competitor

5 Golds

Aamina Sarfraz

Joint 4th Overall Competitor

Top Overall Female Competitor Award
4 Golds, 1 Silver

Charlie Stokes

Joint 4th Overall Competitor
4 Golds, 1 Silver

Myesha Imran

Joint 5th Overall Competitor

4 Golds

Remy Mann

Joint 5th Overall Competitor

4 Golds

Abdullah Riaz
Joint 7th Place Overall Competitor
3 Golds, 1 Silver

Rohan Kumar

8th Place Overall Competitor

3 Golds, 1 Bronze

A big well done to Team USKA on another great day!

SATURDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2019

The latest General Grading at the USKA Fight Factory on Saturday 7th September seen 36 successful grading candidates take and pass their next coloured belts over a 5 hour Examination in front of USKA Chief Instructor Neil Kelly and club instructor Qasim Beg.
Anyone who has ever taken part in an USKA grading will appreciate just how hard they are with everyone truly earning their belts in an age where they are more increasingly handed out from a business perspective rather than the high set standard of the old school Martial Arts of yesteryear.
At USKA we maintain high old school values meaning sometimes candidates come up short and have to go back to the drawing board to make corrections and improve for next time out which unfortunately was the case on this Grading. This is not the end of the world but more of a wake up call that in the long run will improve the student as a Martial Artist.
Well done to all our successful Graders but in particular our star graders in Musa Rafiq (Red Belt A / Pass), Hashim Mohammed (White Belt A / Pass), Ryan McQueen (Yellow Belt / A- Pass) and Rico Mann (Blue Belt / A- Pass).
Also special mentions to Mohammed Ibrahim Khan, Sumayya Griffith and Khuzaimah Douglas who all passed their Junior Brown Belt Grade which was the highest belts contested on the day.

A full list of results are as follows...

HUMAYAH IQBAL --- RED BELT

DAWID GIZEWSKI --- RED BELT
SHAUNA O'BRIEN --- RED BELT

MUSA RAFIQ --- RED BELT

KEELAN O'BRIEN --- RED BELT

IDREES ABASS --- RED BELT

MOHAMMED SARFRAZ KHAN --- RED BELT

ZOHAIB ALI --- RED BELT

JASON O'BRIEN --- RED BELT

ADIL REHMAN --- RED BELT

ISA KHAN --- WHITE BELT

ZAIN AMER --- WHITE BELT

ALFIE PARISH --- WHITE BELT

HAMNA ASIF --- WHITE BELT

AHSAAN MAHMOOD --- WHITE BELT

RUDI SPENCER --- WHITE BELT

ESA ZAMAN --- WHITE BELT

REHAAN KHALID --- WHITE BELT

RAIHAN ISLAM --- WHITE BELT

SIHAAN ZAMAN --- WHITE BELT

SHIHAAB GUL --- WHITE BELT

MOIN KHALID --- WHITE BELT

SABIH ASIF --- WHITE BELT

ZAIN KHALID --- WHITE BELT

SAFWAN GUL --- WHITE BELT

HASHIM MOHAMMED --- WHITE BELT

JULIA GLOWACZ --- YELLOW BELT

ABDUR RAHMAN --- YELLOW BELT

ROHAN KUMAR --- YELLOW BELT

RYAN McQUEEN --- YELLOW BELT

MOHAMMED DANYAAL --- YELLOW BELT

JACOB ASHFORD --- ORANGE BELT

RICO MANN --- BLUE BELT

MOHAMMED IBRAHIM KHAN --- JNR BROWN BELT

SUMAYYA GRIFFITH --- JNR BROWN BELT

KHUZAIMAH DOUGLAS --- JNR BROWN BELT

THURSDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2019

USKA has an exciting addition to the Undercard of the TMA Fight Series England V The Rest Of The World event on Saturday 14th September at the Walsall Town Hall in the form of Lucy Kings-Wheatley in an International Full Contact contest. Lucy has stepped in at only 10 days notice to take on France's Erika Teyssendier to replace her original English opponent who has had to pull out through injury.

On paper it is a really tough fight for Lucy giving away age and experience but it is an opportunity that she jumped at with her and her team believing that she has what it takes to overcome those disadvantages and come away with the victory on the big stage.

With her Team mate Qasim 'The Dream' Beg challenging to regain his ICO Professional World Title belt as part of the main event on the night this is a big bonus for the USKA fans seeing Lucy in action. Another reason why you shouldn't miss out on this great card of kickboxing that is guaranteed not to disappoint.

Tickets are available at the USKA gym for this event at the following prices...
Gold Inner Ringside: £40.00 (Limited Availability) (includes buffet and VIP bar entrance).
Silver Tickets: £30.00 seated.

Walsall Town Hall, Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP.
Doors open 5.00pm, First Fight 5.30pm

TUESDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER 2019

Here comes the Dream! In just 11 days USKA Fight Factory Fighter and former ICO Professional Super Lightweight World Champion Qasim 'The Dream' Beg will challenge to regain the title he never lost in the ring when he climbs through the ropes at the Walsall Town Hall to compete on the TMA Fight Series England V The Rest Of The World event.

This bout follows his successful return to the ring back in June where he blew away his opponent in 1 round.

Undefeated Qasim' who's Ful Contact record stands at 45-0 goes straight back in to the deep of World Class Kickboxing.against ISKA European Champion Jonathan Maine from France who comes with good credentials and is sure to be a real test for the Englishman.

Team Maine know that if there was ever a time to beat the Dream it is now with Qasim having only just over 1 minute of ring time in the last four and a half years but Qasim is looking to be back to his best showing the Kickboxing World just why he was considered to be one of the best all round Full Contact kickboxer's that the UK has ever produced.

As you can see from our footage Qasim is chomping at the bit to get back in the ring and get back what he considers to be his property.

Let's get behind our man and show him first class support in the final chapters of what has already been an extraordinary career.

Tickets are available at the USKA gym for this event at the following prices...

Gold Inner Ringside: £40.00 (Limited Availability) (includes buffet and VIP bar entrance).

Silver Tickets: £30.00 seated.

Walsall Town Hall, Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP.

Doors open 5.00pm, First Fight 5.30pm

SATURDAY 31ST AUGUST 2019

A great turn out of over 50 fighters showed up today at the USKA Fight Factory to take part in our 100 rounds of sparring fundraising event to raise money to help send 15 USKA Fighters to the ICO World Championships in Scotland in October.
The participants took part in two minute rounds of Sparring with a one minute rest across disciplines including Body Shot Boxing, Freestyle Boxing, Kickboxing, Low Kick and K-1 pledging to do a set amount of rounds with some toughing it out and doing the full Hardcore 100.
The Sparathon took a mega 5 hours to complete which in itself is a great feat of stamina, staying power and determination and everyone was respectful and controlled throughout making it a very enjoyable day.
Well done to everybody that took part and thank you to everyone who made a donation.

If anyone would still like to donate a help our team with their funding please follow the link below to our Gofundme page,Many thanks in advance for whatever you can spare for this great cause.

DONATE HERE!

THURSDAY 29TH AUGUST 2019

At the end of July 2019 a team of 14 USKA Fight Factory fighters travelled to Barnsely England to compete at the 2nd Annual WKO World Kickboxing Championships.
Following two days of competition the team walked away with an outstanding 58 Medals including 34 Golds, 19 Silvers and 5 Bronze medals as well as being awarded the number one club at the event based on accumulated points from results.
Our young fighter Ehsaan Mahmood was awarded Top Male Competitor of the competition based on his results and we also had 3 more of our fighters placed in the top ten overall competitors at the Championships..
Here are our fighters in action with some of the highlights across a number of the different disciplines that they competed in.

Abdullah Riaz - 00:20

Kaifah Imran - 01:04

Nikita Raubiska - 01:56

Ehsaan Mahmood - 03:02

Charlie Stokes - 05:12

Remy Mann - 06:00

Myesha Imran - 07:12

Aamina Sarfraz - 08:31

Hammaad Shand - 09:20

Ryan McQueen - 10:13

Shakeel Hussain - 11:21

Qasim Hasan - 13:49

Faith Velland - 14:48

Khuzaimah Douglas - 16:08

SATURDAY 24TH AUGUST 2019

The latest USKA Ninjas Grading Examination at the USKA Fight Factory saw 23 new belts handed out to some of the youngest members of the gym.
The grading took place on Saturday 24th August under the watchful eye of USKA Ninja Instructors Neil Kelly, Sean Quinn and Qasim Beg with a number of helpers consisting of intermediate and advanced grades from our technical classes.
The 90 minute Grading consisted of an Exercise Circuit, Kickboxing Padwork, Basic Shadow Boxing Line Work and a gruelling Relay Circuit really putting the grading candidates through their paces making sure they earn their grade in front of their family and friends for that little added pressure.
All our Ninjas passed with flying colours and were awarded their new coloured belts and certificates as an acknowledgement of their efforts.
Well done to all our successful graders.

A full list of Grading Results are as follows...

ANNIYAH IQBAL - USKA NINJAS RED BELT

MUSA MAJID - USKA NINJAS RED BELT

ISHA KHAN - USKA NINJAS RED BELT

ELIJAH BROWN USKA NINJAS RED BELT

AYAAN REHMAN - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

CALLUM THOMAS - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

IMAAN AHMED - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

KHADEEJAH PANWAR - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

AYAAN ALI - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

ISA PANWAR - USKA NINJAS WHITE / YELLOW STRIPE BELT

MALEEHA IMRAN - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

EISA KHAN - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

ROCCO BARNES - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

ABDUR RAHMAN YUSUF - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

EESAH SADIQUE - USKA NINJAS YELOW BELT

MOHAMMED UWAIS - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

ETHAN BARNES - USKA NINJAS YELLOW BELT

DANYA FAYYAZ - USKA NINJAS ORANGE BELT

INAAYA REHMAN - USKA NINJAS GREEN BELT

DOMINIK LESZCZYNSKI - USKA NINJAS GREEN BELT

ZINIDINE KHAN - USKA NINJAS GREEN BELT

ZEESHAN REHMAN - USKA NINJAS GREEN BELT

MOYA McNAMARA - USKA NINJAS PURPLE BELT

SUNDAY 18TH AUGUST 2019

A smaller than usual USKA Fight Team due to the holiday period were in action today at the Burton Kickboxing Academy's latest BLCC Ring Continuous Kickboxing event in Burton-On-Trent.
11 fighters including Julia Glowacz, Abdullah Riaz, Zain Amer, Nikita Raubiska, Charlie Stokes, Rohan Kumar, Hammaad Shand, Ryan McQueen, Qasim Hassan, Khuzaimah Douglas and Qasim Beg took to the ring in 14 contests and conceded only 1 close defeat throughout the course of the day.
Coaches Neil Kelly and Sean Quinn were very happy indeed on their fighters performances with lots to go back to the gym with to improve on for next time out which is what it is all about.
The next BLCC event will be held at the Meadway Sports and Social club in Birmingham on Sunday 22nd September where we expect a bigger team back in action and hopefully more of the same in regard to results.
Well done team on another successful day of competition.

FRIDAY 16TH AUGUST 2019

Our next USKA Fighter Focus features a cadet fighter who has really come into his own these last few years in the shape of 15 year old Shakeel 'Showtime' Hussain.

Starting in the sport at the age of 9 Shakeel has steadily improved and is now considered one of if not the most skilful fighter in the junior USKA stable with a skill set and flamboyance that is rarely seen in a fighter at such a young age.

A regular on the open tournament circuit Shakeel has had great success across all the governing bodies showing that he really is the man to beat at his age in his -55kg weight class.

He competes across a multitude of different disciplines showing that he is a real all rounder and has been tipped by many to be the one to watch that could possibly go all the way in his chosen sport if he can remain focused and dedicated to his craft.

Whenever Shakeel steps into the ring or onto the mats you can expect Showtime by name and by nature but is still very grounded and humble in his approach to his sport which is probably his most endearing quality.

WEDNESDAY 14TH AUGUST 2019

We are extremely pleased and proud to announce that following a successful bid the USKA Fight Factory have been selected by the West Midlands Police Active Citizens funding committee to fund 10 full training scholarship places to young people at our academy over the coming year with the first positions hopefully being selected and filled in October.

The Active Citizens fund comes from money seized from criminals under the proceeds of crime act that is set aside each year by the Police and Crime Commissioner and made available for community projects to bid for.

The main criteria is that the project should encourage people to improve their area and help make it a safer place to live and work. The PCC distributes the money amongst local policing teams in the West Midlands and It is local police who recommends whether a project should be funded or not.
The 2019 / 2020 initiative was to attempt to reduce youth crime and / or knife crime in the area.
Following our successful bid we can now look to select 10 worthy applicants that would benefit from this initiative and fund a whole years training, grading examinations and equipment costs to put them on the right track and give them direction and focus in the sport of Kickboxing that could potentially change their lives for the better.
Applicants should be under 18 years old and will be considered irrespective of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics or disability.
If you or you know of anyone that would like to be considered for this fantastic opportunity please send the following details via email to neilflex1@aol.com no later than Monday 23rd September.

Name:

Age:
Date of Birth:
Area of Residence:
Reason you would like to be considered for our project:
Contact Name:

Contact Telephone Number:
Contact Email Address:

Following a vetting process of eligibility successful applicants will be informed in due course.

TUESDAY 13TH AUGUST 2019

Following his successful return to the ring back in June former ICO Super Lightweight Champion of the World Qasim 'The Dream' Beg goes straight back in to the deep end on Saturday 14th September at the Walsall Town Hall on another action packed TMA Fight Series card of 1st class Kickboxing when he attempts to recapture his former title to become a two times Professional World Champion.

Qasim who's undefeated Full Contact record currently stands at 45-0 takes on French ISKA European Champion Jonathan Maine on the 'England Takes On The Rest Of The World' Card.

Maine as you would expect for a World title will be a significant step u in class from Qasim's last opponent but it is a test that the USKA Fighter must come through if he has aspirations of regaining his belt and Unifying other versions of the World Title level in the near future.

Let's get behind our man and show him first class support in the final chapters of what has already been an extraordinary career.

Walsall Town Hall, Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP.
Doors open 5.00pm, First Fight 5.30pm