Kickboxer Louis Draper described the sport as “misunderstood” and “the funding just isn’t there.”
A second-degree black belt in the sport, Draper started playing when he was just eight years old in Bromsgrove and is still competing to this day.
“My friend got me into it at first, and then I did it with him until I got my first black belt, where he stopped because he achieved his goal.
“But I fell in love with sport from the minute I started, to I wanted to carry on, and managed to get my second-degree black belt just a couple of years ago.
“When I moved to University, I couldn’t really do it because there was nowhere in Cheltenham that really did it to the level I wanted, and the same with the society,” Draper said.
“Where I’m from, it doesn’t have the best facilities for kickboxing; it’s a small family-owned club where they just rent out a little hall, and they bring their own equipment.
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“On the other hand, it’s good because it’s a nice community, when you’re smacking each other in the head, you build a bond together.”
After competing throughout his time at school, the 20-year-old emphasises the benefits it could have on people growing up.
“Kickboxing definitely should be introduced to a lot more people, especially in school. I think it’s not only helpful but also growing up to have different self-defence life skill in terms of fighting if you get into an altercation.
“It also brings you up in a way where you can be disciplined, because I think a lot of people think it’s all just about violence rather than actually learning life skills”
In recent years, the UFC has boomed in popularity, and boxing has always been a massive sport, but kickboxing has never really taken off, however Draper believes the sport can grow.
“Boxing and MMA are growing at a quicker rate than kickboxing, with not many people really knowing much about kickboxing in terms of the competitive side of it and not knowing fighters, but for MMA, it’s a huge part of it.
“It’s literally one half of what MMA is, so I think a lot more people will be doing it in the future, and there’s a lot of fighters, especially with media now, there are so many videos of fighters training with influencers and going to schools now and I think that’s a really good step for the future of kickboxing.”
