Level 2 Certificate in Sports and Fitness student, Thomas Culverhouse has been crowned a WKO English Open Kickboxing champion, winning three silver and a bronze medal in the prestigious championship.
He is also ranked number 1 in two categories in the world in the WKO championships.
Talking about his journey, Thomas commented: “I started kickboxing when I was 10 and since then it has become a huge part of my life. At first it was just to help build my confidence up and as a little side hobby but since then I’ve gone from learning the basics to a 1st Dan black belt.
“I’m also part of the leadership training team where I was helping children’s classes, but I am currently helping the instructors in adult sessions.”
Taking part in a tournament last year, Thomas said: “Tournament wise, the academy has recently set up special classes for those who wanted to begin competitive fights, and I alongside a few others spent months training to improve for the WKO national championships. I attended the WKO national championships in February of this year and came away with four medals.
“The whole weekend was such an incredible experience for me, it was almost like something out of a movie! Having my name being put on the screens and being called out felt unreal, not to mention stepping onto the mats for the first time seeing all of the judges preparing and spectators gathering around. I can’t wait for the next opportunity and to see if I can add anymore medals to my collection!”
So, what’s next for Thomas’ future plans? Thomas added: “I am currently a 1st Dan black belt and I am going for my 2nd black belt in June. After the amazing experience at the WKO nationals in February, I now have a fighter’s licence and I hope to compete later this year and see where it takes me. In the meantime, I’ll be training and helping out in student classes.
“City Of Bristol college has such a diverse range of courses and have a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, not to mention having such friendly and helpful staff that help us out whenever possible; I can’t wait for my next year here.”
To find out more about the Level 2 Certificate in Sports and Fitness, simply click here.
