It’s a very special edition of the podcast today, as Carl talks to one of HKA’s rising stars, Leigha Denne, his daughter.

It’s an insightful conversation between father and daughter that covers everything from Leigha’s relationships with her parents, the effects of separation upon the family, school and friendship groups, teenage life, social media, growing up in a gym environment, and Leigha’s role as one of HKA’s most valued coaches.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Leigha finds it difficult sometimes, to see her parents spend so much time at the gym. But she also recognises that they are doing something they love. This far outweighs any negative feelings.
• Her parents have separated and moved on, but Leighs still counts her blessings in that they have remained great friends. Not all people are so lucky.
• The family is unique in that they may be separated in many ways, but they still hold on to each other, and spend lots of time with each other through the gym.
• Leigha has to work to balance her social time with her responsibilities at the gym. Her friends are sometimes surprised when she foregoes social activities in order to attend gym events.
• For the family, it’s perfectly natural to get along with each other, even though they have moved on with different partners. It seems to be the world that expects friction, but there is none.
• Through helping at the gym with the youngsters, Leigha has developed great social skills. This has translated also to her dealings with adults.
• Being a coach is a singular experience. The best coaches are the ones who use their unique skills in order to make their coaching unique. 
• People and life change. Leighs knows that certain things in her life will always be there; there will always be cornerstones and foundations. School life and trends fade and disappear. Concentrate on the things that last, and the things that matter.

BEST MOMENTS

’99% of the time we get on. Well, we have to because we work with each other!’

‘I really do appreciate the time that we have’

‘Every fighter’s different. It’s nice to see how they improve’

‘Be a nice person. Don’t be an idiot’

‘It’s nice seeing the difference in people’

‘I couldn’t imagine not having kickboxing in my life’

‘You need to let go to grow'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

HKA Main landing page

www.hastingskickboxing.co.uk/kickstartnow

YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Hastingskickboxing

HKA Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/Hastingskickboxing

Adult community link 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/274624209886110?ref=share 

ABOUT THE HOST

Hi, my name is Carl Denne.  

I was born in Hastings 1980. Married, father of two beautiful daughters, Bethany and Leigha. 

My daughters, the wife, and gym ARE MY LIFE.

IF I’M HONEST, I pretty much failed at school. Heavily dyslexic, I was dismissed for being a “naughty kid” that didn’t want to learn. I was heavily bullied for having shit clothes and ginger afro hair. I didn’t have many friends. 

When I say bullied I don’t mean called a “poo-poo head” and being looked at in a nasty way. I mean thrown down stairs, and hit with chairs and tables. Clothes were stolen whilst in the shower. That kind of bullying…

Oh, how things have changed… 

Martial arts, and specifically Kickboxing, have changed my life, and now I am much happier and change other people’s lives for the better on a daily basis. 

I am a complete adrenaline freak, so In my spare time, track days, jumping out of planes, sitting on top of them, rage buggies in the desert… The higher, the faster the better for me. I’m always looking for the next thing to get my blood pumping, so if anyone has a challenge I’ve not found yet, please feel free to share. 

I do like a Saturday night movie night, Chinese, Netflix, lots of chocolate with my three little ladies. I love being around my friends and family. This is why I love the crazy HKA family so much, as this is my extended family.   

I left school with pretty much nothing! A few sad GCSE’s C - D grade, BUT I did have a shit-ton of energy and passion to achieve, and to prove all the teachers and people that looked down on me for all them years, wrong. So after a few jobs here and there, I settled on working for Openreach (BT) as a cabler/jointer copper and fiber optic multi-skilled engineer with HGV.

I left this in 2015 to chase my dream of running my own Kickboxing Academy and working with the future of today, rather than a job that just paid the bills. 

I’ve trained pretty much my whole life: Karate, boxing, Judo, from the age of 9, and of course, I’ve now done over 29 years of Kickboxing. I’ve passed many Instructors and coaches courses, attended many training courses and seminars, grading up through the syllabus. I passed my 4-hour hell-on-earth 3rd Dan black belt in July 2018 with the ICO.

If I’m honest my real passion and skills have come from learning the hard way; through being in the trenches. I know how it feels to be on your arse. I know how it feels to have to pull yourself out of the pit. I’ve been through a divorce. I’ve lived through the pain and have worked with thousands of members, students, children, teachers and adults over the years, and the one thing I get told every time is how well I/we keep it very real, and that I have a complete understanding on most eventualities. 

Thank you for reading and listening. I hope you connect with myself and the team, take away some ideas, understand you’re not alone, and that it’s good to talk, listen and help others as and when you can. 

 

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