Carl shares the importance of hard work and grind and being able to deal with whatever challenges you face along the way in this episode about not only the journey of HKA but also the exciting news about a move to a new HKA gym in January 2021.

HKA has faced many challenges along the way and each time Carl’s dream and hard work have been what’s made the difference. Hear about why you should never stop chasing your dreams and always be prepared to put in the grind.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• My journey started at 11 years old at Hastings Martial Arts
• I walked in and thought I needed to be in a dojo all the time, I fell in love with kickboxing and Kungfu.
• I had spent my life growing up at Hastings Martial Arts so going out on my and with a different name was really scary.
• We kept on growing and needed to move so I built my own gym but we had to move out and the challenge was to start again.
• We’ve moved eight times and each time we’ve had to start again
• We have kept on growing because everyone has had faith in me and now it’s time to move to somewhere of our own.
• in January 2021 HKA will be moving to new headquarters, a new super gym and it’s’ going to phenomenal

 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I fell into teaching but it’s something I love’

‘With the help of everyone, we have kept on growing and expanding’

‘We have a contract for a new gym and I’m so excited’

 

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 

[email protected]  - Join Leigha every weekday for a workout for a fiver per month

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Hi, my name is Carl Denne.  

I was born in Hastings in 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 downstairs, 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 those years, wrong. So, after a few jobs here and there, I settled on working for Openreach (BT) as a cabler/jointer copper and fibre 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.