The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Doing it for kicks
When Steven Barron joined his son’s martial arts classes he discovered a family love of kickboxing, as Caroline Lindsay found out
When it comes to sport, children often take ] lead from their parents but for dad Steven Barron the reverse was true.
When son Connor started kickboxing classes at the age of five, the Lochgelly dad decided the best way for the lad to improve was if he joined as well.
Six years later the pair are both black belts – and the best of friends.
“I thought that if I knew how to do it as well I’d be able to help him train and practise at home – and I ended up loving it too,” says Steven.
Kickboxing is a martial art with its roots in Japan. Participants use their hands and feet to score points on their opponent to win.
With many different styles to choose from, Connor and Steven are trained in freestyle – mainly semi-contact fighting to score points – and continuous fighting.
Steven, 28, has reached his 1st dan black belt while Connor, a P7 pupil at Lochgelly West Primary School, has attained his first star junior black belt.
“After black belt, adults go up in dans and the kids gain further stars on their belt until they qualify as adult kick boxers,” Steven explains.
“For me and Connor, reaching black belt is not the end goal, it’s just another step forward.”
Competitions spur them on to keep improving and Steven, a roofer, spends most his free time practising and training with Fife Kickboxing and SelfDefence Academy in Dunfermline.
“I arrive home from work, get washed and changed and then head straight back out. Sometimes I don’t even have time to eat,” he admits.
Weekends are spent going for a run, or taking part in squad training or competitions.
“I love meeting members from other clubs and training and sparring together, getting to know new people with the same passion as me – Connor says it’s like one big family,” says Steven.
As well as keeping them strong, fit and healthy, kickboxing also punches above its weight when it comes to teaching discipline, respect and confidence, he adds.
“Connor sometimes takes the warmups and cool downs in class and his confidence has come on in leaps and bounds,” he adds. “It really helps with school as well, standing up in front of his class to speak.”
Perhaps most importantly, the fatherson bond has been strengthened by sharing a common interest.
“I think doing this sport together has definitely brought us closer together,” says Steven.
“I get to share in his accomplishments and he in mine, and understanding the effort he puts in makes me a very proud father. I am always surprised at how far he can push himself.”
I love meeting members from other clubs and training and sparring together, meeting new people with the same passion as me
Steven is also thrilled that Aberdeen has been chosen to host the World Kickboxing Championships (WKC), believing it will spur on amateur kickboxers like him to aim for the top.
“Having the best fighters from around the world in our back yard is a great achievement,” he says. “I’ll definitely be training to aim for this – it’s something I’ve never been able to do before as it costs so much to go abroad for these things.
“It has given Scottish fighters a massive opportunity to prove we can fight it the top level.”
www.fifekickboxing.co.uk