Martial arts instructor vows to fight on

A martial arts instructor has suffered a knockout blow following the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Jonathan King, who runs King Kombat Systems, was just two weeks into a new tenancy agreement when the lockdown took effect and his sessions were postponed.

After months of hard work and 12 hour shifts to get the facility ready, and with the welfare and safety of his members in mind, Jonathan was left with no choice but to close the facility - even before the lockdown was announced.

But despite the bitter disappointment, Jonathan has vowed to come back bigger and better when the lockdown is lifted and has moved to thank his landlady, Katy Lee, who runs Unique Fitness and Spa Ladies Gym in Ashton, for easing the burden and freezing rent over the coming months.

Speaking to Reporter Sport about the current situation, Jonathan, who works for Action Together, said: “I was gutted to shut it down, but like everyone I was left with no choice and the right decision has been made.

“I was in two minds as to shut it or not before the lockdown, because all the parents and children were in one room at the same time. I had to make a decision before the Government did. If someone did fall ill, I didn’t want that on my conscience so I decided to close it. To be honest, everyone was really supportive and understood. During that week, I don’t think many would have turned up anyway because of the risk factor.

“Katy has been brilliant. She probably has five different businesses in the building and she hasn’t asked for the rent in April. I’ve contacted business rates because I want to put a claim in to cover room rent, so I can pay back what she’s lost during the lockdown.

“Room rent is currently £400 per month, but Katy has been so supportive and she doesn’t expect me to pay it, even though I’ve signed the lease agreement. She also paid for new glass windows to be put in. Technically, she could have asked me for half the room rent, but she didn’t and froze it.”

Jonathan, who runs four sessions a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, said the support he’s received has been overwhelming – with some of the parents even offering to pay their fees whilst no activity is taking place.

But he says he has refused the offer and couldn’t accept it in good conscience.

And in return for their good intentions, Jonathan has kept his members engaged with grading sheets and online videos to complete at home. He said: “It’s hard to get children engaged at home, especially with PlayStation and such things, so I’ve tried to make the videos fun and include the parents as well. There are a few fitness sessions on Facebook, including a five-minute blast. I’ve also sent out grading sheets to the parents so the children have something to focus on and work towards with a purpose. I’ve had around 14 parents contact me for the sheets.”

Jonathan, who has been running his sessions since 2012 in a number of different locations, says the club couldn’t function without the support of its experienced volunteers, some of which are registered black belts.

He has also thanked the Tameside Sport and Physical Activity Network, which works in conjunction with Active Tameside and offers one-to-one support to local clubs to source extra funding amongst other things. Jonathan said Andy Dwyer, who heads up the network, has been a breath of fresh air. “When Andy approached me he had a look at my club and assessed what I had and what I hadn’t got.  He’s made me aware that there’s funding out there. For example, if I wanted to run another class, Andy can put me in contact with someone who can get a qualification and he will pay up to 80% of it as well. He’s also made me aware that there are other clubs out there who are going through the same sort of things that I do. He recently sent me some information regarding Sport England and how they can help to keep your room rent going in this difficult time, so overall his guidance is very much valued and appreciated.”   

For further information on King Combat Systems, head to Facebook or Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/KingKombatSystem/about/?ref=page_internalTwitter: https://twitter.com/kingkombatcmaa?fbclid=IwAR2QsjYhks01BPJOgD3R3lxSAfs07luP4LZH_WBHwLq7EhQoDWrTHsA6Nec