North Staffordshire Kickboxing

06/10/2026

It’s getting very real now!!!!

🌍🥊 REGISTRATION IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED FOR THE ICO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026! 🇫🇷

And what a World Championships this is shaping up to be!

🔥 Just under 1,200 athletes
🌍 35 countries represented
🥊 3,928 competitive starts
📈 350 more athletes than Wales 2025

This will officially be our largest ICO World Championships to date, continuing the incredible year-on-year growth of the ICO on the global stage.

Every year, more athletes, coaches, clubs and nations come together under the ICO banner, and France 2026 is set to raise the bar once again.

And we’re not stopping here… 🇭🇺

The wheels are already in motion for the 2027 ICO World Championships in Hungary, which is already on course to break records once again!

A huge THANK YOU to every National President, coach, official, athlete, parent and supporter whose hard work and commitment continues to drive the ICO forward.

📍 Thonon-les-Bains, France
📅 14th–18th October 2026

We look forward to welcoming you all next week. Have a safe journey to France and we’ll see you at the ICO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! 🌍🏆

OSU! 🥋

24/09/2026

🥊 2027 Competition Dates 🥊

🇬🇧 ICO English Open – 13th–14th February
The English Open is the qualifier for the ICO World Championships, so to be eligible for Worlds, competitors must compete and place at the English Open.

🏆 Oxford Champions Open – 20th–21st November
A competition we highly encourage everyone to get involved in, with categories from first timer and novice through to intermediate and advanced.

We’ll also be attending most of the other ICO competitions as a team, so if you’re interested in any of them, let us know!

As always, if you see another competition or fight you’d like to attend, let us know and we can help! 🥊🔥

🥊🌍 ICO 2027 EVENT CALENDAR IS HERE! 🌍🥊

We are incredibly excited to officially share our ICO 2027 Event Calendar!

2027 is shaping up to be another huge year for the International Combat Organisation, with events across the UK, USA and Europe, bringing together clubs, coaches, officials and competitors from across the ICO community.

📅 ICO 2027 CALENDAR

🏴 13–14 February – ICO English Open
📍 White Horse Leisure Centre, Abingdon

🇺🇸 19–20 February – ICO Texas Open
📍 Houston, Texas, USA

🏴 17–18 April – ICO Welsh Open
📍 LC2, Swansea

🇪🇺 19–20 June – ICO European Open
📍 Playsport, Glasgow

🇬🇧 17–18 July – ICO British Open
📍 Warwick University

🇭🇺 11–17 October – ICO World Championships
📍 Kanizsa Arena, Nagykanizsa, Hungary

🌍 20–21 November – Oxford Champions Open
📍 White Horse Leisure Centre, Abingdon

There is a lot happening behind the scenes as we continue to grow the ICO internationally, develop our events and create more opportunities for our athletes, coaches and countries.

We are genuinely excited about what 2027 has in store. The calendar is growing, the organisation is growing, and most importantly, our ICO community is growing.

Get these dates in your diaries now because 2027 is going to be a BIG one! 🔥🥊

13/09/2026

🥊 Some wins hit differently.

There are wins, and then there are the ones where you know exactly what went into them.

Ash’s first unanimous win at the Oxford Championships was one of those moments. ❤️

Not because it was perfect. Not because the road to it was easy.

But because every setback, every loss and every difficult session had meant something. The things she struggled with became things we worked on. The things she couldn’t do became things she learned.

And then, on competition day, she got to feel all that hard work come together.

That feeling when your hand is raised after everything you’ve put into it…

That’s why we train. That’s why we keep coming back. That’s what makes the hard days worth it.

And you don’t have to be a fighter to experience that feeling.

Whatever your goal, come and see what you can achieve. 🥊❤️

09/09/2026

🇬🇧 ICO ENGLAND KIT REVEAL! 🥊

The 2026 ICO England kit has arrived, and Ewan and Ash are officially looking the part!

With the World Championships in France this October, the countdown is officially on!

We’re incredibly proud to see them representing NSK and ICO England on the world stage.

08/09/2026

😂 Great Mario impression!

Saturday Adults worked on their jumping knees, with the rest of the class quickly pointing out the resemblance to Mario! 🍄🥊

Honestly… they’ve got a point. 😂

Wahoo! 🍄

Plenty of hard work, plenty of progress, and always a bit of fun on the mats! 🥊🔥

05/09/2026

I had a great time visiting the North Staffs Kickboxing club last week and meeting the young people they train.

The team at North Staffs Kickboxing have built a really special club and the medals I saw hanging in their office is a testament to their success and dedication.

To find out more about the work they do visit: https://www.northstaffskickboxing.co.uk/

01/09/2026

🥊 GRADING PREPARATION 🐍

With grading coming up, our Cobras sessions will start to become more technique-based, with a focus on the skills and techniques required for their upcoming grading.

This will give our Cobras plenty of opportunity to practise their syllabus, sharpen up their techniques and build confidence ahead of grading day. 💪🐍

For our Adults, our regular Friday night grading class is a great opportunity to get some extra preparation in, and adults can also make use of Open Gym time to work on anything they’d like some additional practice with.

Keep putting in the work and good luck to everyone working towards their next belt! 🥊🥋

31/08/2026

We’re incredibly proud to announce that Ash has been awarded her Junior Coach role at NSK.

This comes after a year of consistently putting in the time, effort and commitment to support the gym and, in particular, our Cobras.

Over the last year, Ash has regularly assisted in classes, helped with the development of our Cobras, supported gradings and become a huge asset at competitions — warming up and cornering fighters, keeping track of fights and communicating with officials to help things run smoothly.

Alongside this, Ash continues to show huge dedication to her own development as a fighter, constantly pushing herself, working hard and striving to improve both inside and outside of the gym.

The Junior Coach role is a stepping stone into coaching, giving Ash the opportunity to start developing her coaching skills, gain experience and learn as she takes on some additional responsibility within NSK.

We’re looking forward to supporting Ash as she takes her first steps into coaching and continues to develop both as a fighter and as a member of the NSK team.

A thoroughly deserved next step for Ash. We’re incredibly proud of her. ❤️🥊

29/08/2026

🎉🥊 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EWAN! 🥊🎉

Wishing our Head Coach Ewan a massive happy birthday! 🎂🎈

We hope you have a brilliant day and get thoroughly spoilt — although after everything you do for NSK, you definitely deserve it! ❤️

From everyone at NSK! ❤️

28/08/2026

🥊 A visit from Gareth Snell MP 🥊

Yesterday we were pleased to welcome our local MP, Gareth Snell, to North Staffs Kickboxing to give him an insight into what we’re all about and the role our gym plays within the local community.

Gareth watched our Cobra class in action, and we had the chance to talk about the importance of accessible and affordable sport, and the opportunities that being involved in a martial arts club can provide.

We spoke about the role sport and martial arts can play in children’s development — building confidence, discipline, resilience, teamwork and self-belief — as well as the benefits it brings to our adult members, from fitness and wellbeing to having a supportive community around them.

We also talked about some of the achievements from our gym, including national wins and success on the international stage, and the opportunities our fighters have to represent North Staffs Kickboxing at competitions across the country and beyond. 🏆🌍

While we’re incredibly proud of the medals and titles our members achieve, what matters just as much is everything that happens away from the competition floor. Seeing people develop, challenge themselves, overcome obstacles, make friends and grow in confidence is a huge part of why we do what we do.

And no visit to Cobra class would be complete without a little something to take home! 😂 Gareth even earned himself his very own First Class certificate for being an excellent visitor. 🏆

It was great to have the opportunity to show Gareth around the gym, introduce him to some of our members and have some really positive conversations about the importance of sport and the role it can play in our local community.

Thank you, Gareth, for taking the time to visit and see NSK in action! 🥊