Kenny Walton Interview
I first recall meeting Kenny Walton in 1985 at an early FSK event where he stood out as an accomplished all-rounder with fast flowing hand and foot combinations. About a year later we travelled north together, on the intercity express after we’d both taken part in the then-revolutionary TV pilot production, Combat Karate. I recall this time vividly since, back then, I was an out of work kickboxing enthusiast and very short of cash, and I recollect Kenny being kind enough to buy me lunch... Two years later, with the launch of a magazine that’s far exceeded even my expectations, I was given the opportunity to repay his kindness by placing him on our very first front cover. I could easily go on and say a lot more about this fellow northener... however, I’d much prefer if the man who’s been there, done it and somehow managed to maintain an adequate amount of brain cells to pass his know-how on to the future generation of TKD competitors, say it for himself.
MAI: Hi, Kenny and thanks for agreeing to this interview. It’s now twenty-two years since you graced the cover of our first issue, during which time so much has happened with regards to both tae kwon do and the martial arts in general... What, in your opinion, have been the most significant changes?
Kenny Walton: Time flies by so quickly... Things have been good for me and the TAGB. The most significant changes are that the students don’t have the same commitment as the older generation did. You would get three or four people fighting for each place in the men’s divisions - now you may get only one or two... And they don’t want to put in the time and effort, even though the rewards in foreign trips are more frequent. Saying that, we have some very good fighters in our squads (men and women) and they will go on three or four internationals a year, plus all the national competitions.
In martial arts, the changes are interesting... More martial arts on the tv can be a good and bad thing. I like some mixed martial artists, like Georges St Pierre of Canada - he has great all round skills... But the fact that everything is full contact can put people off and boxing will always be the most watched sport. The TAGB have some ideas in development for a new pilot competition.
Rewinding further back to when you first started training, what were your initial impressions of TKD and what was it that originally got you hooked?
Being young I had only known TKD. It was great. There were only a few children in the class. It was hard and my instructor, Tony Quigley, did not change the training for me. This encouraged me to keep up with the adults and inspired me to be better than them. The discipline, hard training and the other students who made me welcome, encouraged me and helped me get to the training venues... I started training four times a week - this helped me get through the belts quickly. It wasn’t until Second Kup red belt that my instructor put us into competitions. We didn’t have separate divisions so, at fifteen, I was in with the adults. It was pants! I lost by a million to one, but won a ‘third’ in patterns. I had never done such competitions before so I had no idea of what I needed to do. After the competition, I knew I needed to change my training.
Staying with those early days, what did your training regime consist of and do you still encourage today’s young TKD athletes to train in the same way?
My training changed. I was playing other sports at home and school - football, rugby, golf, cricket, swimming and cross-country. I needed speed, endurance and flexibility, with enough variation of leg and hand combinations, so I did a lot of running with sprints and hill climbs, then lots of bag work using both legs for every combination, then moved on to the speed ball (top to bottom) using lots of combinations and jump kicks. I would stretch all the time whilst working in the ship yard, I would use any excuse to do some stretching. Then at home I would do some whilst watching TV. I also enrolled in dance classes and studied modern and ballet to help with my flexibility.
I encourage students and squad members to do more than average - you only get out what you put in. I tell them, the TKD fairy does not exist and won’t appear and help you in the the competition. If you train averagely, you will be average...
Some readers may employ the notion that tae kwon do is actually karate, but with more emphasis on kicking. What’s your view?
Yes, it has been based on karate and tang soo do - oh do kwan. General Choi Hong Hi and other leading practioners developed it - one of whom being Grandmaster C.K. Choi, who has recently been to the UK with the TAGB and BTC. If you read his article [Jan 10 MAI] this will give everybody more of an insight into TKD. Every martial art is only as good as the practitioner showing the art, and you strive to improve yourself and your art...
During your early years you had remarkable success as a TKD competitor, what was it that encouraged you then to make the switch to full contact kickboxing?
My confidence in my art - I wanted to see what it and I could do in another arena... This again would need a change in training methods. I had been following other martial artists who had done this, like Ray McCallum and others... I could then take my experiences to my students and team members. It gave you a mental and physical test and took you out of your safety zone.
Did you learn to box?
I had already trained at the Doncaster boxing gym to sharpen my hands and used drills and skills used at the club in my training. My Kickboxing fights were great... I had about ten fights in many countries, Slovenia, Greece, Argentina and the UK... I fought for European and National championships, but no world titles - this may have been too much for me... but, to be in there with the best win, lose or draw - I always learnt something from the fights. One of my problems was my left cheek bone - I had a golfing accident where I was hit in the face and it smashed my cheek and scarred my eye, but the bone is sharp and jagged under the skin and, when hit, it would swell or cut quite easily. This was a problem and always made me aware of it.
Please take this as a compliment Kenny, but you neither look nor sound like a former kickboxer, what’s your secret?
My secret? there isn’t one - as we always say, hit without getting hit and defence is half the battle. What you see is what you get - although you see more of me than you used to... But you look as good today as you did in the ‘80s/’90s, Bob!
In 1984, with the help of many leading associations, Mike Haig launched the original FSK circuit. Even today, this era is regarded as being the ‘crème de la crème’ of competitive periods. What did the TAGB learn from taking part?
Adapt quickly! Look at what we were being caught with and change things - we worked with the blitz and the sweeps and put it into practice, then caught them with their own specialities. This was a great time, mixing with the best in martial arts and the great characters. So many great martial artists...
Tim Ward’s Giko spectacular - you were then facing team USA in a tournament of epic proportions. Could you briefly sum up the entire experience?
Tim Ward and Dave Oliver worked together to put this on... The USA team had great names such as, Steve ‘Nasty’ Anderson, Troy Dorsey, John Longstreet, George Choong, Charlie Lee, Sylvester Kash, Tommy Williams etc... all are well known names. We had been around in the open circuit, competing around Europe and were in top condition through Dave Oliver’s guidance. For me, it was exciting but I was not fazed. They only had the same body parts as me. We had trained as hard as we could, so bring it on... It was one fantastic competition with a great atmosphere, crowds and fighting skills. Again we have learnt from the event and about ourselves, we can adapt to any system given the time and knowledge.
Over the last twenty five years or so, the TAGB (taekwondo association of Great Britain) has grown to become the largest and most successful tae kwon do body that the UK’s ever known. What do you feel is the secret of this success?
Dave Oliver. He has been the main driving force behind other committee members, Paul Donnelly, Ron Sergiew, Mike Dew, Don Atkins, Gianni Peros, Brian Towndrow and myself. We are all good friends and we all bring something to the organisation - we have never altered any traditional stuff, we have never opened up and become a bucket shop. We have grown from within and the people who have left only wanted to be us but have never been a success.
We have always looked after our instructors - they are a part of the TAGB family and they pass this on to their instructors...
The committee have not forgotten why the TAGB was formed and, apart from competition, the TAGB has been asked to do demonstrations by the Rotary Club, TV shows, One Show and Doctors etc... Company’s like Asda, Nestle, Nationwide etc... want to be associated with us, so we must be doing something right.
I know you like horses, but can they really kick as effectively as, let’s say, Tony Sewell?
Bob, my wife and girls, Kirsten and Mya, like horses. I don’t mind them - I have seen them spook and they go off bucking and they are scary. Tony wasn’t as bad, but a very fast kicker. Times have moved on though, and we have some great kickers now... Andrew Deer, Tyrrell Bellony, Warren Vice and Gordon Fearn...
The TAGB has, without doubt, an impeccable reputation. Moving on to talent 2012... what was it that possessed you to risk that reputation by fielding your guys against seasoned WTF (world tae kwon do federation) athletes at the recently held talent 2010 trials?
This is not rocket science. If you are of above average physical ability, have the mental attitude to be a martial arts champion and the warrior spirit (bottle), then you must be in with a shout... Yes, the system is different, but so is points to full contact - full contact to semi contact... you can adapt. The BTCB has 12,000 members, the rest of the BTC has 40,000 and the TAGB has 25,000 of those. Surely it is better to pick from 52,000 than 12,000. Then you have the other arts that have some fantastic athletes who could adapt to the system. Some 1,000 applied were picked and went to different test centres. I went to watch one in the Midlands. It was very well run and organised, but there were people there who were useless - what they put on the CV may have wrestled with the truth. it would have been much better if the organisations had selected their best - it would have saved time and money. The TAGB are very open-minded and if we can help the WTF sections get more choice of fighter and therefore more medals then that must be good for TKD.
I think the BTC and the other martial arts have something to offer. That is why people can change from one to another i.e. Rugby league to Union to American football, rowing to cycling and others.
We had both men and women get through to the final selection and we have just heard that Warren Vice, Andrew Deer and Tyrrell Bellony have got through to the weeklong boot camp in Manchester. Well done, lads. It is at this point that they will be up against other WTF top fighters. They’ll do ok and win, lose or draw, they will learn something and it will make them better fighters.
We have been to the Dutch open and fought in Spain and always done well, so they are not fazed... The Clash of the Titans was more of a worry, with some body who can punch or kick your head off or grab and sweep you. That was more intimidating... plus, the atmosphere at the Clash and TI world champs where we have lots of crazy spectators, who make lots of noise, creating more pressure. Our fighters can handle the pressure and are used to fighting outside of their comfort zone -it’s something they are used to.
So, in your opinion, how many former/non WTF fighters do you think will be put forward to represent squad GB in the 2012 Olympics?
Only four female and four male divisions are up for grabs. Their players/fighters have been with them for many years, so I think the chances are zero - if people get injured, maybe one. The WTF are changing the scoring system, so it depends how much they want to make WTF more mainstream and exciting instead of a game with little action...
What’s your views regarding Olympic TKD? Could the format be improved to make the sport more exciting for both the competitor and spectator?
They are changing the rules and the equipment - so they realise it needs something doing. It has taken them long enough! Look at the last Olympics - what a bad example of TKD martial arts. Look at kickboxing K1 and MMA... they have to knock each other out with nearly everything and don’t spend a lot of time bouncing about. TKD has fantastic kicks and should show more of it.
The TAGB have plans for a special competition and plan to do something after this year’s world championships in September. So watch out for it in 2011.
Where do you see TKD, as a whole, and the TAGB going in the next ten to twenty years?
I am not involved with other organisations, but I know where the TAGB are going because we are all pushing the same way - we have not changed from the original TKD that we were shown and practised. ALL the others have changed something. FACT.
The biggest endorsement is by Grand Master C.K. Choi, “You do the original TKD and the way you run the organisation and your relationship with instructors and students are just how TKD should be, your sparring can work against everything, just how it should be.” The TAGB are growing and expanding. Our black belt instructors are keen to let other people into what they have had and how TAGB tkd can improve you in many ways.
My personal goals lie with the teams - the men and women have some great fighters with young talent coming through. More TV exposure would give them the recognition I think they deserve. I work a lot in schools with TKD and self-defence, which is very rewarding and benefits martial arts because the kids see what it can do for you. The schools programme for TKD is non-style and encompasses martial arts skills and values. Something that is so important to me.
The TAGB have different projects in the pipeline... Dave Oliver’s new book and new training DVDs are coming out soon and the future looks rosy for the TAGB.
All images courtesy of Sylvio Dokov @ Lifestyle Photography. Tel: 01952 617598 or visit www.lifestylephotography.co.uk