July 29, 2011 3.48 pm This story is over 152 months old

Local duo launch new martial arts gym

Fight right: A local kickboxing duo will be opening a new fight and martial arts centre in Lincoln.

Cousins Shawn Burton (pictured right) and Aaron Robinson are currently putting the final touches to their new gym and martial arts club, Lincoln Fight Factory, which will open its doors on August 6.

The club, located in Unit 3 of Vulcan Park on George Street, offers 3050 square foot of room for martial arts training and exercise.

The unit will become the new home of the Lincoln Kickboxing Academy and will allow its members access to equipment and a 16 square foot ring.

Burton (24) said: “The gym has everything that a gym should have and much more. 

“There are punch bags, focus pads, kick shields, gloves, a running machine, bikes, weights, cross trainers, a coffee bar, changing facilities, and a club shop to name a few things. 

“It is a place for everyone to train and socialise.”

Alongside them, kickboxer Callum Thomson will be holding classes for Black Dragons, British Thai Boxing Champion Leigh Edlin will run Thai boxing classes and Glen Wright and Andy Parr will run Mixed Martial Arts Classes.

Shawn ‘Boom Boom’ Burton and Aaron ‘The Anvil’ Robinson, both from Lincoln, are known in the city for their kickboxing achievements.

They have fought professionally in the sport for a number of years and in 2009 took over the Lincoln Kick Boxing Academy based at Bracebridge Boxing Club.

However, the pair saw the number of academy members grow rapidly, from around 12 people per class to 30.

Burton, who works for Lincolnshire County Council when he’s not training, said: “It came to a point where we had outgrown the Bracebridge Boxing Club so began to look around for a bigger location and luckily came across the unit on George Street.

“The work that’s gone into the new gym has been a long and drawn out process, from the paperwork to the fittings, but we are now only a week away from opening.

“It has taken a lot of hard work and we owe lots of people a huge thank you, most of all my grandad, Trevor Burton.”

Burton and Robinson will share ownership of the gym and both continue to teach their kickboxing skills to members.

“The classes are designed to not only teach the martial arts we offer, but to help improve fitness, gain confidence, learn discipline, manage weight and make new friends.

“Those interested could one day even move onto the fight circuit too. We want to encourage people to come down on August 6 and really see what we have to offer.”

The duo made their own fighting debuts at very young ages and have never looked back since, having created very successful kickboxing careers for themselves.