Lesley Jackson manages to catch up with one of Britain’s most successful competitive kickboxers, Robbie Hughes. After witnessing his blistering performance in Combat 32, she is impressed by this young man’s absolute determination to win.
Robbie Hughes may be slight in stature but do not, I repeat, do not underestimate him if you happen to step up to the mat against him; because you will lose. Big time. This young man of 23 has already dominated his division for the past decade in the WKA kickboxing circuit winning numerous world titles and is set to go into the martial arts hall of fame well before he is 30 as he determines to reach out and rule the kickboxing world. After watching his blistering performance in the first series of Combat 32, despite being the runner up, it was his performance that was the most gripping as during the final against the larger and long limbed Michael Page one could not help but root for the dynamic Liverpudlian as he took on the favourite with such verve. His technical ability sang as he almost whirled himself to victory and if he had not been caught with an unfortunate back kick just below the ribs, he would have given Combat 32 an electric result.
“I like to train all year round and if I was to go into a competition tomorrow I would feel comfortable. Obviously though, you need to step it up when you are coming up to a big competition so I want to get it right. -Robbie Hughes
However, there is another side to this fighter. As well as a hard working competitive martial artist, Robbie is a deeply intelligent and mature young man who has recently qualified as a dentist from the University of Liverpool. This is probably the key to his success because as well as dedicating a lot of his spare time to training he has a life outside of kickboxing and does not rely on martial arts to, “put bread on the table.” He doesn’t fight because he has to; he fights because he wants to.
Early Beginnings
Robbie started training at a young age when his father took him to Alfie Lewis’s club in Liverpool to join his school friends in their new found hobby. “I started training when I was seven years of age. My dad was friends with Alfie with whom he used to do some training and I wanted to go along. My dad never pushed me into it but when I started, that was it really. The first day I went along I just loved it. What then kept me motivated was tasting a little bit of competition success early on; from the very first tournament I knew that this was definitely what I loved, I just wanted to fight every week after that.”
Kickboxing and karate make up the most part of Robbie’s fighting style, which he describes as, “freestyle.” Robbie elucidates, “My main aspect of training has been freestyle. I’ve always been based around the points fighting kickboxing circuit but I mix my training up with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. I also have a background in karate including Shotokan and Gojo Ryu but we never really did any forms or Kata but rather incorporated the techniques into the freestyle with some Lau Gar kungfu as well.” When speaking of competing, Robbie has strong preferences, “I prefer full contact points fighting. I can’t think of any other kind of sport that involves such a flamboyant, fast sprint to the style. You are never going to see the techniques in points fighting that you will anywhere else and that is what I enjoy. In points fighting you get to do the special kicks because you are going to reap the benefits if you get more points for it. I like the fast sharpness of the game.”
Preparing for Competition
When training for a competition, Robbie takes a consistent and sensible approach that ensures he is well prepared but not obsessive. “I like to train all year round and if I was to go into a competition tomorrow I would feel comfortable. Obviously though, you need to step it up when you are coming up to a big competition so I want to get it right. Some people start ten weeks before but I find personally I reach a peak after about six weeks of hard training. My six week programme will entail training two or three times in the day, to make sure my fitness is right up to scratch. After about three weeks of fitness, I will be sharpening all my tools and weapons and getting enough sparring under my belt so all my reflexes are spot on because of the speed of point fighting, you haven’t got time to think as it is purely reflexive. During this time it is important to incorporate one or two rest days as well so Sunday is always my day off. I must also ensure that I eat right as well and that means getting enough calories. You need to get your food right or you are going to feel it.
I’m quite lucky more because I’ve got quite a fast metabolism. I’ve never fought bang on my division, I’ve always given away weight because I’m quite light so I don’t have to follow a strict diet such as watching my carbohydrates . I could eat like a horse and I still wouldn’t put weight on. Of course, I still make sure I’m eating right so plenty of chicken, rice and fish; then upping my vitamin intake. People often take vitamin supplements but your average vitamin supplements are for your average everyday person but we’re athletes so we need to get our bodies nourished for what it needs.
Then mentally, you’ve got to get tuned in to the job in hand early on. You can‘t let things distract you. I’ve always had other things going on in my life and I’ve managed to get a nice balance, so even when I’ve been training for a good competition I’ve had other focuses as well. I’ve always managed to channel myself quite well and still concentrate on training. The goal’s there and that is what you’ve got to focus on.”
Combat 32
Combat 32 brought a refreshing challenge to Robbie as it meant he could fight with the degree of force that he and his fellow competitors prefer. “All the top fighters on the points fighting circuit will say they do points fighting, they don’t do semi contact because you are never going to hit someone half-hearted. The points scoring was a little different as you were awarded extra for flashier techniques and you were not going to be warned for contact. Basically, Combat 32 has brought the sport back to how it used to be in the 80s when it was really buzzing and we are just trying to get it back to where it belongs.
I was happy with my performance; I wasn’t expected to get as far as I did due to being the lightest competitor so I went in there with the belief that I would win. I have fought Michael Page, my opponent in the final, a few times and it is only recently he has shot up and become so tall. He’s a great fighter but I watched him during the event and I noticed that people tended to give him too much room thus enabling him to use his reach. My idea was to hustle him from the start, compress and take it to him which was working until I was caught in the second round. Judging by my performance in the first round, I thought I was going to go on and win but I was happy with my performance anyway.”
What Comes Next
When Robbie talks of the future, he has a very distinct plan. He speaks of the qualities training in martial arts from an early age have given him and that have helped given him direction both in and out of the competition arena. “I think one thing the martial arts have given me, especially as I started from a young age, is discipline. I’m the sort of person who when he says is going to do something then does it and I won’t let anything stop me. For example, I went into Combat 32 and I said that I was going in there to win it and in my eyes I had more or less done the job until Michael got me with a good shot. I surprised a lot of people by how far I did get. It has always given me the discipline to go on and I’ve always managed to maintain a good balance between martial arts and the rest of my life. It’s a good release if I’ve had a stressful day at work.
Combat 32
Combat 32 is an open style Martial Arts tournament displaying some of the best fighters currently around in Britain today. Lesley Jackson is hooked by the display of talent fighting in the competition and wonders when they will introduce a female division, so she can have a go herself!
I’ve got plenty of years ahead of me in martial arts. I’ve just qualified as a dentist so I’ll be starting work in August full time but I’ve more or less been a full time student so if anything it’s going to give me more time to go out and compete. So that’s going to give me the opportunity to go out to Europe a lot more and enter the open tournaments as well as in the States. That’s definitely the goal as things have become saturated in England as I’ve dominated the Lightweight sections since I was sixteen so I want to get out there and keep learning. I want to fight everybody and anybody; not only in my own section but also get out in the open weight competitions as well.
I don’t have any specific names I want to target but if you ask anyone who the number one points fighter on the planet is, most people are going to say Raymond Daniels because of how much he achieves and how much he wins. That’s one person I haven’t fought yet but I wouldn’t mind a crack at him. Before I retire I would like everybody to think of me as pound for pound the number one fighter on the planet. That’s what I believe I am and I want to go out with a bang. I want everyone to see that. You can see I am a lightweight fighter but I’ll take it to any fighter regardless of the weight. I’ve got the confidence in my abilities; technically or otherwise no one has anything on me, there is nothing anyone can do I can’t do as well. It’s just sometimes my size and weight that lets me down in the big open weight competitions but when I can prove I can overcome that I can become the top name in the circuit, not only as a lightweight but overall.”
Thank you Robbie, it has been an absorbing insight into your world of training and competing. Best of luck for your competitive future, we at Martial Edge will certainly be rooting for you!
Interviews 
friends in their new found hobby. “I started training when I was seven years of age. My dad was friends with Alfie with whom he used to do some training and I wanted to go along. My dad never pushed me into it but when I started, that was it really. The first day I went along I just loved it. What then kept me motivated was tasting a little bit of competition success early on; from the very first tournament I knew that this was definitely what I loved, I just wanted to fight every week after that.”
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