WCKA KICKBOXING - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Master
- Member of the WCKA SuperFit Squad
Mr Parker started his karate journey at the age of 8 under Master Clifton Brown and moved through the grades to Brown Belt, before having to take a break, returning to the fold at the age of 16 and taking his 1st Degree Black Belt two years later. He is the Head Coach at the successful Penlan club and attained his 2nd Degree Black Belt in November 2006, 3rd Degree in November 2009, 4th Degree in November 2013 and 5th Degree in November 2018.
Mr Parker is a member of the WCKA SuperFit Squad and is competing all over the UK in Points Fighting. A Welsh International team member, Mr Parker won a Bronze medal at the 2009 World Kickboxing & Karate Championships in Spain and has fought at World Championships in Scotland 2010, Germany 2011, USA 2012, Crete 2013, London 2014 and USA 2016.
Mr Carter has been practicing Martial Arts for over 30 years, starting at the age of 5 years old with Classical Chinese Boxing and Wado-Ryu Karate where he was awarded his first black belt.
From there he went on to study a range of martial arts and variations including Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Lau Gar Kung Fu, Judo, traditional Ju-Jitsu, Nin-jitsu. In search of greater marital arts skills he turned his sights to Tae Kwon Do seeking to expand his already vast knowledge of martial arts. It was there he achieved Welsh & British Gold Medals for both fighting and forms events.
Mr Carter joined the WCKA in 1988 at the Swansea club under Master Brown while continuing with the other martial arts and under close guidance from Master Brown he was able to place 3rd in the Twin Tiger all styles world championships and has since collected numerous gold medals.
Mr Carter holds a black belt in no less than five different martial arts systems and now teaches at two academies in the Swansea Valley passing on his knowledge and helping students reach their own personal goals.
Master Brown resigned as Chief Instructor of the WCKA in 2005 and Master Nick Clarke took over at the request of the Instructor Team. Currently, Master Clarke has an Instructor Team with classes right across South Wales striving to be the ‘professional option' for those taking up the Martial Arts. Please read about the Instructors by selecting them from the menu bar above.
Miss Phillips joined the WCKA at age 7 at the Rhondda Kids Zone club. Early on, she started competing at tournaments locally, and later around the UK. In 2009 and 2011 she was able to earn bronze medals in points fighting at the World Championships.
Miss Phillips received her 1st Degree Black Belt in 2012 and, in 2015, reached her 2nd Degree Black Belt. She continues to improve her technique and that of others when she assists coaching in Kids Zone classes. She also enjoys refereeing at Interclub Tournaments.
For a number of years, Miss Phillips trained in boxing which has shaped her fighting style and has resulted in her current preference towards continuous fighting. She will return to competing when she enters university in autumn 2017 and is currently working towards her 3rd Degree Black Belt.
Miss Tibbs has been training with the WCKA for over 10 years and has achieved her 3rd Degree Black Belt. A Welsh International Fighter, Miss Tibbs is the Head Instructor of the Llantrisant and Efail Isaf Clubs.
Miss Clarke joined the WCKA at the age of 5 as a Lil Dragon. From a young age she has had a passion for the sport and always wants to better her technique. From the age of 7 she has been competing around the UK and since then has achieved the World Champion status in more recent years. At age 11, she achieved her 1st Degree Black Belt and in 2015 she reached her 3rd Degree Black Belt. Her preferred style of fighting is Semi-Contact and has achieved many medals internationally within this style. She has competed in Light Continuous tournaments around the UK and also Karate Kumite internationally.
She loves learning and understanding the syllabus and wants to help other students improve their techniques and to set an example for future black belts. She loves coaching the younger students, as she was once in their position.
Mr Lewis has been training with the WCKA since 2011, taking up the sport when he was 42 under Mr Clarke in the Tylorstown club. He achieved his Black Belt along with his wife in 2015.
Prior to starting with the WCKA, Mr Lewis enjoyed other Martial Arts such as Judo, Wrestling, Shotokan Karate and BJJ. He also trained MMA for a few years.
After competing regularly over the last 5 years, primarily in the Interclub competitions, Mr Lewis has decided to concentrate more on the teaching aspect as he enjoys the journey of seeing others accomplish what they initially feared they would not be able to do.
He enjoys the Grading aspect of the sport and the competitive style of training.
Mr Lewis' goal over the next few years is to build a strong team of individuals who want to grade and also want to compete.
Mr Bevan joined the WCKA in 2000 and trained under Master Nick Clarke at the Pontypridd & Welsh Valleys clubs. He was awarded his 2nd Degree Black Belt in 2008, 3rd Degree Black Belt in 2011, 4th Degree in 2015 and 5th Degree in 2020 (presented in 2021 due to covid). Mr Bevan has fought in both Semi Contact (Points Fighting) and Continuous tournaments and it was Continuous that he succeeded in, achieving Welsh, National & International honours. Mr Bevan coaches many of his own students at tournaments and also helps coach the WCKA elite fighting team "the Super Fit Squad". Mr Bevan, a qualified WAKO & WKU referee, now teaches at his own clubs in Caerphilly, Merthyr and Hengoed.
A Welsh International fighter, Mr Bevan has fought at WKA and WKU World Championships and took Gold Medal and became World Champion in Florida 2008, Scotland 2010 and Crete 2013.