Neil Matthews
From boardroom to dojo
When push comes to shove, sometimes it’s good to shove
orking in the City has its advantages. Access to the London Market for one thing, and a ready made social life for another. Unfortunately there is sometimes a dark side; unprovoked street crime in our capital is rife, particularly knife attacks. While it is true that not everybody will become a victim, sadly crime is a reality and each day many people suffer from unprovoked assault. After one of her friends became a victim, City girl Debra Ross-Matthews decided to trade the boardroom for the dojo and give up her high flying City job to embark on a career aimed at improving the safety of those working in our capital by offering self defence courses.
W
Originally from New Zealand, Debra took up martial arts after arriving in the UK in December 2001 initially as a means of keeping fit. However, she was soon addicted and began training harder and studying the art in greater detail; such was her commitment that she regularly clocked up 12 or more hours per week in the dojo and she was
32 insurancepeople APRIL 2010
Debra says the decision was made easier by her mentor, Kelly Bunyan, who herself has over 25 years’ experience in martial arts and runs the largest Martial Arts academy in Central London, KB Fitness. “I have been very lucky” acknowledges Debra, “KB Fitness offered me regular work and the chance to develop my passion into something that enables me to give something back.”
rewarded with her black belt in December 2009.
She describes her martial arts experience as a “journey” and part of this journey involves passing her knowledge onto others. “I’m passionate that we should all be able to defend ourselves and our loved ones against physical assault,” says Debra. “This is why I decided to put my experience to good use and help raise the awareness and confidence of people working in London.” Putting her experience to good use involved leaving the comfort of her well-paid job and setting up as a self-employed instructor. “It
Debra’s message is simple; enjoy the experience that working in our fair capital undoubtedly offers, but be mindful of the dangers. You don’t need to be a black belt like Debra to equip yourself with enough knowledge to become safer; investing in a few simple self defence lessons will ensure that, if push does literally come to shove, you can
wasn’t an easy decision” recalls Debra, “The job paid well and, although the hours were long, I had a challenging role and enjoyed working for the company.”
debra@kbfitness.co.uk or check out the website
www.kbfitness.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36