Kickboxing club returns to Highlands

by Jen Nicholson

Oct 12, 2007

SOUTH RIVER – Jeff Thornborrow is determined to give back to the community by providing an opportunity for area residents to learn the art of kickboxing.

Growing up in the Sundridge area, Thornborrow trained with North Bay’s Elite Twin Dragon Kickboxing Club which ran classes out of Almaguin Highlands Secondary School for over 10 years.

Just when he finished Grade 12 and was heading off to college, the kickboxing classes stopped running due to a lack of instructors, of which Thornborrow was one.

Now in his late 20s and having returned to live with his young family in South River, Thornborrow wants to give back to the community by sharing the sport that he loves.

“There’s a reason I came back here to raise my family,” reflected Thornborrow. “Kickboxing was a great influence for me growing up; I want to give kids the same opportunities I had.”

Starting this week kickboxing classes for children and adults will get underway at the former ‘Happy Landing’ truck stop building on Hwy. 11 in South River. For the past several weeks the long-time vacant building has been a hub of activity as renovations have been carried out to get the building up to snuff for the first set of students.

“We completely gutted it; dismantled everything,” said Thornborrow.

After taking out some walls, putting up new drywall, having the facility rewired and painting the interior, the building now offers a sizable open space for classes of up to 20 participants. It also has a change room, bathroom and office space.

Back in February Thornborrow approached Kyle Brisson, chief instructor at the North Bay Elite Twin Dragon Kickboxing Club, to see if classes could be extended to South River once again.

“I wanted to get something going here . . . . people had been approaching myself, my family and friends of mine asking when (kickboxing) was going to start again,” recalled Thornborrow.

Brisson, who hold his fifth degree black belt in karate and is a world class kickboxing trainer, said he would support Thornborrow by overseeing the South River satellite site.

At first, they looked into holding classes out of the high school. But because the club is for-profit, the school board’s current rental fees prohibited them from having classes there once again, explained Thornborrow.

By word of mouth, Thornborrow found out about the then-vacant Happy Landing building. Within weeks the boards were off the windows and new Twin Dragon signs were up.

“We are right on the highway, in plain view,” said Thornborrow of the strategic location. He isn’t worried about the highway bypass. “We don’t attract tourists, we attract the hometown crowd.”

Teaching kickboxing and managing the new satellite club is just one of the many hats that Thornborrow wears. He is also busy with an 18-month-old daughter, he works full-time with Algonquin Child and Family Services and he is taking a correspondence course toward his social work degree.

One wonders where Thornborrow will ever find the time to run the South River club.

“Kickboxing has always been a passion of mine,” said Thornborrow. “So the time will be there if it’s something you love.”

Thornborrow holds his black belt in karate, he has his level one coaching certificate through Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing, and he has competed in numerous amateur boxing and kickboxing competitions. Further, the Sundridge native has trained under 23-time world champion Jean Yves-Therriault and five-time World Kickboxing Champion Chantel Nadon.

With these experiences under his gloves, Thornborrow aims to tailor the classes and instruction to suit the needs of every student.

“If you’re looking to get into shape, kickboxing is a really good way to do it. If you are looking to compete, kickboxing is really rewarding.”

Thornborrow went on to emphasize that kickboxing is not a forum to learn how to be more aggressive.

“Kickboxing doesn’t promote violence. Rather, it is a great avenue to dispel energy. It is about discipline, not recklessness.”

Kickboxing also offers an excellent means of getting in shape, said Thornborrow. And for some, that is what will draw them to the sport.

“If you don’t want to compete, you don’t have to . . . . if you want to compete, we’ll get you there.”

As for the risk factors, Thornborrow contends there’s no more risk for serious injury in kickboxing than there is in other contact sports such as hockey.

To get started, new participants need only a decent pair of running shoes. Girls and boys, women and men are welcome. Children, aged four to 12, are required to have parental consent to participate.

Currently, Thornborrow is offering a $30 start-up package which includes one private and one group lesson, as well as Twin Dragon Elite kickboxing t-shirt.
Regular classes will run Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 6 p.m. for the children and 7:15 p.m. for adults.

For more information about kickboxing in South River, contact Jeff by phone at 386-8138 or by e-mail at punch-and-kick@elite-twin-dragon.com