Five youngsters kick-start their lives with black belt scholarships

Five high-spirited school children beat 16 boys and girls to win unique life-changing black belt scholarships created by World Kickboxing Champion Paul Bernard to help children with challenging behaviours.

Farnborough kids Robson Cope (aged 12), Liam McCrea (aged 11), Stuart Tolmie (11), Tony Stacey (10) and seven-year-old Georgie Murphy knuckled down and endured six gruelling weeks of intensive martial arts training to secure their places on the coveted Precision scholarship programme.

Delighted at winning the Precision Martial Arts scholarship, Robson said: “I am so happy and excited. Before I started martial arts, I was a very bad boy. I needed some direction so I would get better and not behave in such a nasty way. It has changed me. No more swearing because I know if I swear I’ll be kicked out of the martial arts school.”

Liam added: “I was very hyper and Master Bernard taught me breathing techniques to calm me down. I have changed for the better.”

The youngsters were part of a first group of two planned for this year selected by the region’s Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP) to be personally trained by Master Bernard at Precision’s academy in Aldershot thanks to funding from Rushmoor Schools Plus.

The successful five are the second group of young people from Rushmoor’s Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP) to win the Precision scholarship which was launched last year to help transform the lives of young people using martial arts.

Under the guidance of Master Bernard, the first clutch of YISP boys have steered clear of trouble and flourished. The 34-year-old martial arts instructor is convinced the young people from Farnborough have what it takes to get their black belts.

The £5,000 funding from Rushmoor Schools Plus covered the cost of the gruelling six-week induction for 30 youngsters and the initial kit for the scholarship winners. But funding is now needed to help the boys realise their black belt dreams – training for which can take three to four years.

Rushmoor Schools Plus – a partnership between local schools and organisations working to improve the opportunities of children and families in the area – stepped forward with the funding after Precision’s success with three boys from YISP.

Master Bernard said: “We are grateful to Rushmoor Schools Plus for their support and generosity. The funding has allowed us to extend our black belt scholarship scheme to help more children in the area.

“The YISP kids who started the scholarship last year have come along in leaps and bounds. The change in their attitude to life, the discipline and respect they show at home, school and to fellow students at the academy has been amazing.

“These five Farnborough youngsters show the same potential and I am looking forward to helping them achieve great things through the Precision martial arts teachings.”

Families of the new recruits have already seen a difference in the boys.

Eileen Cope, 12-year-old Robson’s grandmother said: “Before he started at Precision he was fidgety and unable to sit still. But from the very first lesson I could see a change. It was unbelievable. He became more attentive and focused. To see him standing there, concentrating, watching and listening to Master Bernard and then doing what he was told was incredible. His attitude has improved at home and at school. I cannot praise Master Bernard enough. He has changed Robson’s life in just a few weeks. I want to thank the YISP team for giving Robson this wonderful opportunity.”

Liam McCrea’s mother Petrina said the martial arts training had helped her son control his temper and become a lot calmer at home and school. “It was hard for him to calm down. He used to fight all the time, but he has now learnt to walk away. He knows that if he gets into trouble he won’t be able to continue martial arts training so that is a great incentive.”

The martial arts teachings have made 11-year-old Stuart Tolmie more responsible according to his father Andrew. “It has helped him concentrate, become more responsible and it’s been good for his fitness too. Before the martial arts, Stuart was easily distracted. It would take him hours to get home from school because he’d been distracted by something. Precision has given him something he can excel at and he has enormous enthusiasm for it. I’m convinced he will continue to work hard and get his black belt.”

Paul Rolfe, Operations Manager for Rushmoor YISP, said: “The Precision scholarship scheme has been hugely successful and it is something we are keen to continue with. Last year’s scholarship winners are doing really well proving the programme really works. We believe it is a great opportunity for these children, one which has made an enormous difference to their lives.”

Phil Stoneman, Rushmoor Borough Council’s Community Safety Manager, said: “To see what Master Bernard and Precision Martial Arts have achieved with these boys in such a short time is hugely impressive. It is about providing something different, an activity that will engage young people and help them channel their energies into something positive.

“Having seen these boys at Precision over the past few weeks, I have absolutely no doubt they will work hard and go on to get their black belts. I’m sure in a couple of years we will see they have achieved what they set out to do.

“We work closely with the YISP team who do an excellent job with local children and we will support them and Precision as far as we possibly can. We have made financial contributions to this project as we believe it makes a great difference to the lives of young people in the region.

“I would urge local businesses to support the Precision scholarship programme and sponsor these boys through their black belt course. It isn’t enormously expensive and doesn’t require huge resources. But it does require funding. It’s a good way for businesses to invest into the local community and help children with challenging behaviour get back onto the right path.”

Liane Brazier, case worker from Rushmoor YISP, said: “We were so impressed by how effective Precision’s scholarship scheme was for the three boys from YISP that we were keen to keep it going. We are delighted with the funds from Rushmoor Schools Plus which have helped us give more children this opportunity. Some of the 16 children who trained with Master Bernard were from YISP and the rest were youngsters from the region who we believed would benefit from martial arts. We are currently planning when to run our final course of this year.”

YISP is part of the Wessex Youth Offending Team working with children who play truant, have problems at home and at school or have come to the notice of the police. Often, the eight to 13-year-olds are referred to YISP by police, children’s services, teachers, community safety teams and even parents who are keen to stop them turning to crime.

Last autumn, Ross Clynes, Aiden Nisbet and Paul Linsell from YISP successfully came through the gruelling six week induction at Precision to win scholarships to continue training for their black belts.

Family, friends and youth workers reported positive changes in all three boys at home and school since they started at Precision. The youngsters gained confidence, discipline, respect and how to control their anger at home and in school.

Precision Martial Arts still needs funding to enable the scholarship youngsters to continue their tuition through to the black belt leadership course which can take between three to five years.

Business leaders and companies interested in supporting the scheme should contact Elaine Bernard on 07977 431204.

28 May 2010

About Precision Martial Arts:

Precision Martial Arts has two academies catering to the needs of people in Surrey and Hampshire. The Camberley school was launched in 2001 and Precision's first full-time academy opened January 2007. The second full-time academy opened in Aldershot in March 2008.

Precision Martial Arts was founded by World Kickboxing Champion Master Paul Bernard in 2001 to meet the demand for lessons from the local community. Today, with his wife Elaine working alongside him, Paul has four highly trained instructors on staff teaching a total of 200 students in the two academies. Students are taught a selection of martial arts including Kickboxing, Karate, Taekwondo, Brazilian Jujitsu and Kung-Fu and work their way up a succession of belts from the beginners white to the ultimate black belt.

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