On tonight's show, Bartholomew Hall is joined by Krav Maga expert Piotr Fajecki to talk all things self defence. Plus: Abby Hook meets the Roller Dance club in need of a bigger hall...
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:19up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall, here's what to expect on this Monday
00:24the 27th of January.
00:55It leaves the Medway side 17th in the League 2 table.
00:59Meanwhile, in the National League, Efteling United fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against
01:05Braintree Town. Maidstone United's promotion, hopes, took a hit in a 2-1 defeat to Worthing
01:13despite a spirited push for a late equaliser.
01:17Tunbridge Angels continued their fine form though with a 3-1 win over Slough.
01:22And in the Izmian Premier, Dover Athletic moved back to the top of the table.
01:28Dartford's 4-0 thrashing of Bielericke lifted them to third, while Folkestone impressed
01:35in a 3-0 victory over Horsham to boost their playoff hopes, taking them to eighth.
01:45Well thank you Ollie for the football round up there. Next night, a roller dance club
01:49in Medway has been campaigning to use a bigger hall for more than a decade. They say Medway
01:54Park would be the ideal location to train for national and international skating competitions,
01:58but the council have told them the large hall just isn't suitable. But the club that's been
02:03running since the 40s say it won't stop them trying to find a perfect home for the growing
02:08sport.
02:11One of the oldest of its kind in Kent, Medway Roller Dance Club have been skating since 1949.
02:19Groups of all abilities and ages are currently in training, some for the 2025 national competitions
02:25and some for the British Championships. But a battle with Medway Council about space to
02:31practice in has taken centre stage.
02:35Medway Park has got fantastic facilities there. We have used their smaller hall before, which
02:40they've now re-coated, but it's not suitable for us because it's too sticky. But their
02:46larger hall, which I know they have some fantastic events on in there, we've tried
02:50to use since 2012, but we've never been able to use it, unfortunately, and without really
02:57a reason. This is only four courts, and we really struggle to get everything on, especially
03:03for championships, because they have huge floors they have to skate on.
03:07In a statement, Medway Council said, unfortunately, the large hall at Medway Park is not suitable
03:12for skating, which the club have been advised of. We have discussed the possibility of the
03:17club using the smaller hall, which has recently been upgraded and can be used for skating.
03:22However, the club did not find the surface suitable.
03:25They feel that we're damaging it, but they haven't actually seen the skates and that
03:30they wouldn't actually damage the floor at all. I mean, this equipment is 500 pounds
03:36plus they spend on these skates. They just wouldn't ruin the floor.
03:42While the search for a bigger hall continues, the skaters have another challenge to face
03:46too in getting their sport more widely recognised by authorities here in the UK.
03:53Ice skating is so big, and it is the equivalent. We are just doing the same thing, and so many
03:57of the rules are out of line as well now. Post-COVID, we've seen a real increase in
04:02skaters all the way through, like people just coming in and just trying it one day and saying
04:06come with us. So I think there's definitely a space for it to grow, but it's quite big
04:10in this part of the country, so we're just a small part of that, but quite a big club.
04:15So do they have any room for one more?
04:22So I managed to find these at the back of the cupboard, blown off the dust. I've skated
04:26a few times in my life, but not quite to the level that these guys are at. So Sam and Nathan
04:31are going to give me a bit of a lesson. Wish me luck.
04:33So the instructors would have put me around a level one, even with that performance, but
04:41when you compare my work to that of the competitors, elegance, elegance, you can see why they trained
04:48for months.
04:49I spoke too soon.
04:54So no medals for me, but this club will continue to keep their eyes on the prize, and on a
05:00bigger whole. Abbey Hook for KMTV in Gillingham.
05:09Abbey joins me now safely on the ground, no more falling over, and I shouldn't be making
05:13fun of you because later on in the programme I'm actually going to be taking part in some
05:17self-defence, which I've never done before, and you've actually had a bit of experience.
05:20I'm not defending myself on those.
05:22Okay Abbey, now you could move, and that was about it, but you have done it before.
05:28Yeah, I've grown up doing it, and my parents will be watching thinking that I sort of didn't
05:33do myself much of a... I did myself a bit of a disservice to be honest. I was a bit
05:38nervous in comparison to those professionals there and those competitors as well, but I've
05:42done it a couple of times, but I thought I'd be better than I was.
05:45And I mean looking at the guys here, they're all very passionate about the sport. This
05:48club has been going since the 40s, but they've been campaigning over the past decade for
05:52more recognition. What can you tell us?
05:54Yeah, not only from Medway Council that we heard from in my report there, but actually
05:58not for that bigger hall, but actually campaigning to be an Olympic sport. They're actually governed
06:03under the same sort of body that skateboarding is, and they say it's actually really similar
06:08to ice skating. They can't really see why there's that difference. Obviously it's wheels,
06:11it's not ice skates, it's on the ground, but that sort of difference I suppose you can
06:15compare it to hockey and ice hockey. They're both really big sports, equally sort of as
06:19big now. We cover that a lot here with the dynamos as well on Invicta Sport. But yeah,
06:23they've been trying to get into the Olympics, campaigning for that to be a sport. I think
06:28it's overall just about a bit of recognition for what they do as well, and the type of
06:32international and national competitions as well, because they want a bigger hall, they
06:35want to practice. And when you're in there, in my report there you heard from Samantha
06:40that they feel like they're sort of touching the walls, that that's how small this hall
06:45is in comparison to the space they need, and they just need that bigger space. But Medway
06:50Council say it's just not sufficient, their hall isn't designed for roller skates. I think
06:57a lot of the concerns are for the marks that they make on the floor. But this kit, it's
07:01quite expensive, it's professional level. My roller skates weren't, they might leave
07:04marks, but those ones shouldn't. So it's a difficult one.
07:08Yeah, and who knows, I mean you were talking about the Olympics there, obviously we saw
07:11in the Paris Games breakdancing being introduced, something nobody thought would ever be a sport
07:16that you could win an Olympic medal for. So who knows, if they carry on skating around
07:21whatever hall it is, they might gain a bit more traction and make it to the Olympics.
07:24It looks a bit like breakdancing, what I was doing on the floor there.
07:27It did a bit, Abi. Thank you very much for all of that.
07:31Next, a new community gym has opened its doors in Paddock Wood in a way to boost the town's
07:37fitness levels. Impact Gym was opened in Orchard Business Centre on the 6th of January by co-owners
07:44Daniel Baines and Jacob Wilkins with the goal of becoming one of the best in the area, prompted
07:50by a lack of sports sites in the town. Well, the owners say that the project is all designed
07:55towards giving back to the community. Here's Jacob.
07:57Yes, Dan and I's promise is pure reinvestment for the next couple of years. So any money
08:03we make, we promise to reinvest back into the gym. We want this to be the best gym in
08:06the area. I think it's what Paddock Wood's been missing for ages in the surrounding areas.
08:10So we've had nothing but support from the community, which has been really grateful.
08:13The gap in the market for us was something I've always wanted to fill from a young age.
08:17I think that everyone in the community has asked questions of why it's not being filled.
08:20But I won't go into too much detail about that because it's been a stressful process.
08:23But yes, it's all about giving back to the community for us.
08:27Now plenty more to come in today's episode of Invicta Sport, including, as I said earlier,
08:31me taking part in some self-defence. But for now, let's remind you that you can take a
08:34look at all of our sports reports by heading to our website, kmtv.co.uk and clicking on
08:40the sports tab. There you'll see videos like this one from when former Arsenal striker
08:43Eduardo joined in a commemorative fixture at Gillingham celebrating 150 years since
08:49the Royal Engineers won the FA Cup.
08:52Gillingham Town FC welcomed former Arsenal star Eduardo da Silva as they played in a
08:59friendly fixture against the Royal Engineers with around 300 in attendance. Taking place
09:06at the RSME No. 1 ground, the match celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Royal Engineers
09:15winning the FA Cup.
09:17The Royal Engineers are the only military club to win the FA Cup and I spoke to one
09:23of their regiment sergeant majors about the importance of remembering this milestone.
09:30It's a massive thing for a military team to have won the FA Cup and now we have our serving
09:36players wearing the FA Cup on their chest as well, wearing it with pride and also they're
09:41going to celebrate the victory 150 years ago.
09:44This is a special fixture for us, not only for Gillingham Town but also for the Royal
09:50Engineers as they celebrate 150 years since winning the FA Cup. So today is a very special
09:58occasion and we're honoured to have Eduardo as our special guest today.
10:05After plenty of saves in the first half, the second saw the Royal Engineers burst in
10:10with a goal by Luke Kearney. Gillingham Town FC retaliated with one of their own at the
10:1769-minute mark from Dean Joseph Whittingham. But the Royal Engineers broke the draw just
10:23minutes later, thanks again to Kearney winning the game 2-1.
10:28Catching up with Eduardo, here's what he had to say.
10:31I just want to thank everyone for the opportunity to play for Gillingham Town. It's a privilege
10:42to be an ambassador. I hope to visit more often and keep playing.
10:48Thanks again to Alex and everyone involved for the opportunity.
10:53The match also raised money for the Royal Engineers Association, Royal British Legion
11:00Industries and the mental health charity Heads Together. The celebrations will be going
11:06on until May where the Zappers will play against an old Etonians team in Medway with what hopes
11:14to be a festival of football. Henry Luck for KMTV in Gillingham.
11:21Lovely stuff and plenty more videos like that available on our website as I said. Now we've
11:27reached half time which means it's time for a break but coming up we're talking all things
11:32self-defence with the art of Krav Maga. I had a go at joining in with the team at Krav
11:37Maga UK in Medway to see how I got on. Just wait until after the break. Plus of course
11:42it is Monday, it is Invicta Sport. We've got a brand new edition of Action Replay for you
11:46to enjoy with lots of videos and pictures of you, the viewers, getting involved in sport.
11:51See you in just a minute.
14:57Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV. Now following a national jump in
15:16the amount of knife crime recorded by the police, a self-defence class in Medway is
15:20calling for people to take up the art of Krav Maga. Originating in the Middle East, the
15:24self-defence system is a mixture of martial arts designed to make the user able to defuse
15:28an attacker. Our reporter, myself, had a go but a warning, the action you're about to
15:34see was supervised by professionals. Don't try this at home.
15:40When I came along to a self-defence class I didn't realise knowing what to do in a knife
15:44attack was going to be the first lesson. Krav Maga or contact combat when translated from
15:50Hebrew is a self-defence system developed in the Middle East using martial arts techniques
15:55which encourages students to avoid physical confrontation. But according to the founder
16:00of Medway's Krav Maga Academy, the discipline is all about preparing people for the unexpected
16:05in everyday life.
16:06Krav Maga gives people confidence, confidence that if anything occurs in life you'll be
16:11able to protect your family, you'll be able to react, you'll be able to recognise the
16:16threat and remove yourself and your family from it. I mean, as you can see, today's news
16:22and the last week's news, etched weapons is a big problem in the UK, knife crime obviously.
16:29All of the advice is less on the martial arts side of it, it's more of a practical side
16:35of how to react to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
16:40In the year to last June there were more than 50,000 knife crime offences recorded by police
16:45across the country. That represents a 4% rise on the previous year, an uptick of almost
16:512,000.
16:53Former nightclub bouncer Tristan took to Krav Maga as a way to make himself feel safer.
16:58He says self-defence should be mandatory.
17:00I would say it's vital, to be honest with you. Mandatory if possible. As you said, knife
17:06crime is on the rise, especially in places like London. Unfortunately it's leaking into
17:10the Kent areas and such and there's nothing in life that really equips you to be able
17:14to deal with such scenarios. So to be able to teach that and see students use techniques
17:19that we teach to defend themselves if necessary is amazing.
17:23I would definitely spend more time looking at my phone on the train or walking the street
17:28and now I don't just because I'm trying to be more aware of my surroundings. I mean if
17:32I'm honest, I feel like it's changed me. I've lost three stone, three and a half stone.
17:39I've become much more confident, I've met people.
17:43Again, if we go back into that position, you want to have a strong pressure on all your
17:48body weight. So if you can't, continue that motion towards you.
17:52During my session I was taught to engage only as a way to move the blade away and disable
17:57the attacker before making a run for it to protect myself.
18:06OK, well I don't know if I mastered it 100% but I definitely know the first steps of what
18:10to do if I was ever in the unfortunate position of being attacked with a knife. But yeah,
18:15I think I need a bit more practice.
18:17But even if I'm not sure how well prepared I'd be after the one session, for those who
18:21train here weekly, it's clear they're not afraid about getting into confrontation.
18:26Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Medway.
18:31Well Peter joins me in the studio now. First of all thank you for welcoming me to the club
18:35the other day. Obviously a very vibrant community you've got going on there. I was there between
18:39two sessions going on. It was sort of one in, one out. It's a very close-knit community
18:44that you've got going on there.
18:46Absolutely. It was great having you and hopefully you had fun learning some practical self-defence.
18:51Yeah, I mean I was very surprised that, you know, step one would be defending myself from
18:56a knife attack. But that's what it's all about, isn't it Krav Maga? It's about these real
18:59world situations that we would never want to be in, we'd never imagine ourselves in. But
19:03I mean, as Tristan was saying, there is nothing in life that teaches you how to be in those
19:07situations.
19:08Absolutely. I truly believe that when you come to a club to learn self-defence, you
19:13should be exposed to the most common problems that can happen, right? And we're all afraid
19:18about the knife crime, we're all afraid about being punched and approached by multiple aggressors.
19:24So I have a tendency to teach everything from day one. Yes, it's overwhelming to students,
19:30but hey, you came, you had a go, you did very well. Why is that? Simply because everything
19:35is based on natural reactions. So we take those natural reactions and we transform them
19:40onto practical solutions that, you know, everyday people like yourself can successfully do and
19:47perform.
19:48And, I mean, I know you have groups of people of all ages, children as well. I mean, some
19:52parents might be looking at this thinking, oh, I don't want to get my children involved
19:56in, you know, fighting and this or that. But you would maybe disagree, it's not about getting
20:01into conflict, it's not about being violent, it's about actually defusing that.
20:04Absolutely. As a father of 11 years old child, I want him to be confident. Character development
20:11is everything. The confidence is super important. And most importantly, his ability to spot
20:19the danger, recognize it, defuse the situations, remove himself from the conflict. And if anything
20:27happens that he needs to use physical force, I would rather him to have those tools than
20:32not to have it.
20:33And we welcome sports clubs of all different shapes and sizes onto this program, obviously
20:37Krav Maga. It's not necessarily a sport, some people would argue, but, I mean, there is
20:42massive physical benefits of joining along with this and mental benefits too.
20:46Absolutely. When I started teaching full time 12 years ago, I thought people wants to learn
20:51Krav Maga, you know, practical self-defense. But I quickly learned that they want to look
20:56better, feel better and move better. So, yes, physical exercise is a massive filler of what
21:02we do. But also it plays a role in teaching practical self-defense because when we push
21:09our students to, you know, physical exhaustion, when you're going through training that, you
21:15know, pushes you to 180 beats per minute, you're losing fine motor skills. So then there's
21:20a great opportunity to test, you know, how practical the system is and also lose some
21:26calories. So it's a win-win for everyone.
21:28And what is it your students are telling you that they're most benefiting from as part
21:32of Krav Maga? I know Tristan was saying to me off camera that he started out as a student
21:36and now has become one of the trainers as well. What is the general experience?
21:40Absolutely. They get mostly two things. First one is a physical transformation. They simply
21:46look better, they lean up very quickly. And the second one is the self-confidence that
21:51it gives you, that confidence and ability to react if anything happens. And not necessarily,
21:57you know, knife attacks. It can be something everyday like, you know, an argument at the
22:04workplace or at the car park. When you have a confidence that if anything happens, then
22:10you can react and protect yourself and your loved ones.
22:13Yeah, it's a lot to think about, of course. We're seeing some pictures on here from when
22:16I was taking part. What would be your advice to me as someone who had that very short session?
22:20I don't know if I've got that confidence just yet, if I was in that situation, but I definitely
22:25know the basics now.
22:26Absolutely. The advice is always the same. Run. Create a distance. Diffuse. Hide your
22:35ego. I mean, the best way to defend anything in life is to avoid it. It's like a safety
22:41system in a car. The best way to avoid collision is to have awareness on the road, right? And
22:48we apply the same principles in terms of self-defence. So whenever we have to use physical skills
22:53like Krav Maga techniques to save ourselves, it means that we already failed. We failed
22:58to recognise. We failed to avoid.
23:00Absolutely.
23:01And this is an emergency system like an airbag in a car.
23:04Well, Peter from Krav Maga Academy, thank you very much for joining us today. Really
23:07good to hear about this wonderful world. Moving on. Tides Leisure Centre's closure saw public
23:14backlash when a potential nine-month closure for the £20 million refurbishment was announced.
23:20It meant that multiple sport community groups down in Dover would have no choice but to
23:24permanently close. But after intervention, the group's fate will be decided tonight at
23:28a council review meeting. Finn McDermid has more.
23:31After Dover District Council decided to close Tides Leisure Centre in Deal for nine months
23:36for refurbishment to its gym and pool facilities, there was a public backlash.
23:41Here we get free parking and obviously we're on, it's for the over 55s, it's for the older
23:47group of people. We obviously don't want to have to spend money on car parking.
23:51It's good for rehabilitation here. Unfortunately, there's no other rehab at all.
24:00I wouldn't come if there wasn't a swimming pool. I like to swim. I need to do exercise.
24:03I can't walk very well.
24:05Many different sports clubs would have to find other venues to practice in, but some
24:08like East Kent Acrobatics Club said there were no other options in the local area for
24:12them and they'd have to close, despite using the hall for more than 20 years.
24:16Well, it's not even just the fact of not being able to do it. It's not just about the fact
24:20that it's a hobby for them. It's a physical education. It's the fact that they've got
24:27so much hope and excitement and it also improves their social skills and their communication.
24:37This all led to tonight, where a council review meeting would be held to decide whether the
24:42£20m refurbishment and closure, which would start from April 1st and last until January
24:472026, would go ahead. The decision also has political implications, since it was made
24:52by Dover Labour and the Conservative group took action to delay the move with a call-in,
24:56leading to the meeting tonight, which will decide the fate of many of Deal's community
25:00sports groups.
25:03Now that's full time on today's episode, but there's just a few minutes of extra time
25:06to take a look at this week's Action Replay. It's the segment where we take a look at the
25:10clips and pictures that you, the KMTV audience, have been sending in of you taking part in
25:14sport. Let's see what we've got in store on this week's Action Replay.
25:20First up on this week's Action Replay, Ryan Holden has hit a new UK record in archery,
25:25scoring an unbelievable 290 out of 300 for the Vegas 300. After competing in several
25:31national competitions and winning countless prizes and medals, he's finally achieved a
25:36national record. So a big congratulations to Ryan for his achievements.
25:41Next up, our Invictus Sports producer himself participated in a local park run this past
25:46weekend. Great Lines Park Run, which is held every weekend in Medway, is a free and friendly
25:51community event, which may or may not feature the odd presenter showing up. Bartholomew
25:56Hall ended up completing the 5k run in an impressive 30 minutes. And finally, Hannah
26:02Woff, who works at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, has been fundraising for cancer charities
26:06for two whole decades. Having started at the age of 7 and dedicated to honouring her grandfather,
26:1220 years of marathons and runs has seen her raise £35,000 for the cause.
26:18That's it for this week's Action Replay. Don't forget, it could be you in next week's
26:23edition. Just send in your pictures and videos on social media or email us at
26:32That was a lovely surprise. Thank you very much, Kai, for including me there. I don't
26:39know if it's impressive, but I'm definitely on the way to the sub-30 park run. That's
26:44it from us this evening. See you next time. Bye-bye.
27:01.