A moment that changed me: I was turning 40 with an arthritis diagnosis on a whim I took up my favourite teen hobby again

At 14, a desire to be like Buffy the Vampire Slayer led to joining a kickboxing club, which became a thrice-weekly commitment for four years. Progress through coloured belts marked growth in strength and flexibility, and sparring against men built confidence. In 2004, a black belt grading pushed the body through punches, kicks, drills, and sparring, including a surprise street-fighting scenario with real pipes. After reaching that level, training was stopped for travel and university, and the sport was later seen as belonging to a younger self. In late 2024, a physio revealed a hip cartilage tear and mild arthritis, prompting a return to the club to test whether kickboxing was still possible. The return felt remarkably immediate, with familiar instructors still involved.

"At 14, I decided to learn a martial art. I told my parents it was to defend myself on the mean streets of Congleton a market town in Cheshire largely devoid of danger when, in truth, it was because I wanted to be like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I joined a kickboxing club, and what could have been a passing phase became a thrice-weekly commitment spanning four years. I was a model student, picking up a different coloured belt every few months to mark my progression through the grades."

"By the time I came to do my black belt grading in 2004, I was 19 and in the best shape of my life. Three torturous hours of punches, kicks, fitness drills and sparring pushed me to my limits and culminated in a surprise street-fighting section in which multiple attackers came at me with real pipes. How very Buffy. I passed one of the club's first students to reach that level."

"Then, almost as soon as I achieved what I'd worked so hard for, I gave it up. I went travelling and to university, and swapped the kickboxing club for nightclubs. Over time, my body softened and I began to view the sport I once loved as something that belonged to a younger, stronger version of myself. Until, in late 2024, a physio charmingly revealed I was staring down the barrel of 40 with a cartilage tear and mild arthritis in my hip."

"So, on a whim, I returned to my childhood club to see whether it was possible. I expected to feel slow and out of place; instead, I came as close to time travel as is possible outside science fiction. My old instructor Alastair was still in charge; his mum, Lyn, was still a coach; and the third person to walk th"

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