The turning kick was the problem, but balance was the real subject of the course. My client, aged 66, came to me with a very clear brief. He wanted to improve his turning kick so he could pass his yellow belt grading in taekwondo. It sounds simple. Lift the knee, pivot the supporting foot, turn the hip, extend the leg, recover, land. Anyone who has trained striking arts knows it is rarely that tidy once the body starts moving under pressure.

This week’s private lesson with my 62 year-old client was hour five of his current kickboxing course. It was also hour six of his overall kickboxing training with me, as we had attached one hour to the end of his previous boxing course. That earlier boxing work is now paying dividends. His guard, punching mechanics, foot positioning and basic ringcraft have given us a strong base. The challenge now is to add kicks without letting the boxing fall apart.

There’s a lovely moment in private coaching when a new movement stops feeling like “a move” and starts feeling like part of a conversation. That happened today with my 62-year-old kickboxing client as we began the fourth hour of his first lesson. We’d already laid down the basics. Today was about making them work together: round kicks, straight punches, and teeps.

After nearly a year and a half working with a senior client on boxing, today marked an important milestone: the penultimate class in his current course. Over the past 18 months, we have focused primarily on boxing techniques, steadily building his skills, confidence, and fitness. Despite some breaks due to outside commitments, his progress has been consistent and encouraging. Today’s session was designed to layer his training, testing his ability to combine different punches