Now we come to the very exciting lessons I learned from one of media’s top fighting brands, and a few lessons I taught them myself!

Photo by Den of Geek.

I was proud to work with and train two of the TV series most famous Gladiators, Cobra and Panther. How did it happen?

One day, some TV programme makers came to our gym. They were looking for fit men and women, and asked if anyone was interested in a new TV show. A fighter called Michael Wilson was there that day: he was in great shape and very good-looking. He really stood out with his long blond hair like Thor. (Apart from that, though, he wasn’t so much like Thor, just a very down-to-earth, funny and likeable guy).

He was picked to audition for the show – although at that stage, no-one really knew what it was!  At the audition, he performed so well that he became the feared TV gladiator –  Cobra. As Cobra, he used lots of martial arts techniques, including taekwondo’s spinning kicks, as well as moves from Thai boxing.

Panther was super-fit, smart and very, very dedicated

I also met Panther, the fearsome female gladiator, and helped her become an even more impressive fighter.  I could see from her TV performances that she needed better technique in long sticks fighting, to deal with some really tricky opponents. She found that the techniques we worked on really helped, and our training became a regular thing.

I used to travel for training sessions with her at 7am in the morning… which tells you something about how dedicated she was. She was already super-fit and a British bodybuilding champion. The skills of martial arts, however, can add a fighting edge to anyone. Panther was smart enough to know this. She realised where she needed to improve, and then she did the work.  

I used to travel with Cobra, and worked in his personal security detail as well. He often visited schools and talked to kids about health and fitness. He was very keen to motivate them and encourage their knowledge of fitness, training and nutrition. He used to come down to Panther classes and help out there too. It was great to see how he wanted to help and support other people coming up: another really valuable lesson about how to have success and still keep a down-to-earth attitude.

The best part was that as a trade-off for my work as a trainer, my students and I were offered tickets to come and watch the Gladiators show being filmed at the weekends. This was so exciting for the kids… and I have to admit I got pretty excited along with them! It was great to watch these fighters in action, and to admire the way all our hard work paid off.