Why Vortex · BMABA recognised
Three systems.
One syllabus.
Built by a fighter who saw what traditional Taekwondo left out, and built something to cover it.
A hybrid martial art recognised by the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association as a distinct system. Taught in Lancaster through age-appropriate classes for children, teens, and adults.
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The origin
Why this exists
It started with a fighter who'd seen both sides.
Andy started in Taekwondo. He earned his black belt through World Taekwondo, the Olympic federation, and fought for Team GB, competing nationally and internationally.
He didn't stop there. He went on to amateur kickboxing and never lost. He competed at every opportunity. Then to pro MMA, where he fought to an 8-3 record. Three sports, three competitive careers.
The cross-discipline experience made the gaps in traditional Taekwondo impossible to ignore. A black belt who'd never had to grapple. A kicking specialist with no clinch defence. Self-defence taught as theory, not practice. The kind of gaps that don't matter in competition, and matter immediately anywhere else.
So he built something else.
He kept what works from the Olympic system: the kicks, the conditioning, the discipline. He added the hands from kickboxing, a sport he'd actually competed in. He built the self-defence around escape: takedowns, clinches, back takes, drawn from Muay Thai and MMA. He tested it. He refined it. He still does.
In July 2023, the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association (the BMABA, an independent UK martial arts governing body) officially recognised the system as Freestyle Taekwondo. Andy holds 3rd Dan in the art he created.
A working system, built by someone who needed it to actually work.
A hybrid system, explained
What Freestyle Taekwondo
actually is
Three systems. One syllabus.
This system was built across three disciplines: the Olympic kicking base, the hands from kickboxing, and self-defence drawn from Muay Thai and grappling. Not bolted together. Designed as one.
Olympic kicking base
The competitive foundation from World Taekwondo (WT), the federation that governs Taekwondo at the Olympics. Patterns, blocks, sparring, and the kicking arsenal the sport is known for.
Kickboxing-style hands
Olympic Taekwondo focuses on kicks. Freestyle adds the hands. You'll learn to jab, cross, hook, and combine: striking technique grounded in kickboxing.
Self-defence built for escape
Takedown defence, clinch work, back takes, drilled around one principle: don't stay where you don't want to be. Drawn from Muay Thai and adapted for what a high kick can't solve.
Officially recognised by the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association (BMABA) as a distinct system.
Credentials
The credibility behind the system
A real competitive record. Two decades of coaching. Officially recognised.
A real competitive record
Fought for Team GB in Taekwondo
Unbeaten in amateur kickboxing
8-3 in pro MMA
The syllabus is built from what worked across all three competitive sports. Not theory, not what looks good in a syllabus, but what holds up under pressure.
Two decades of coaching
Andy started teaching at 15 and has been coaching ever since. Hundreds of students taught by name. Double figures in black belts produced. The system has been refined over nearly twenty years of working out what students actually need.
Officially recognised
The British Martial Arts and Boxing Association (BMABA), an independent UK martial arts governing body, officially recognises Freestyle Taekwondo as a distinct system. Recognition comes from a documented syllabus, a grading structure, and a coaching standard that holds up to outside review.
Train this system
in Lancaster
This page is the philosophy. The classes are where you actually train.
Available through age-appropriate classes for children, teens, and adults. No experience needed. First class free.