Shifu Yan Kun - Performance Director
Shifu Yan Kun is the Founder and Performance Director of UKA, and a former Team GB Head Coach for Chinese Kickboxing. With 35+ years in martial arts and 500+ national and international champions coached across disciplines, he architects UKA’s high-performance system and sets the technical, tactical, and cultural standards for the academy. His role covers: designing training programs, planning the training calendar based on evidence, building in strength and conditioning, reducing injury risks, and using video to check technique and keep standards high. Shifu leads the leadership team, develops coaches and identifies talent, and makes sure every training environment follows clear KPIs and a champion mindset.
Head Coach Brendon - Point Fighting
Coach Brendon is UKA’s Head of Point Fighting and a decorated multi-discipline athlete: 3rd Dan Black Belt (ITF), 1st Dan Black Belt (WT Taekwondo), former ITF World Champion, current UAE National Champion, Hungarian Open Kickboxing Champion, and WAKO Uzbekistan World Cup Champion. With 20+ years on the mats and as a current UAE National Team kickboxing athlete, he brings world-class competitive insight to every session.
At UKA, Coach Brendon leads the point-fighting program and Talent ID pathway, specialising in distance control, explosive entries, counter-timing, and mat craft. His system blends speed-strength development, reaction drills, and scenario sparring with video review and clear KPIs so progress is visible and standards are non-negotiable. With a proven track record elevating children and young adults to the highest levels, Coach Brendon designs age-appropriate progressions—from fundamentals to podium-ready tactics—so athletes learn to score first, control the exchange, and finish strong.
Head Coach Jack - Full Contact
Coach Jack brings a competition-bred edge to UKA’s daily training environment. A Kickboxing Black Belt and Karate Black Belt with Muay Thai and K-1 experience—and a National Karate Champion—Coach Jack specialises in turning clean fundamentals into pressure-proof offence. His sessions focus on tempo control, distance management, and layered combination work that flows from drill to pad, to scenario, and into live application. Coach Jack’s cues are clear and repeatable, building footwork economy, ring IQ, and finishing instincts. He also leads talent identification for UKA’s full-contact pathway—running assessments, sparring audits, and readiness benchmarks to select, develop, and progress athletes into high-intensity competition.
Coach Mark - Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach Mark is a Muay Thai–first coach with 10+ years of experience across Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Filipino stick-fighting arts, refined by time training in Thailand under the renowned Master Toddy. At UKA, his sessions are strictly Muay Thai and Kickboxing focused—clean mechanics, solid guard, balanced stance, and smart ring movement.
Known for crisp padwork and calm, precise coaching, Coach Mark builds athletes through repeatable rhythms, simple combinations done exceptionally well, and clinch fundamentals that develop composure under pressure. He leads with safety and clarity—proper wrapping, joint-friendly warm-ups, and clear reps-and-rest structures—so beginners feel confident and intermediates sharpen efficiently. The result is steady, reliable progress you can feel round by round.
