A 24-HOUR martial arts event has raised funds for a Worcester charity that supports mental health.

Around 70 students from Worcestershire Martial Arts took part in the 24-hour event to raise funds for Survivors Worcester, who are based at the St Swithuns Institute, in The Trinity.

Kirsty Denslow, fundraising coordinator said: “Mental health is such an issue in the community, but it is also an issue that affects many of our members.

“We chose Survivors Worcester because it focuses so much on the local community that we ourselves are in.

“We also felt that there was a kinship between the clubs because Survivors also relies on volunteers, our club is run by volunteers, so it felt nice to recognise that and try to support it.”

There were a variety of combinations the students took part in, including Taekwon-do, Kickboxing, Boxercise, Judo, Tetsudo and Wing Chun.

Mrs Denslow, aged 30 said: “We didn’t just stop there though, we also completed 1955 burpees and 333 meters of high kick, lunges and sidekicks and, thanks to the generosity of Pure Gym Worcester we also cycled the 250km of the Korean wall and rowed the 16.5km of heaven lake in Korea - several times.

“All in all, it was a fantastic event and I’m incredibly proud of everyone who took part. Fundraising and supporting people who are less advantaged means a lot to me, so I really enjoy being able to involve other people in that.

“We’re very much a family at the club, so it was a really enjoyable event that we’re all still laughing and joking about.”

Worcestershire Martial Arts is a non-profit martial arts club ran by volunteers. It was founded by Sally Gleaves, who used to compete at World Championships in Taekwon-do.

The members who took part ranged in ages from four to 60.

The club, based at Shrub Hill, is community based and supports different charities every year. This year, the group wanted to support mental health.

The martial arts practice began on June 15 at midday and the event was split into hourly shifts where members signed up to those allocated slots. However, one member trained for 14 hours.

The club are still receiving donations, but the current total is £1,700.

To donate, visit worcestershiremartialarts.co.uk/fundraising

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