Nicholas “Nick” Brooke has been kickboxing for the last nine of his sixteen years. He started participating in the sport when he was only seven years old. “My dad has been encouraging me and been by my side since the beginning,” Brooke said. “He’s the reason why I started kickboxing in the first place. He wanted me to do something new at a younger age.”

Brooke trains at Tracy’s Karate located in Vacaville. He used to go with one of his best friends but he ended up quitting while Brooke stayed on. “I can’t even imagine quitting this sport,” he said.

Even though he considered playing both basketball and baseball for Armijo during his freshman year, his first love is kickboxing, a sport he plans to continue participating in after graduation, and there are many reasons. “I get to learn and practice self-defense with different styles and forms, and I think it’s really cool how I get to do something that’s been around for generations,” he said.

It is not an easy sport to participate in and Brooke has suffered the aches and pains from working out so much and getting hit in the face multiple times. “Those punches and kicks leave bruises, scratches, and red marks,” Brooke said.

Still, he does hope to improve as a fighter and plans to gain those skills by increasing his level in jui jitsu. He highly encourages others to at least try kickboxing, especially those who want to learn martial arts.