History
Alf’s Blackbelt Academy was originally founded as “Stacksteads Freestyle” back in 1991 and operated out of the church hall on Brandwood Road, Stacksteads, Bacup. Alf Love started the club with mainly family and friends attending the initial lessons on Tuesday and Thursday Evenings, it wasn’t long before the membership grew as word spread across the Rossendale Valley. In the early days the club fought under the UKASKO association however in later years this was to change.
In 1995 we were forced to move because the local brownie pack who shared the same premises made complaints about the noise. For a short period we trained in a room above the Riverside Cafe at the Tollbar in Stacksteads, eventually moving due to expansion in 1996 up a couple of floors into our present home at Unit Y Tollbar Business Park. Unit Y has proved to be an ideal location allowing us the space to develop the club and grow.
The club at this time was affiliated to the BMA association but left due to issues with licences to join Joe Tierney’s Shorai International Organisation who we are still with today. Joe Tierney the president of Shorai is one of the most respected martial artists in the World and our Academy are very proud to be in his organisation.
In 1996 twelve of our members travelled on the clubs first international trip with Shorai international to Niagara Falls, Canada where they attended a training camp for a week before competing in Canada’s largest martial arts event, the “DOUVRIS CLASSIC”. The club enjoyed instant success with Mick Waters winning his semi-contact division. This turned out to be a significant turning point for the club as we became in years to come a major force at national and international events worldwide.
In 1997 Alf changed the club name to ‘Alf’s Blackbelt Academy’, with the letters from Alf’s the initials for ‘Alf Loves Free Style’. The academy continues to this present day to have many successes on the National and International stage producing many National and World Champions. All of these achievements can be found within the websites ‘Roll of Honour’ section.
In 2005 in recognition of the clubs achievements over the years our founder Alf Love was elected England National coach and remains in this position to this day.
Amongst all the successes, there have been some achievements worthy of a special mention. Mick Waters wins in the Douvris Classic in 1996 and the Irish Open in 2000, Chris Simcock's win at the Irish Open in 1999. The academy’s unbelievable performance in Niagara Falls in 2005 when eleven fighters returned with a total of fifteen World Championship medals, including Dan Williams and Declan Bailey with three gold medals each making the club the most successful to represent England that year. This prompted a television appearance on BBC’s LOOK NORTH WEST programme.
Shannon Priestley’s four National Championship titles won in 2009 at the age of twelve resulting in her being awarded student of the season at the end of the year.
In November 2010 Alf Love representing the North West region at the Daily Mirror 'Pride of Britain' awards having won the Granada area event and appearing on regional television for the second time in five years.
Chloe Love the clubs most successful competitor with a record ten consecutive World Champion light contact titles to her name at the age of seventeen in 2011 and Shannon Priestley winning her sixth World Championship in light contact in the same year. At the same championships Charlotte Fagg replicating the feat of Dan Williams and Declan Bailey in 2005 by winning individual golds in both light contact and semi contact and also winning a third gold in the junior girls team semi contact event.
In 2011 Alf Love winning a lifetime acheivement award at the Rossendale Sports Awards and going on to win a highly commended award at the Lancashire Sports Awards later that year.
To this day the committee and the clubs instructors continue to provide a first class martial arts facility for the people of Rossendale and surrounding areas.
