Wantage martial arts charity spars for 24-hours

The students of SMAF Oxford in Didcot, run by Mark Currie, were raising money for The Hive which Mr Currie and his wife Christina hope to raise £60,000 to set-up after their autistic daughter took an attempt on her life.

The Hive, which will be based in Wantage, will provide free martial arts workshops including for mobility, coordination and health and wellbeing.

Mark Currie with his wife Cristina and children Mitchell and Cidnie.

READ MORE: Wantage martial arts charity to help children and adults with learning disabilities

More than 90 members took part in the event on Friday (22) last week starting at 5.30pm.

Members sparred for two hours at a time with a minimum of 10 people sparring at once and four in the evening hours.

The new charity will be called The Hive.

Mr Currie, who is a 4th Dan Black Belt, said: “The event was a great success. It was one of those things where you tap yourself on the shoulder and say, ‘We just did that’.

“It was very emotional. Those involved you could see they had a sense of pride at what they had achieved.

Members of SMAF sparring on a Facebook Live.

“We’ve probably raised about £12,000 from this which is amazing – we can’t believe the response we’ve had. SMAF members are family and we 100 per cent couldn’t do this without them.”

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The next fundraising event for the charity is a fight night on July 16. To donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sports-martial-arts-organisation-hive

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For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit a local Samaritans branch. See samaritans.org for more details.

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