K.O Community Foundation

KO Gym was founded in 1976 by world champion fighter and trainer Bill Judd.​

KO wasn’t just a world-leading martial arts gym. It was also a vessel to reach out to the community in deprived areas of London. In the 1980s Bill worked on the board of trustees at Tottenham community sports centre providing free training programs from minority communities. He led programs reaching out to Islamic centres involving a broader community in sports.

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K.O. Gym has grown exponentially since then as has its community outreach.

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Over the years we have grown into many different projects providing pupil outreach programs, knife amnesty projects and supporting female fighters in combat sports. K.O. Gym was one of the first gyms to champion female fighters, prior to female fighters being allowed to box in high-level tournaments. This was during the 70s and 80s; well ahead of its time.

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In 2020 we made a CIC to create a vessel for larger social change; ensuring we could have a structure to reach out to numerous communities and provide a safe space for people to participate in sports.

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Currently K.O.C.A Community Projects works out of K.O. Gym and Arches boxing on Bancroft Road in Bethnal Green however we are slowly branching out to encapsulate a larger area of Tower Hamlets and the surrounding borough.

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