World shin-kicking champion reveals painful way he defended his title

Mike Newby has defended his title as the world champion shin-kicker (Picture: PA Real Life)

A man who became the shin kicking world champion on his first try trained for the role by bashing his bones with a hammer nearly every day for a year.

Having successfully defended his title, Mike Newby, 34, now has his sights set on becoming the first five-time champion of the 17th century English sport.

Account director Mike, who lives in Cheltenham with his girlfriend Geo Legate, 27, won the title after competing at the Cotswold Olimpick Games – which celebrates English folk sports and games, such as tug of war, hammer throwing and the main event, shin kicking – on May 31 2024.

The winner of the competition is crowned the world champion and has their name added to a trophy which is displayed in Chipping Campden, home of the Olimpicks, year round.

The reigning champ hit his shins with hammers ‘nearly every day’ for a year to prepare for the competition (Picture: PA Real Life)

Just a few weeks after winning his first title in 2023, Mike hit the gym, did cardio, struck his shins with a hammer, and practised martial arts almost every day for a year.

The training paid off, and upon his return to the games to defend his title, the reigning champion won all three rounds and emerged unscathed, having broken two toes last time around.

‘When I won, I really couldn’t believe it,’ Mike said following his victory’.

‘There’s a person who dresses up as Robert Dover, the original founder of the games, in a royalist Civil War costume, and I grabbed their sword and just went up the castle holding the sword and cheering – I felt a bit like Maximus from Gladiator.

‘The experience was just mythic, it was amazing.’

As the defending champion, Mike faced boos from the crowd and had to go up against a selection of ‘humongous’ men, but emerged victorious thanks to his signature ‘shin wheel’ move- which involves kicking his competitor in the shins and pulling them around so they tripped over his legs.

Explaining how the game works, Mike said: ‘Fighters stand opposite each other, greet each other and then a referee called the stickler holds a stick in between you and then when he’s ready to let you go, he removes the stick and you start kicking each other in the shins.

Mike says he faced boos from the crowd and some ‘humongous’ oppenents on his way to the final (Picture: PA Real Life)

‘You can be disqualified for kicking too high and the idea is that you get the other person on the floor or they give in, and it’s best of three.’

Mike, who has practised martial arts most of his life and has a black belt in taekwondo, was introduced to the sport after his partner saw an ad for the 2023 Cotswold Olimpick Games and suggested he try his hand at shin-kicking.

Mike went on to win the 2023 competition, with the intense final seeing his competitor rip Mike’s shirt off, while Mike hobbled back to the car with two broken toes.

However, the experience did not stop Mike from wanting to defend his title – after giving himself a break for a few weeks, he began training for the 2024 competition.

‘I think it would be very easy to retire and say I’m undefeated after one competition but you don’t get glory by taking the easy way out and not risking anything,’ Mike said.

‘The previous winner, before me, won four years in a row, so I’m trying to beat his record essentially.

‘I think they (my family and friends) were quite surprised that I wanted to do it again – I think a lot of people thought it was a fluke that I won last time!’

He emerged victorious relatively unscathed- after breaking two toes at last years event (Picture: PA Real Life)

In preparation, Mike went to the gym every day and began hitting his shins with a hammer to help strengthen them every few days.

Regarding the hammer, he said: ‘You don’t have to hit very hard, just regularly, and over time, it gets less and less painful and then you can hit a bit harder every time.

‘So you do it within your own tolerance of pain.

‘I also created a move that I’m calling the shin wheel to score maximum points – I actually used it in the competition and won every match using it so it really worked.

‘The shin wheel is a technique where I use my foot to kick them in the shin, then I use my foot to prop against their leg and then pull them around so they trip over my legs basically.’

On the big day, May 31 2024, Mike felt ‘quietly confident’ but knew he had ‘a lot to lose’ compared to the other competitors.

To compete, Mike wore soft plimsolls, a t-shirt and combat trousers with straw stuffed down his trouser leg for protection.

Mike’s signature ‘shin wheel’ move helped him emerge victorious (Picture: PA Real Life)

In the first round, Mike was up against one of his rivals from the previous year, a fellow martial artist, and in a matter of minutes, he won, without getting kicked.

‘I think that because I was a lot bigger than him… I was able to throw my weight around a lot more easily,’ Mike explained.

The second round saw Mike wrestle with a ‘really muscular rugby guy’ and things became more intense.

Mike said: ‘He was sort of snapping me down like using his grip on my shoulder, and then snapped my head and neck down but I managed to use my shin wheel technique and take him down so I won the match.’

Newby, 34, now seeks to break his predecessor’s record and become a five-time champ (Picture: PA Real Life)

The final lasted for around 10 minutes, the longest of the rounds, and was ‘tough’ – Mike let his competitor use up his energy ‘giving him the rope-a-dope’ to dodge all of his kicks, before kicking him to the floor.

Throughout, the crowd were not his ‘biggest fan’ despite him being the favourite last year.

‘Because I was the returning champion, I think they wanted the drama of someone beating me so I did have a few people screaming my name but a few boos as well,’ he explained.

‘I think next time I’m going to lean into that and become like a WWE villain.

‘My partner, Geo, was cheering and screaming my name at the top of her lungs though!’

Looking to the future, Mike said: ‘I’m about to start training for next year and I can’t wait.

‘But I would say if you want to be the world champion, you’ve got to be bad, you’ve got to be bold and you’ve got to be stronger than everybody else.’

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