When Ben Pollet was a kid, he used to visit Keith Thomas park with a host of up and coming martial artists from the region.
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Fast forward four decades and the combat sports fanatic is the head honcho at Orange's Pollet's Martial Arts centre which is just one of seven nationwide facilities the family has.
On Monday afternoon, Pollet led a group of keen trainers to Keith Thomas Park for a boot camp session, a place that brought back memories.
"Keith Thomas Park is where it all started," Pollet said.
"I remember we were training there 40 years ago. We used to train at all the ovals and I had 60-odd guys in my backyard too.
"For me personally, it's a nice memory that I have as a child and all the fighters training there."
The group fitness sessions were launched in the wake of the NSW government easing restrictions on outdoor gatherings and prior to that, members from Pollet's closed centre had been learning new techniques on Zoom as Ben and his father Ian had a host of people from around the country participating online.
"I think dad averages around 60-70 guys in the online classes," he said.
"Mine's a bit earlier in the morning but there's all different guys who are involved. I'm training guys from Newcastle, from Sydney."
While the online classes will still run until the centre is fully operational again, Pollet is excited to be able to include boot camps into his regime and says there's no prior knowledge required to enter, you simply need to book on the club's Facebook page.
"It's a good way to get everyone involved and we've got heaps of new guys coming down," he said.
"We do a bit of everything and I'm teaching them martial arts stuff but not making it too complicated."
"We do half an hour kickboxing and the next half an hour is crossfit/strength and conditioning. It's all athletic stuff and it's all simple."
The state government announced on Tuesday that fitness centres will be able to reopen with restrictions on Saturday June 13, meaning Pollet's Martial Arts Centre will hold a host of ten-person classes over that weekend.
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