A new horizon for Tinkerbell
While JP "Tinkerbell" Kruger may be down after a recent training injury, he is far from out of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) game.
In fact he is days away from opening his new international training academy on Nigel Road.
“I can promise the people out there that this is not a career ending injury.
“It is just a pause and I’ll be back sooner rather than later, faster and stronger.”
The Pro League: International MMA and Combat Academy opens at 9am on February 28 and will offer classes in almost every martial art available.
“We are going to be concentrating on the whole family – mommy, daddy and me classes, women’s kickboxing, aikido, Brazilian jujitsu, wrestling and more.
“Basically if you are looking for a martial art we will have it and it’s not me teaching everything. We’ve actually got the specialists coming to teach.”
He says it will be an international academy with a number of international instructors coming out to participate in the academy.
Injury
As reportered in last week’s Addie, JP was injured during a no gi grappling session during which he lost his footing and fell on his neck on January 29.
The fall resulted in injury to the disks between his C4 and 5 vertebrae and between C6 and 7 causing these disks to bulge towards the left side.
Springs’ favourite ginger says he will need to undergo surgery in the next two weeks but this will in no way put an end to his career.
“Its a similar injury to the one sustained by Schalk Burger, but he is back and playing the best rugby of his life,” JP says.
He says he will put his MMA career on hold for six to eight months and focus on his recovery and training his team and he will be putting a lot of time into the new academy.
JP says that as always his friends, family and fans have been extremely supportive since his injury.
“Once again the support from my mates, family and everyone who knows me has been amazing.
“I am a very blessed ginger man, I have had sincere messages for my recovery from people I’ve never met. It has been completely surreal.”
JP says that realistically he hopes to be back in the hexagon early next year and assures his fans, “my prime is yet to come.”
