FORMER world Thai-boxing champion Richard Cadden is to flex his muscles into a unique martial arts venture.

The Acomb man, who went from ruling the world to setting up his own mind coaching business, is to open a gym bringing together mixed martial arts with programmes to hone the well-being of the mind and body under one roof.

The gym will be based at York Business Park on Nether Poppleton and has been the dream of Cadden, who for more than a decade amassed titles galore capped by a three-year reign as world champion.

He is as thrilled by the prospect of the new venture as he was competing in Thailand, the spiritual haven of Thai-boxing.

Said Cadden: “It’s going to be a really exciting venture.

“The new gym will pull together Thai-boxing, jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. But there will be so much more.

“There will be a programme of pre-natal and post-natal exercise classes for mothers and I will bring in elements too of my Star Performance mind coaching course.”

Cadden explained the initiative would provide “a new concept” in that it would go behind just the idea of combat.

“It will be more than just fighting and fitness,” he said.

“It will be about the ethos behind martial arts and bringing all the skill sets together.

“It will take martial arts in York to the next level.”

Once the new gym is up and running – expected to be in the near future with work currently going on at the Business Park premises on Rose Avenue – Cadden was aiming to take the message into local schools.

“We will be running classes for youngsters from five years of age and they will be designed to develop confidence and self-awareness rather than the idea of just competing.”

Cadden has attracted several sponsors for the venture and has been further boosted by a link-up with supermarket giants Tesco.

The company has agreed to help market a leaflet campaign which could rise to as many as 100,000 leaflets, stressing the performance coaching, health treatments and physical benefits of the new centre.

Cadden is convinced his new gym will provide something not only different to the city but also to the county.

He said: “There is going to be nothing quite like this gym in Yorkshire, and I’ve never heard of anything like it in the United Kingdom actually.

“The gym will house an eclectic range of skills all under the one roof and accessible to all ages and skill levels.”