An injured Afghan war hero is fighting another battle to become Britain’s first BLIND boxing coach.
Paul Jacobs was just 20 when he was caught in a Taliban bomb blast whilst serving with 2nd Battalion The Rifles in 2009.
He was on patrol in the Upper Sangin Valley when the enormous explosion from a hidden bomb killed a colleague.
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He suffered severe shrapnel injuries in his arm, legs and face losing one eye, blinded in the other and sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
He was awarded the George Medal for bravery for the action a year later.
His citation for the medal was ‘for faultless courage, selflessness and dedication to his unit’.
He left the Army in 2012.
But despite his injuries he returned to his lifelong love for boxing, even taking part in bouts.
Now he is set to become Britain’s first blind boxing coach after taking sessions at a boxing academy.
Paul told Need To Know: “I have a feeling for boxing – I can coach from my experience of boxing for years.
“I take sessions with pads and call which shots the boxer should throw.
“I’ve padded different people.
“I also work with some of the youngsters that come into the academy.
“It’s great to see the kids develop and grow up when they come in.
“Being a blind boxing coach is about stepping outside your comfort zone.
“It’s another string to my bow.
“I want to inspire others.”
Paul says he uses instinct and the boxing knowledge he’d already gained to guide him when training at T50 Academy, Ramsgate, Kent.
Owner Alex Stockley is backing Paul and his coaching.
“We are looking to go official as an amateur boxing gym and then Paul will become the first blind amateur boxing coach.
“I haven’t heard of another,” he said.
“He works with the boxers in the gym.
“And he works with the kids that come in too.
“They’ve all taken a liking to him.
“Before he lost his vision he was a boxer so he knows what he’s doing.
“He has excellent boxing skills.
“He calls out the shots for the boxers to throw – so that’s how it works.”
Paul, 35, has raised hundreds of thousands for charities by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, cycling 500 miles, skydiving, running marathons and becoming the first blind war veteran to climb to Mount Everest base camp.
He spent his childhood in homes and foster families being shifted from his birth place in south London across the country until he ended up with a family in Ramsgate which he still maintains a relationship with.
He is an ambassador for Diagrama Fostering and works with youngsters in the Kent Army Cadet Force.
Alex added: “We have lots of kids who are in foster homes or kids’ homes and Paul grew up in care so can relate to those kids.
“He was in the Army so can relate to our kids who are in the cadets.”
Paul added: “It’s not about disability, it’s about ability.
“You do not need sight to have vision.”
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