Seven Mount Forest, Ont. fighters to represent Team Canada at World Junior Kickboxing Championships

Fighters from a small-town gym will live their big city dreams this September, after being selected to represent their country on the world stage.

Seven fighters from Rise Combat and Fitness, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gym in Mount Forest, Ont., will compete at the World Junior Kickboxing Championships in Jesolo, Italy, this September.

Fighters were able to qualify for a spot on Team Canada through trials or by invitation through their own performances on the national circuit.

Rise Combat and Fitness owner Dave Reeves explained that the blossoming gym was initially meant to be a way for him to give back to the fight game.

“I opened this place 18 years ago as a Taekwondo school,” he said. “The idea was for me to get a chance to keep at my passion for martial arts and then over the last 18 years, we’ve developed into other areas.”

The kickboxing program began in 2022 and was open to 13 to 17-year-olds of any skill level who wanted to give the sport a try.

Four years on, and the program has created a handful of national champions.

“We hit a gold mine here,” said Marc Beer, the gym’s Mixed Martial Arts coach.

Reeves backed Beer’s sentiment, saying that the small-town mentality creates big-time problems for opponents.

“They’re all from the country. They all work,” Reeves said. “Some of them work on farms and work with their families out there, and they’ve got that hard-working ethic which they bring into the gym afterwards at the end of the day, and they’re just still pushing it out.”

Reeves said he believes kickboxing could be included in the Olympics in the future, which would pave the way for his fighters to go for gold on the world’s biggest stage.

“There’s a good chance that kickboxing makes the Olympics for 2032 in Brisbane, Australia, so these kids right now six years down the road could very much be [a part of] Team Canada, going to the Olympics in Brisbane for Canada and competing at the world stage that way as well,” Reeves said.

Many fighters involved in the kickboxing process have become close as teammates and as friends outside the gym, giving them the chance to bond in their communities and work towards one common goal.

“There’s not too many of us, so we’re all close teammates… we’re always helping each other when we’re getting ready for fights and stuff like that,” said national champion, Kennedy Ray. “It’s the support here… I like it a lot more than if it was a giant busy city gym.”

Training camp has gotten underway with September quickly approaching. Fighters will take part in various tasks to prepare, including sparring, conditioning, weight training and weight cutting.

While the fighters are no strangers to cutting weight, carrying Canada’s colours on the world stage presents a different kind of challenge.

“I’m very proud to be able to represent my country… it’s almost feeling like Rocky in a way,” fighter Thomas Rushton said. “Everyone kind of looks at you, they’re like, ‘oh, you fight?’ and all this, so it’s definitely a fun experience.”

The championship will have open mat and ring fights for various ages and weight classes. Open mat fights are designed to be a showcase of skill, with ring fights allowing for the big knockouts.

Kieran Romanowski, another national champion, stated that there’s a deeper lesson at play than just winning or losing in Italy.

“If I win or if I don’t, which I will, I would feel accomplished because it’s an amazing opportunity… and after, [I can] come back and think about the Olympics in 2032,” he said.

“I think that this sport builds character, and even if they don’t continue after they’re an adult, this is going to help them in life and jobs, in relationships,” Beer said. “Regardless of the results there, I just want every one of these kids to get in the ring or on the mats, showcase exactly what they can do and let the chips fall where they are.”

The World Junior Kickboxing Championships will begin on Sept. 18, with the final fights taking place on Sept. 27.