Club members at a Kawana Muay Thai gym are celebrating the national title-winning efforts of two of their rising stars.
Stalder Muay Thai young guns Dre Stalder and Jayden Carroll captured eye-catching wins at a Muay Thai League fight night on the Gold Coast.
“It was really good to see,” coach Brodie Stalder said.
“They worked their way up, to be able to fight for the belts, and they fought against boys they had wanted to fight for a long time, so it was pretty good.
“The boys worked their butt off to get there and they deserved it.”
Dre, 15, won a Muay Thai Organisation junior title in the 51kg category.
“He’s a workhorse,” Brodie said.
“I can’t get him out of the gym. He trains five to six times a week for two or three hours a day.”
Brodie said his son was well rounded.
“It’s hard when your coaches are your parents, but he still also gets good grades and plays school sport. He does all the normal kid stuff, but he just loves the gym and he’s got such a good work ethic.
“He also helps us train the junior classes and he does PT (personal training) for the younger kids. So, he also works here, to help his mum and dad.”
Meanwhile, Jayden, 12, won a Siam title in the 38kg division.
“We’ve had Jayden (at the club) for a few years and he’s a very smart boy,” Brodie said.
“I don’t have to tell him 100 times to do something. He picks up on everything very quickly and is very technical.
“He likes to train hard and loves to learn. He’s always asking the right questions. It’s pretty easy to coach people like that.”
The club, which had considerable success on the Gold Coast, has grown from strength to strength.
It boasts 170 members.
“But we’re pretty picky on who we let into the team,” Brodie said.
“You’ve got to dedicate yourself to do Muay Thai and sacrifice some things.”
The gym, based in Premier Circuit, Warana, opened four years ago after Brodie and his wife Elise decided to chase their dreams.
“After living in Thailand for a few years, we tried to bring a bit of Thailand back here,” Brodie said.
“We started in a little 90sqm shed, with only a few bags and a few members.
“We ended up outgrowing that spot, so took a risk and went into a bigger place (350sqm) and it has blown up from there.”
Brodie said Muay Thai was becoming more popular, as martial arts gains more screen time.
“People are all about MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).”
“A lot of MMA people come to us to work on their stand-up.
“Plus, all fighters start on their feet, so you’ve to have a good striking base.”
Brodie, 33, has been involved in Muay Thai for the past 23 years, since moving to the Sunshine Coast.
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He’s amassed more than 80 fights, claimed national and international titles and fought in several countries.
“I like Muay Thai because it is about striking.
“And it’s definitely getting more mainstream.”
He wants participants to be able to forge careers in the ring.
“People can become professional footballers, while there isn’t much money in Muay Thai.
“Our aim is that one day, people can live off it, as their job.”
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Brodie said he had stepped back from fighting to focus on coaching.
“I really enjoy coaching,” he said.
“When COVID came, I couldn’t get any fights, so stepped back from training myself and focused on our fighters.
“I enjoy it more than fighting and I enjoy seeing everyone else get opportunities that I didn’t get.”
