Mansfield MMA fighter aims for Thailand progress
Mansfield MMA fighter Rhys Lawrence is looking forward to two months in Thailand during which he’ll celebrate his eighteenth birthday but perhaps more importantly ‘learn as much as I can and massively improve my striking ability. It’s the place to go.’
‘I started MMA training four years ago. I liked watching it and I thought I can do this. I train at Resurrection MMA and I’m now one of the junior coaches teaching children aged between 5 and 14. I started out as a junior fighter and won quite a few of my bouts but this year I’ve been fighting as an adult and have won both matches with first round submissions. That’s the aim of an MMA bout, to get the opponent to submit. Training concentrates on ways to do that. Both wins have been on the Wolkernite Fight Championship show in Grantham.’
‘I haven’t done much training in Thai boxing, or Muay Thai its official name. I’m looking forward to travelling round Thailand hopefully training hard at several different gyms and doing a fight camp as I’m looking to have a bout in November when I’m back home. Like most people my age time abroad has been just family holidays in Europe so I’m excited at the challenge of not just the training but also looking after myself and experiencing a new and very different culture which will help me achieve my ambition of being a professional fighter.’
‘Rhys is a great student who’s always working hard to improve his skills as both competitor and instructor,’ stated Resurrection’s head coach Christian Smith. ‘Having the chance to train in Thailand in a totally different environment will help him progress not only in his fight game but also in his personal development.’
Rhys wants to thank his ‘generous sponsors Pressure Performance, Gorilla Haus, R & R Shot Blasting, Fadehouse Mansfield, Hungrilla (Kirkby-in-Ashfield), MyFresh Active and The Mental Shift. He has a go fund me page for anyone who would like to assist with the expenses of the trip. Contributions can be made at https://gofund.me/cad5b58b .