Kick Boxing: Emma targeting second title in hometown debut

Emma Diprose, a Year 12 student at Te Puke High School, will be fighting for the World Kick Boxing Association Central North Island area title at the Iron Shin event in Te Puke on October 7.

She wanted to be a boxer - but when Emma Diprose finally climbed into the ring, she was using her feet as well as her fists.

The Te Puke High School student is now the Thai Boxing Association of New Zealand junior 67kg titleholder, a title she won in May.

On October 7 she will fight for the first time on her home patch when she hopes to claim the World Karate and Kickboxing Association's Central North Island 67kg title.

October 7 is the date of the Iron Shin kickboxing promotion at Te Puke Memorial Hall.
Looking for a boxing gym, Emma stumbled across Brent Maharey's Papamoa gym because other students she knew had gone there.

"He said 'we do Thai boxing', so I went and kept on doing it."

After 10 months of training she had her first fight last August.

"I wanted to do boxing because although I'd watched a lot of UFC and MMA and thought that was a bit hardcore."

In the end, though, it was the opportunity offered by the Red Dragon Thai Boxing Gym and a realisation that maybe kickboxing wouldn't be a bad sport to take up that made Emma's mind up for her.

While she enjoys the fitness, she also enjoys being involved in the competition nights - although fighting in her home town will take things up a notch.

"It feels good because my family will be able to come. Sometimes Mum can't come because of the travelling, but this time my family can come and support me."

Brent says hard work and dedication have seen Emma progress to where she is now.

"She turns up to all the sessions, doesn't complain about any of the training, and she's not over-confident.

"She has a quiet confidence but she's definitely humble and definitely has self discipline. She turns up, does the training, works hard and gets the results."

Emma's attitude during a fight also sets her apart from some other fighters.

"She listens," he says. "A lot of fighters, especially during a fight, don't.

"It's my job to tell her things that may help her to do better in the next round, so if I tell her to try something, she'll go out and at some point do that where some fighters you say stuff and you can see they don't listen to you so they go out and do the same thing and lose the fight.

"It's great for me to have a fighter actually listen to my instructions and follow through with it and get the result."

Emma says she listens because she knows Brent has been in the fight situations himself, and she hasn't.

Brent says Emma is also mentally tough, "especially for such a young person".

Emma has fought five times since August, winning all five fights, with a fight every two or three months the norm.

"Some fight every month, depending on injury, but with her age, because she's only just turned 17, we've got plenty of time, and depending on what her future goals are, there's other titles to go for.

"There are also also overseas opportunities with World Kick Boxing Association world championships in Thailand that she could possibly go to. Potentially she could qualify for that - there are a lot of opportunities."

Emma says she hasn't thought too far ahead and is unsure where her kickboxing might take her.

"I try not to think about it too much because it might freak me out. I'll just take it as it comes," she says.

Emma also plays rugby for Te Puke High School girls team and is sponsored by Tony's Cafe and Kebabs.

Iron Shin will be the third show Brent has staged in Te Puke.