Hawke's Bay Muay Thai talent set to take on the world

A Hawke's Bay teenager is set to lead a New Zealand youth team as they take on the best Muay Thai fighters at the IFMA Youth World Championship in September.

Ropata Lewis, 16, says that all he wants to do is to represent his country proudly and bring home the gold.

"We only have a simple goal of representing New Zealand proudly but also to win and work to bring home the gold," Lewis said.

The Napier Boys' High School student was made team captain of the NZ Black Gloves team which will be heading to Turkey to compete in September after having already competed at two previous world championships.

"I have been to a few international tournaments over the last few years but this one is the first one out of Thailand and I feel that we have a real chance to go for it and go all the way."

But when it comes to international tournaments the sport is funded with little to no funding and Lewis finds himself having to raise the funds to even be able to compete at the tournament.

"At the moment I have around $3000 saved for the trip but the total cost is between $5500 to $6000 to even be able to make it to the competition," Lewis said.

So for "The Buster", Lewis's competition nickname, he has turned to getting a part-time job, ironically for being an athlete it's at a bakery, and also a Givealittle page to fundraise for the rest of the trip.

"I manage to do five hours a week at The Pie Man in Maraenui by working an hour after school and from there go to training for an hour or two, so most of the time I would leave home at around eight and not get home till around 7-7.30 that night," Lewis said.

The only reason he got involved in the sport only four years ago was through his sister who set it up to try and help him improve his strength when it came to rugby.

"I was doing it for a little bit then the coaches helped organised a fight and soon enough I put all my focus into Muay Thai and gave up on rugby all together.

"I just want to keep on getting better and pushing myself and this tournament is the perfect way for me to do so."

Muay Thai is a form of kickboxing which utilises the 4-point striking system (punches and kicks) while Muay Thai utilises the 8-point striking system (punches, kicks, knees, elbows) and the full clinch. The clinch in kickboxing is a means of tying up the opponent for a positional reset.

It is originated from Thailand and is the country's national sport having hosted previous world championship events.