Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…..

It’s almost time for our NRF Members to head over to the IFMA World Championships in Sweden! The team have been busy fundraising over the past 6 months to get them over to compete overseas. As you can imagine this is quite a costly excercise as athlete must pay for their own flights, food, accommodation and uniforms.

The IFMA World Championships are one of the world’s largest Muay Thai events and they are coming to Kinnarps Arena, in Jönköping, Sweden. Kinnarps Arena is typically used for ice hockey, however from the 19th­ – 28th of May, it’s home to the 17th annual IFMA Muaythai World Championship event, a once in a lifetime opportunity for fans of the heavy hitting action. This is the first time ever that Sweden has hosted this event.

In attendance at the Championship there is to be more than 2,000 spectators, athletes, officials, and masters.  Check out a short video of last years event which was held in Thailand…

After winning Gold at the National Championships last year, competitors also get a place on the Australian Muaythai Team and the opportunity to compete at World Level! We caught up with 2 of our NRF Members from NSW to see how they are feeling before they represent Australia!

Two ­time Australian National gold medallist, Lindon “Lajistik” Wotton spoke of his training and preparation for this event.

“I’ve been training hard, my fitness is really good and getting better. I have two weeks left to focus on weight, technique and my game plan,” said Wotton.

He has quite a bit of experience in the field, as he spoke of his previous times at the World Championship.

“Last year in August, in Thailand, I competed in the worlds, it was the first time for me, so seeing thousands of Muaythai fighters all in the same place preparing to fight was a real highlight of my life,” said Wotton.

For all of these fighters, the key is in their preparation, and getting into the right mindset before the fights begin. Wotton spoke about what he most looks forward to, and what he loves about these competitions.

“Seeing Muaythai thriving, everyone so dedicated and hungry to win”

“I love the competitiveness of it all, you literally live and breathe Muaythai during the event.”

Featherweight fighter, Yolanda Schmidt, who started boxing for fitness reasons, also spoke of her training and preparation for World’s.

“World’s prep is going well, my shins have been banged up so I had limited use of my kicks but I’m back in full swing now as well as back at “The Performance Team” doing my strength and conditioning,” said Schmidt, a two ­time Muaythai Champion.

Schmidt also has has been working hard, continuing down the journey for success.

“I have been working hard and this prep is taking me on a journey of taking on the unknown and doing so in the worse case scenario,” said Schmidt. “By this I mean we are preparing for possible injuries that may occur in earlier fights that could take away a weapon. So we are planning with contingencies.”

At the World’s, you’ll see these two superstars and many more! We hope you are as excited as we are to have such high level athletes as Yolanda & Lindon representing our Country!