Sunday April 27, local kick boxer Joey Koran showed his skill and his mettle at a tournament at Mike Miles Muay Thai and Kickboxing in Calgary AB. This was Koran’s first tournament and he showed the world that he has what it takes to be a future champion, says coach Joel Huncar.
“More importantly, Joey showed what is best about youth sports and competition and the important lessons it can teach competitors,” he said.
To understand Joey’s growth you have to know who Joey is. Joey has been training under the tutelage of Kru Huncar at Rocky Mountain Martial Arts Family Centre for the last year.
“To say Joey looks more mature than his age is an understatement; at the Mike Miles tournament they put Joey into the adult division just based on his appearance and his supporters had to explain that he was actually fourteen years old,” Huncar said.
“Not only is Joey adult size but he is a natural warrior, in sparring he was one of those fighters who would explode as soon as he got frustrated. This was not on purpose or vindictive, it was simply the nature of Joey Koran, who is naturally aggressive when he fights. I kept pushing him to be more controlled as he trained, as well as encouraged Koran to have control over his reactions to getting hit. This was very important when you are in a light contact continuous tournament.”
Despite Joey’s best efforts, it was hard for him to get control over his sparring it was a long process to get this young man to stop swinging for the fences when he would spar, Huncar says.
“Finally a month before the competition Joey started to lighten up in sparring. The reason this is so important is more than simply about competition, it is about self-control and self-regulation. When you can jump in the ring and fight someone and protect them at the same time you begin to really be able to control how you react to things like fear, anger, and frustration as well when someone is getting physical with you. There is more to martial arts than just learning how to fight and Joey’s progress was an example of that.”
When the competition came there were not many competitors Joey’s age. Huncar reports that Instead of fighting other Novice competitors, Joey had to fight an advanced competitor who had over 30 competitions experience and had won gold at many of them.
“This did not faze Koran, he just smiled and commented on how this was going to be a good experience,” Huncar said.
“Koran’s competitor “Raging” Ryan was a good sport and he fought hard but fair and Joey stayed in there and held his own with this champion. Joey was bloodied half way through the first round. His nose was bleeding badly, but Joey did not back down. The fight had to be stopped a couple of times while we tried to stem the flow of blood. After two hard rounds Joey lost to the young warrior from Calgary.
“However the best thing about Koran’s performance was in the Muay Thai category: one of Joey’s competitors was a young girl named Summer who had fought in eight tournaments before this event. Joey kept his cool, staying busy but keeping his contact under control. He pushed the pace on Summer but kept his control. Summer also kept her control as well and did not take advantage of Joey’s sportsmanship and matched his level of intensity. Joey managed to get the win over Summer but how he did it was what was most impressive. A lot of outsiders see marital arts competition violent but the life lessons that were illustrated in this competition through the character and ethics that Joey Koran showed were amazing. In the end Joey ended up achieving two silver medals but most importantly he grew as a fighter and a human being. The coaches and students of RMMA Family Centre are proud of the achievements of this young man and are looking forward to watching what he does in the future. Joey Koran did his gym, his community, himself and his family proud. If Joey is an indication of the character of our next generation, then we have a very bright future.”