Germiston fighter wins gold in kickboxing tournament
The 27-year-old Delville resident said though the training was hectic he persevered to uphold the club's legacy.
Joao Amaral of Tebbutts Academy recently won a gold medal at the Golden Lions K1 Development and Tatami event.
He competed in three fights, winning gold, silver, and a certificate in the categories of full-contact kickboxing, light continuous, and exhibition fight.
The 27-year-old Delville resident said though the training was hectic he persevered to uphold the club’s legacy.
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Kancho Alex Tebbutt is a respected individual in the space of martial arts, not only for his achievements but also for producing excellence fighters.
“When you come from his school you’re already expected to dominate and win fights; that is exactly what we did,” said Amaral.
In 2023, Tebbutt commemorated 60 years in sports, which included boxing, judo, karate, kung fu, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
He recently celebrated his 74th birthday, sharing sweets and goodies with his students.
The Golden Lion event was hosted in Lenasia with three of Tebbutt’s fighters participating.
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Amaral started his martial arts journey in 2013 doing shotokan karate style. He soon joined Tebbutts.
“I graded last year February to black belt. It has been such an honour to have reached this level in my karate journey,” said Amaral.
“Ahead of the K1 events it was tough to prepare for the matches because it was my first time going to compete inside a ring. All my opponents had height advantage against me but I stood my ground.
“The goal now is to keep winning our fights and enter the EFC or UFC ring,” said Amaral.
Peter Baloi was unhappy with his performance but he is looking forward to the world championship qualifiers in the last week of March.
The Lambton resident holds a black belt and fights within the lightweight division.
“Because of the change of dates, we had little time to prepare for the event. I lost by split decision.
Understanding the rules is key at this level,” said Baloi.
“Kickboxing is taxing physically and mentally. We use knees and elbows which are generally not used in karate.
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“The idea is to qualify to compete at the world championships in October, in England,” said Baloi.
Tebbutt said both fighters are preparing for the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (Gamma) team SA selections.
He thanked the Afrikaanse Hoërskool Germiston for allowing them to use their hall for training.
“Our previous training venue in Lambton got too small as numbers increased so we had to move. We already had two students from the school join us for classes,” said Tebbutt.
