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As appealing as a career in the ring or cage may sound, the Grade 11 pupil is also sensible about having options.
Picture: iStock
Most 16-year-olds are busy trying to avoid chores at home or figure out which filter makes their pizza look best on Instagram.
But Boksburg teenager Luwan van Zyl would rather take a punch, quite literally, because every upper cut is a swing closer to his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial arts, or MMA, fighter.
He was recently selected to represent South Africa at the Mixed Martial Arts World Championship in São Paulo, Brazil next month.
UFC fight sparks interest for Luwan van Zyl
Rewind less than a handful of years. It all started on the couch in his family’s living room around three years ago.
“I was watching a UFC fight and I thought it looked fun,” he said.
He quickly asked his dad to find a local gym, signed up and has been training in the discipline since.
“I just wanted to see if I could try and become the best at it,” he said.
He trains daily, rotating between jiu-jitsu, boxing and sparring lessons.
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“You don’t just get thrown into the ring. They train you in the important stuff first, what tactics you’re most likely going to use in a fight,” he said.
“Sparring comes later, for those of us who want to take it further.”
“It hurts to get smacked and whacked,” said Van Zyl, “but it makes you faster. And stronger. The thrill is in using what you’ve learned and knowing what technique someone’s using and then beating them with something better.”
Career as a doctor?
The mental side of fighting, he said, is as important as the physical.
“If I panic, my breathing changes, my rhythm’s off and I forget everything I was taught. You must be calm. Even if the guy’s 10 times bigger than you.”
It’s also strategic.
“I study opponents’ styles, how fast they are, how they jab or cross. I look for weaknesses, where they fail to protect or move properly. And then I train to exploit that.”
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It’s chess with gloves and a kick.
As appealing as a career in the ring or cage may sound, the Grade 11 pupil is also sensible about having options.
“I want to be number one in the UFC,” he said, “but I also want to study.
“Maybe to be a doctor or work in IT. If fighting doesn’t work out, I’ll have something else. But if it does, then I’ll give it my everything.”
There’s even some crossover between ideals outside of fighting.
“If I become a doctor, I’ll understand the body better. What muscle hurts when you move it a certain way. That can help me train smarter,” he said.
“And if I do IT, I can design a programme that tracks my workout or turns my real training into a video game.”
MMA championship in Brazil
For now, though, his focus remains completing school, getting good grades and prepping final touches for his trip to Brazil next month.
It’s a seriously big deal for him, especially since Van Zyl is a relative newbie in the sport.
“I found out about it two, three months ago that I stood a chance to join the team,” he said.
“My coach told us it would take serious dedication, seven days a week of training, and I decided I wanted to go all the way.”
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He’ll be competing in the under-18 division, fighting between 12 and 15 June.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” he said. “Because I know I’m doing the hard work and I’m training.”
The young man’s also been sweating it outside the ring, fundraising to finance his trip. “It’s super expensive,” Van Zyl said.
“My dad and I have been looking for sponsors since we found out that I made the team.
“Some people have helped, and I’m grateful, but we still need a bit more to get me to Brazil. We’re close. We just need that last bit.”
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