Competition victory for Jai Sua Muay Thai’s juniors

STUDENTS from Bray martial arts club Jai Sua Muay Thai were celebrating this week after two of the club’s junior fighters were crowned champions at a major martial arts event in Drogheda on Saturday.

The fight event, which took place in the town’s 500-seater Barbican Centre, saw junior and senior fighters from martial arts clubs converge on Drogheda from all over the country to compete for much sought-after title belts.

The bi-annual event is seen as one of the highlights on the martial arts calendar.

A three-strong team of junior fighters from Jai Sua Muay Thai, based in Shoreline Leisure Centre in Bray, took to the cage on the day. 13-year-old Alisha Hiu was crowned the 49kg Cage Legacy champion after defeating her 17-year-old opponent convincingly over three rounds.

Bray’s Sean O’Brien (10) stepped up in weight to face off against a much heavier opponent in a K1 rules bout. Sean secured a points win after a relentless display. The Bray team’s third fighter, Felix Chamuleau (11), fought brilliantly but luck was against him and he lost out on a split points decision.

It was an impressive set of results for Jai Sua Bray, which has been scooping both national and international titles since being set up in 2014.

‘ There were a lot of firsts for the our fighters on Saturday,’ said Rob Carry, the club’s founder and head coach. ‘ They had never fought on a senior show in front of such a big crowd, they fought under K1 kickboxing rules which are different from the Muay Thai rules bouts we usually compete in and they were fighting in a cage this time rather than a boxing ring. But they all stepped up and performed. Everyone at the club is really proud of them.’

The club has gone from strength to strength Felix Chamuleau, Sean O’Brien and Alisha Hiu.

since it first set up, which has been a surprise to its owner. ‘Fight sports like Muay Thai and K1 are fairly niche, but the town has really got into it. Everyone knows what we’re about now and we’re becoming a bigger and bigger part of the community.’

Muay Thai, or Thaiboxing in English, is the national sport of Thailand and is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. From a handful of small gyms operating in Ireland 10 years ago, the number of clubs has now grown to around 50.

Jai Sua Muay Thai has classes for children aged six and up as well as adult beginner classes, fighter classes, boxercise classes and women-only classes. The club operates out of a state of the art fight facility attached to the leisure centre. Classes are €6 per head for under 18s and €7 for adults.

Jai Sua Muay Thai has recently expanded its classes due to demand and has also opened a second branch in Go Gym, Greystones.

For more information on Jai Sua Muay Thai, including class timetables, visit the club’s website at: jaisua.com, the Jai Sua Bray Facebook page or call Rob on 0871493519.