TWO Midland Muay Thai fighters took home their trophies at an amateur-to-professionals development promotion on April 20 and are training hard ahead of their next chapter in martial arts.

At Domination Development Day, the crowd gathered in Kenwick to see the art of eight limbs, where Midland’s Ashraf Farawah and Jack Vostan put on a show of skill, power, and sportsmanship.

Vostan opened the first round with a blitzing two punch combination and continued to rely on his hands as he kept his distance and circled the ring.

He found success, scoring the first knock down of the night, as his opponent hopped in for a punch and was met with a right overhand that halted his action.

Vostan diversified his strikes in the kick-heavy second round where both fighters kept a longer range, and the fight remained competitive until the last bell, where the decision was given to Vostan.

Farawah stayed light on his feet, landing clean strikes and made it difficult for his opponent to land kicks as he moved in and out of striking range, with his “untraditional style”.

His opponent threw a leg kick in the third round but injured himself as Farawah avoided it, giving him the win, after which he knelt at his opponent’s side showing his respect before returning to his corner.

Both fighters train under Mad Dog Martial Arts coach Slade Hutcheson who said the work ethic, discipline, and drive that the two young fighters have inspires everyone that trains alongside them.

“Jack Vostan is an enthusiastic young man, whose dedication was showcased with the first knock down of the night,” he said.

“He currently helps coach the kids’ classes, inspiring them to follow his lead by giving them hundreds of press-ups.”

Vostan said he’d been training for three years and took up training the kids two years ago when Mr Hutcheson fell ill with Covid.

“The main thing is instilling discipline, and making sure everyone is respectful while still having fun,” he said.

“Muay Thai is a sport I love.”

Farawah said he began training when he was 14 years old attending a Midland school where things were a bit rough.

“I’ve been training for seven years now, and I like how it keeps me busy and fit.”

When asked if the sport made him feel more confident, Farawah laughed and thought about it.

“I think I might be even more confident if I hadn’t done it,” he said.

“It’s definitely humbled me, but it’s instilled a healthy amount of confidence.

“Muay Thai is all about respect. If you walk into the gym, people don’t really pick up on your fight skills until after some training, but respect is the first thing they notice.

“We keep it friendly and welcoming, so antisocial behaviour gets called out immediately and brought to light.”

Mr Hutcheson said he was proud to coach his crew at Mad Dog Martial Arts.

“We push and inspire each other to be better than the day before,” he said.

“Although I’m getting older and half my students can now smash me, I will never stop helping and coaching them to be better fighters and better people.”