Little Falls coach a seven-time kickboxing national champ

Wade Rendall (34) didn’t grow up in the best parts of Newlands. He discovered kickboxing when he was 16 years old, after missing his bus home and wandering upon the Danie van Zyl Recreational Centre.

“I was looking for something to do, to keep busy, and when I saw the centre and chatted to coach Shorne Moorcroft, that’s when I knew I wanted to join his kickboxing team,” Wade explained.

He went on to add that at that stage fighters and casual kickboxers trained together.

“I knew from the first session that I was where I was supposed to be,” he stated.

Wade fought in his first fight three months later.

“It lasted about 40 seconds and as you can imagine, I got my a$$ handed to me,” he chuckled adding that about a year later he attended the national championships in George.

“At that time, kickboxing wasn’t as big and we had to fight whoever was in our division, regardless of rank,” he explained.

When he turned 18 he fought in the national championships hosted in Durban.

“I remember my sensei thought I wouldn’t do very well in the ring as I wasn’t fighting aggressively enough,” Wade stated, “but I was stubborn and wanted to prove him wrong, not to say be aggressive but that I was good enough to fight in the ring.”

Wade won the South African Kickboxing title in the under 60kg full contact division.

“I believe that was my third fight,” he added. “Since then I never looked back,” he exclaimed, adding that from 2008 to 2010 he was undefeated in all his local fights.

Wade has represented South Africa in one world cup, and two world championships, won seven national titles and won the World Kickboxing Federation’s PRO-AM belt, and defended the belt three times thereafter. He also holds a second-degree black belt in kickboxing.

“When I was 19, I fought against Mauritian kickboxers at a competition at Nasrec Expo Centre. That was my first international fight,” he said, “I was voted the fighter of the night, which was a great achievement for me as in Mauritius they take their kickboxing very seriously, fighters even get paid to fight.”

He went on to explain that at that stage the low kicks fighting style was just introduced in South Africa, and this was a big thing as most of the international fights were fought in low kicks.

“Later on, when I started coaching, low kicks formed an integral part of my training,” he added.

Unfortunately, he started noticing severe pressure headaches whenever he participated in fights and after extensive medical investigations decided to step down as a fighter.

“We couldn’t find a definite reason for these headaches and I had to put my health first,” he explained, adding that he left kickboxing for a year citing, ‘it never felt the same’.

Later on, Wade started training clients as a personal trainer at a local gym as a way to make ends meet. He had a sports management qualification under his belt.

“It was a way to make a living and I think that was when my passion for coaching developed,” he added, stating that he spent three years as a personal trainer at that gym.

“Thereafter I worked at a different gym, unfortunately, the memories from that period are filled with hardship and lessons on what not to do as a coach,” he added, mentioning that while he was at that gym he met one of his first fighters, Kyle.

“Kyle brought out the kickboxing coach in me, he wanted me to train him as a kickboxing fighter even though he came from a mixed martial arts background,” he elaborated. Wade explained that training someone with a different type of fighting background can be daunting due to the fighter’s muscle memory, formation of bad habits and the fact that they had to unlearn their previous training.

“Within one year of training, I could see a difference in Kyle. He competed and won four fights,” he added proudly. Wade mentioned that the moment Kyle won his first official title, he made peace with the fact that he’d never see the inside of a ring again, but rather train fighters entering the ring.

“I then came across my second fighter, Jay, who was working at the gym as a cleaner. When I started my own dojo he wanted to join, I told him I wasn’t able to offer him much, but did require some help with pad work as the impact of the punches caused discomfort due to my headaches,” he explained, “Jay has been with me for six years and plays such a big role at the Triple Threat Dojo, not to mention that he’s a phenomenal fighter.”

Jay has retired as a fighter since becoming a father. Wade started Triple Threat Dojo in 2018 in a double garage situated in Little Falls.

“We moved nine months later because the dojo grew quite a bit!” Wade beamed, “we’ll be celebrating our fifth anniversary later this year.

His achievement is a result of how coach Shorne influenced him.

“If it wasn’t for coach Shorne, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Wade added sincerely, “The way I train and treat my fighters is a testament to how he treated his. There was always money involved when competing in tournaments, but back then we fighters never knew of it.

“The dojo is more than just a training facility, we are like a big family. We survived Covid because at least 25% of our fighters continued to make payments throughout the hard lockdown when no one was allowed to go out. We don’t have contracts at the dojo, so this was a wonderful surprise, and I am so grateful for their loyalty,” he exclaimed.

Wade also added that although the lockdown meant no close contact, it helped get more fighters in the dojo.

“We went from four fighters that first year to 16 active fighters today,” he added.

Fighters under Wade’s wing have won 16 South African titles respectively, within three years, as well as nine South African Champions and one African Champion.

“I am fortunate to have three fighters with international experience,” he added proudly.

He concluded by stating that it is the little things that make a big difference when it comes to training fighters.

“We stick together and put our differences aside on fight days, I also manage my fighters’ nutrition leading up to the fight. Most importantly, we stay humble and treat each other as equals.”

Wade’s next goal in his kickboxing career is to have trained kickboxing world champions, which could be realised in August as four of his fighters will be representing South Africa in England.