Amanzimtoti teens take up MMA to deal with stress
Most of the boys needed a father figure or role model.
More teenagers are taking up martial arts training – in a bid to keep fit and protect themselves. Amanzimtoti mixed martial arts (MMA) coach, Morné Swanepoel, said he and his sons, Dylan and Bradley, are training 10 to 15 teens per class.
Necashje Price, 16, and Nikki Engelbrecht, 14, are regulars at the teen classes. “I started about a year ago after my dad and brothers did. I went to one class, but initially didn’t like it. I wanted to do a fitness a class, but ended up doing MMA (mixed martial arts), jiu jitsu, grappling, self-defense, Thai boxing, submission, wrestling as well as fitness,” said Necashje.
She has started competing and has competed in two grappling tournaments and one competition. She finished third, second and then first to show a steady improvement. She is home-schooled and plays hockey for Kingsway High School’s first team. “Our coaches motivate us to do better. I was involved with a bad crowd and I was not in a good place before I started training.”
Nikki is a Grade 9 learner at Kuswag who has been training for about eight months. She trains six days a week with Necashje. “I was being bullied, so I wanted to learn self-defense. I have also started competing in grappling and I have taken part in three competitions where I finished fifth and then first in the last two. I would like to compete in MFC one day if my coaches allow me to.” Nikki also does athletics and the 1 500m is her distance of choice.
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“We are fortunate to have good children taking our teen class,” said Morné. “Parents don’t realise that they have a responsibility to their children, more so than the schools or us. The more time they spend with their children and the more they are involved in their lives, the better it is for them.”
Morné said he tries to interact with the parents whenever they come to pick their children up after class. He believes the biggest mistake parents do is not making their children the most important thing in their lives and realising that their teenagers are under a lot of stress.
Training teens started when he was invited by Sweetwaters Church to do a presentation to 100 boys during a youth night. “The main thing I learnt that night is that most of the boys needed a father figure or role model, which was missing in their lives. The ideal situation would be a dad training with his son or a mom training with her daughter. A good coach, in any sport, has the ability to impact a child.”
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