(Picture caption: Wayne Knight is coaching his son Will ahead of the Kickboxing and MMA World Championships, in Scotland.)
As a youngster, Will Knight and his dad Wayne would play fight, but nowadays, the Timaru teenager quips he has the upper-hand and has to go a bit easier on his old man.
The 16-year-old of Samoan/Irish/English descent was recently selected for the New Zealand Kickboxing and MMA team, which will compete at the World Championships in Scotland, in June.
His dad Wayne, who is the Head MMA Coach and Trainer at Knight MMA Timaru, has been selected to coach him and the rest of the New Zealand team.
It is a dream come true for the father-son duo, and a culmination of hard work and sacrifice.
Martial arts have always been Wayne’s passion, after watching Bruce Lee, Van Damme and WWE Wrestling as a youngster, he says.
“I really admired South Auckland combat royalty such as Ray Sefo, Mark Hunt, Jason Suttie and David Tua,” Wayne says.
Wayne got into MMA nearly 20 years ago, and has never looked back, training to be a coach of some extremely talented athletes, including his son Will and fellow New Zealand team member Ollie Berry.
Will says ever since he could walk, his dad has encouraged him to get involved in martial arts and sport.
“I loved parkour as a kid and taught myself how to do a backflip in our backyard - I loved doing stunts and stuff,” he adds.
“During my first year of high school I got into some trouble with my friends and my folks were really disappointed.
“Dad gave me a choice, ‘choose a sport or we will choose it for you’.
“So, dad chose MMA for me.
“At first, I did not like the idea…then I started going to fight nights and supporting my friends, who were my dad's students and I started to feel inspired to give it a go – the rest is history.”
Training is starting to ramp up for the World Championships, where New Zealand has as good a chance as anyone, Will adds.
“We are a warrior nation…if you are competing against a Kiwi, you are in trouble.”
And when Will steps into the ring in Scotland, he will proudly wear his ‘ula fala and ie lava lava, drawing mana from his Samaon and English/Irish warrior spirit.