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The closing of the doors at Ironfist Muay Thai & Self
Defense in Rochedale, Brisbane is the end of a chapter for many of it's
students. The Ironfist Gym was founded by people (such as head instructed Daniel “Ironfist” bell ) who had been around longer than the sport has existed
in Queensland, and witnessed the transformation of the sport into what it is
today.
Muay Thai was created in Thailand hundreds of years ago, as a way for warriors
to defeat their enemies in wars that occurred between countries such as
Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. The close range combat often would result with
warriors being unarmed, and therefore they would train their body to act as a
weapon instead. Over the last 100 years it has changed along with Western
influence, to become a sport with rules and regulations, in some ways similar
to boxing. In Australia however, the history is much shorter.
Before muay thai became popular, it was kickboxing in the west. More well known
kickboxers who are still around today such, as Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez, or
Don Wilson, were making a name for themselves on the kickboxing circuits. Most
kickboxers in Australia had a Karate background, with many of the martial
artists originating from Bob Jones' dojos in Melbourne and then Malcolm
Anderson's dojos after he began to popularise it in Queensland. Malcolm
Anderson along with others such as Dave Briggs, the father of Nathan and Paul
Briggs, would promote kickboxing shows in Brisbane, and trained many of
Australia’s greatest Muay Thai fighters. These men would often go back to
Thailand to train with some of the best Thai trainers in order to learn the art
to bring back to their students in Australia. Many of these students would go
on to create their own gyms with a strong stable of fighters, with Ironfist
founder, Daniel Bell , being amongst them.
(Daniel Bell building the Ironfist gym from the ground up)
Daniel Bell started martial arts at a young age training near his local Marsden
Highschool in Tae Kwon Do, before changing to kickboxing in his early 'teens.
His transition proved to be a successful one, after winning various Queensland
Titles in multiple weight divisions. Some of his early bouts were before the
sport changed into what it is now, with fights taking place on a flat surface
without ropes to contain the fights, and longer pants being worn, rather than
the shorts which almost all fighters wear today.
For years his training took place on the concrete of his parents' property,
which eventually would become the location for the legendary Ironfist gym. The
gym officially opened in 2001, and only
(three) short years later required renovations to increase the
floorspace to almost double it's size. Word had begun to spread about the Muay Thai & kickboxing gym,
and many people were coming to learn and train with champions. Born to Ironfist
is a list of Champions which is too long to name. The long list includes Dale “
Damager” Sharrock, Michael “Tomahawk” Thompson, Andrew Marsden, Ben Johnston , Jimmy Urwin, Andy
“Assassin” Smith, and Joel Gadischkie, to name a few.
The classes were run by Daniel Bell originally, but as his schedule became busier some of his more than
accomplished students began to run the classes in his absence. Queensland
champion Andrew Marsden taught for many years alongside Masato Fujimori , and toward the end, The Fight Centre
Brisbane co-owner, Ben Johnston , began to run beginner classes. All classes
took place under the watchful eye of Dan's father, Allan, who would always
prove to be a cornerstone in the gym and a strong father figure for many of the
students. “Old school” is the best way to begin to describe him.
Over the 14 years the gym was running, many people have come and gone, and
Ironfist has had more than it's fair share of champions, but none of these
students would turn out to be more special than Michael “Tomahawk” Thompson. He came into the gym as a 14
year old kid on his way down the wrong path, but the guidance of Daniel and
Allan Bell steered him toward the path which he is on today. Michael has now
had over 50 fights, and three world titles to his name. He has beaten some
notable international opponents including Thailand's Pornsanae, who has been
one of Thailand's greatest for years, and had fought many times inside the
famous Lumpinee stadium.
Many believed it was not a good fight for Michael to take. He
went on to dominate Pornsanae in the first two rounds and came out the winner,
finding that the MMA gloves worn in John Wayne Parr's “Caged Muay Thai” series,
worked in his favour. Many would agree that today he is one of the best known
Australian fighters in current circulation.
Closing date of the Ironfist Gym & a New
Beginning…
The gym had undoubtedly been successful, but was a large commitment for Daniel and his family. He had been running the gym alongside his other business for
years and having both was proving to be too demanding on his time, which
ultimately led to the tough decision to close the doors being made. After
telling his members about the poli casinos decision, the core group of fighters had decided
that they wanted to keep training together rather than disband and all end up
in different gyms. It was only a few day later that plans were in motion for
the members to find a new place, with Ben Johnston and James Jarvie making the
decision that they would find a new facility.
Ironfist had closed its doors before Christmas of 2014, and when the new year
came around, The Fight Centre – Brisbane was up and running. Almost every
fighter that Ironfist had brought through the ranks had also come over to the
new facility in Springwood and called The Fight Centre -Brisbane their new
home. The fighters and founders of TFC knew that no one could replace Ironfist,
but to start something new with the strong foundation and good sense of morals
that had begun with Daniel and Allan bell, was sure to be a success and a place
that they could go without having to start again from the beginning.
READ ON about of the Brisbane Muay Thai Brisbane Gym - OR VISIT The Fight Centre Brisbane Home Page.
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