WILLIAMSBURG — Markus Painter may have just returned to school, but his summer was spent adding to his Muay Thai medal collection.
Muay Thai, which is similar to the art of kickboxing, includes punching, kicking, elbowing, and kneeing the opponent.
Painter, a 9-year-old who trains at House of Muay Thai in Williamsburg, has been working on learning the art of Muay Thai for two years. He trains six days a week at the Williamsburg location and takes classes in sparring, bags, and techniques. He also trains by going out for a mile run before his Saturday morning technique class.
Painter competed in three exhibition matches to earn a spot at the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) U.S. National Tournament. The 2024 competition was held on Aug. 23 in Delaware and was Painter’s first national competition.
“At first, I was really nervous, but then when I was actually fighting, I felt very confident,” Painter said.
The national tournament had over 100 athletes competing in various age and weight classes. Painter had to advance through four fights for a shot at winning the title in the 9-10 heavyweight division.
“When I made it through quarterfinals, that round I really felt like I was used to the fighting. I think that was when I realized I could actually push through all of it while conserving all my energy for all the other fights to come,” Painter said.
When all the bouts were over, Painter was the champion in both the Muay Thai and kickboxing divisions.
“I felt very proud that I was able to get that far. At first, I got kind of worried because I had made some mistakes, but then I was able to take advantage of them and keep going. I just felt really proud that I can be able to keep going in the competition,” Painter said.
Heather Enyingi, one of Painter’s coaches, said that Painter’s success in the sport is completely self-driven.
“This is completely all him. He makes his schedule, he decides everything. It’s really cool to see as a coach that we have a student that is really motivated and who wants to push himself,” Enyingi said.
Painter has a long-term goal in the sport.
“In the future, I want to be a professional Muay Thai fighter. I want to continue to attend more tournaments and eventually compete overseas as a member of Team USA.”
