Muay Thai fighter Davis wins national championship

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on June 12, 2016 1:47 AM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

FREMONT -- Maybe the new Muay Thai shorts are a good-luck charm.

At least, they were for Rusty Davis.

Just a few days before Davis headed to New York to compete in the World Kickboxing Association's national tournament for the first time, his mother, Samantha, wanted him to wear the shorts.

Rusty politely refused.

The 10-year-old packed them away for his trip and finally wore them as he worked his way through the tournament. He may not wear another pair since he emerged as a national champion in the 98-pound Muay Thai boxing division.

"I didn't expect him to do Muay Thai or, I guess, any form of boxing," Mrs. Davis said. "I wanted him to learn Jiu-Jitsu, anything to be able to defend himself. I'm glad that he and my husband (Rodney) decided to find a different art."

Traced to the middle of the 16th century, Muay Thai -- or also defined as "The Art of Eight Limbs" -- uses the points of contact the body mimics as weapons of war.

The hands -- sword and dagger.

The shins and forearms -- armor against blows.

The elbow -- used a hammer to fell opponents.

The legs and knees are the axe and staff.

In other words, the body operates as one unit.

"He's been in a form of martial arts since he was 5, 6 years old, and he's grown very much. We've hit some slumps with doing grappling tournaments, stuff like that, where he gets frustrating," his mom said.

"We feel like maybe he's lost some of his spirit."

Rusty found it in New York.

He competed in his first kickboxing tournament and surprised everyone when he defeated an opponent in his weight class. His mother says her son showed patience throughout the 10-hour wait before the final two three-minute rounds -- involving one round of no-hand contact and a round with hand contact.

Rusty clinched and connected with a knee against his second-round opponent. He backed up and kneed him again, which rocked his opponent, who met Rusty's fist.

He climbed atop the ropes, raised his arms and celebrated.

"At 5, I started wrestling," Rusty said. "It was a type of wrestling at a dojo in Pikeville. When it closed down, my dad found the place in Wilson, which taught the same thing, but they taught Muay Thai with it.

"And I wanted to try that."

He works out at the traditional Kai Thai Academy with four teammates. The group instructor -- or kru -- is Bishop Holmes, who also owns the academy.

Holmes is a certified instructor through the World Muay Thai Council in Thailand. He mentioned there are very few kru in North Carolina and when he opened his school nine years, just three kru were in existence.

"I've been fortunate to go overseas, train in Thailand," Holmes said. "I take a group of students once a year, a small group of students, train them amongst the grand masters, (and) get them embedded in the culture, and become part of the Muay Thai culture."

Rusty undoubtedly has respect for the fight and his opponent. Before each match, he walks around the ring to "mark his territory." Then he follows another Muay Thai tradition -- kneeling in prayer before he goes into battle.

The Thailand-born combat has also taught Rusty how to become disciplined in the classroom. The fifth-grader excelled at STARS Elementary in Fremont this year. Mom hopes her son attends Duke.

Rusty is willing to meet that request.

"I would like to be fighting somewhere in a cage, but my mom wants me in college," he said.

Holmes expressed high praise for his straight-A student.

"Rusty has transformed himelf completely," Holmes said. "He's not only a fine young man and student, but he's become a really fine martial artist. In a short period of time, I've worked with him one-on-one for a year. He's been able to really progress with his technique with his art.

"If he continues, he's going to be something to watch out for."