Asher Bennie is a fighter coming off a long injury layoff straight into a WKBF New Zealand title shot. She trains out of Lucky 9 gym in Timaru under head trainer Scott Tweedie.

Asher is 29 years old and has been fighting for only two years, but in that time has had a total of nine Muay Thai fights. Lucky 9 gym has a focus on Muay Thai over conventional kickboxing, which follows from Scott Tweedie’s passion for the art of eight limbs.

The club at Lucky 9 is female-dominated, a polar opposite to most fight gyms in New Zealand and the rest of the world. The Lucky 9 ‘Witchpack’ is a group of young women who put their rivalry aside to train together and support each other in a team environment.

Harry Greenfield caught up with Asher to ask her a few questions ahead of her upcoming WKBF title opportunity.

Hi Asher. Tell us about the ‘Witchpack’ and its inception.

“The Witchpack was started long before my time with Jess (Wilson) and Kaitlyn (Tucker). It was about the girls in the gym – who wouldn’t have been friends if they hadn’t met in the gym – who decided to band together in such a male-dominated environment to really support each other. Weight cutting - and the struggles that it brings - was the real catalyst. Jess and Kaitlyn realised how much better it would all be if they all worked together (other females and gyms included).

The Witchpack is about supporting each other to be the best we can be, leaving the egos and competition at the door. Utilising the skills each person brings into the gym and learning from them. The actual Witchpack idea came from the discovery of the patch we get when we have 5 fights and officially become a witch: ‘we are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn’. This is an ode to the strong women in our life, who have supported us and helped us grow into the strong wahine we are today.”

Are there any promising young ‘witches’ in particular who have joined the squad?

“Of course. We are so lucky to get so many females from different backgrounds, ages, and abilities who each bring something else to the team. Each has their own strengths and is continually working and building on them.

Karuwai is our youngest fighter (11 years old) but trains and fights like an adult. With three fights already she is only getting better. She is constantly putting pressure on the boys to keep them working hard and it doesn't matter who she is facing she will give it her all. This year will definitely be big for K!

We also have some up-and-coming girls who haven't fought yet, who are working incredibly hard and are going to put on a show when they get in there. First up is Tyla, who is road tripping with Kaitlyn and me up to the TMT show (where Kaitlyn is also fighting for a title) for her first appearance. I predict fireworks!”

I hear you fought five times with broken ribs! What the hell?

“It was six fights and with three broken ribs. I didn’t know they were broken (or how bad) for the first four but was in a lot of pain which we put down to muscle issues. I tried to rest before my last two fights, but they didn’t quite heal in time, so we continued to make adjustments in training and diet and hoped like hell I didn’t get hit in them.”

Your split decision loss for the AMTA NZ title must have been a tough pill to swallow. How has this helped you to come back stronger?

“I fought Amber Clarke for the title in December on our show: Vendetta. Our fight got changed to a title fight two days before Vendetta after a last-minute pull-out. This meant I didn’t really have the time to over-analyse or think too much about it, I just turned up to fight. I had so much fun in there, and it was a great fight.

You always have to be disappointed with a split loss, especially with a home crowd, but Amber did the job on the night. This fight more than any other has emphasised the strong points in my game and where I need to put some work in. I’m not looking to be leaving the decision in the hands of the judges next time.”

Your trainer Scott Tweedie is doing great things for the legitimisation of Muay Thai as a sport within New Zealand. Tell us about training under Scott.

“Working with Scott has been a whirlwind. From starting to do PT’s with him for fitness, to being told I have a fight. Scott is incredibly passionate about the sport as well its development (from removing weight cutting to adding rankings and more opportunities for fighters).

There are always new ideas being thrown around and new things to try. Scott expects a high standard from all his fighters and ensures we all stick to it. It’s hard work but as is often said in the gym: ‘you can’t play fighting’, so all that is expected is for our own safety. He helps to grow the knowledge and confidence in the new fighters and will go out of his way to help us all grow.

In the past year, Scott has brought Kaitlyn (Tornado) Tucker in as assistant head coach which has been awesome. This has allowed Scott to focus on fighters more and utilise Katie’s skillset. Kaitlyn is super positive and always willing to step in to be beaten up by someone, help you, and listen to you.  She runs an awesome Ladies’ Night on Thursdays. These two working together are a great team and are really helping to enhance the quality of fighters coming through the gym.”

You are to face Amy Pearce for a WKBF New Zealand title in May. How are you preparing to take the title from Amy?

“I only just started back at training this week, after taking 8 weeks off to make sure my ribs are healed, to put me in the best place for this fight. I’m really excited for this fight as I know it will be challenging but also stylistically fun. I hopefully have a fight before then to test a few things out but will be focusing on making the things I do well even better and eliminating some of the things that needed work. Amy will bring it on the day no doubt, but I’ll be ready for what she has to bring.”

You’re also a personal trainer as a day job, correct? How do you balance the work/training mix?

"I’m actually a sport scientist (specialised in nutrition and elite athlete performance) but have landed into doing a mix of all this and personal training. It means long days when I’m starting with clients before the sun comes up and getting home after it’s gone down, but it’s meant I can work my own hours and my clients are all awesome and supportive of what I do.

I get to be varied in what I do: between mental skills coaching, nutrition seminars, and teaching in schools, I never get bored! It definitely gets hard to balance at times, so I have to schedule everything in like a meeting, so the daily cardio gets done as well as eating regular meals. That and a lot of caffeine.

It is a great asset in the gym as well as it gives more ideas and knowledge out there for everyone to feed on. From workouts to helping with nutrition to the amazing fight knowledge we have available from Scott and Kaitlyn, we manage to cover all bases.”

Thanks for the interview Asher.

You can follow Asher Bennie on her Instagram or the Lucky 9 Witchpack Instagram. If you are looking for nutrition or sports science advice, check out her Facebook page.

Check out the Lucky 9 Gym website and the Aotearoa Muay Thai Association website as well.