Suds Karki is the owner and head coach of Maui Muay Thai gym in Nelson, with his club recently occupying a new space and growing its stable of fighters.

Once a fighter himself, these days Suds is happy as head coach, being a full-time electrician in the daytime, running training sessions at night as well as being away many weekends to travel with his fighters to shows.

Between work, training, and family life with his wife and two sons, Suds is a busy man!

Fight News’ Harry Greenfield took the opportunity to ask Suds a few questions about his fighting past, his own training roots, and about his gym – Maui Muay Thai in Nelson.

Hi Sudsy. You’ve got a new premises now to house the Maui club. How long have you been there, and how is it going so far?

“Yep, we were lucky enough to secure a place in town just over a year ago. We were training out of one of the local school halls before that.

“At the moment the gym is buzzing, which is awesome. With the guys we have, they have helped create an awesome atmosphere with both new and old faces coming in. 

“It’s very hot and sweaty due to all the hard work the guys have been putting in. Which is how they like it, hehe.”

Were you trained by the legendary Wayne Vaega?

“Yep, I have been very lucky and privileged to have been trained by a few trainers as well as Wayne, just like many of his students would say. 

“It was a progression really; I started with Queenstown Kickboxing under Iain and Steve, who were doing classes at that time. Then Wayne came to town and was teaching at different times.

“However, when Steve and Iain decided to take a step back, we all merged into one club and became Queenstown Lee Gar. Then, when Wayne did the big move to Christchurch, “Marky Barnes – who was also taught by Wayne – took over and we became Queenstown Muay Thai.”

Have you adapted the training techniques you learned from Wayne, or kept them pretty much the same?

“I’d say we’ve adapted some of the stuff we learnt from Wayne, because in this fight game it’s about trying to keep evolving and trying new things. But yeah, the basis of all our stuff would be Lee Gar.”

How many fights did you have as a competitor, and why did you stop fighting?

“I only had maybe 9 or 10 fights; I had to stop fighting due to just having too many injuries. It was like I fought with my heart and not my head. We didn't look after ourselves well enough after fights.

“Our motto was ‘train hard, fight hard, and party even harder’ haha. The last injury kept me out for nearly a year, hence I then got into the coaching side of it, which I am loving as well.”

You have a full-time job in addition to being Maui’s head coach. How do you balance these things?

“Between working, teaching, and family, I don't get much time to do much else, so if I’m not at work or at the club, then I try and hang out the kids as much as I can because they are growing up so quick.”

Your wife must be very understanding, haha.

“Yeah, I’m very lucky in that respect. She puts up with me heaps, haha.”

Will your two sons be trained to kickbox?

“Yes, my oldest has started my kids’ classes with me, which is cool because it’s great to see him pick it up well, like the other kids do, and I get to spend more time with him. My baby is too young at the moment, but I hope so eventually.”

What are your future aspirations in the fight world?

“Well, to keep making the club fun and enjoyable and be a family and make the guys the best they can be. If I can achieve that, let’s see where it can take us. If they wanna do it, it can be achieved!”

What is behind the Maui Muay Thai logo design?

“Well, Maui is a demigod swimming in the moana (large body of water). Here in Nelson we are surrounded by the sea and many rivers. The eight points of the logo represent the eight limbs of Muay Thai and it also looks like a sun to represent sunny Nelson.”

What have you got coming up this year?

“We have a busy March and April booked up so far. We have a few novices wanting to get down and dirty who have the taste of being punched in the face...

“On March 20th we have Domination fight night in Christchurch. Alex (Tzinavos) is fighting Grant Toa Toa for an IKBF South Island MMA title at 74kg. On the same night we have Caleb (Brash) having his first MMA fight against Gary Shadbolt from CFC.

“Following that, we have Alex going in a pro boxing eight-man tournament on April 4th and John (Pyers) fighting on King of Kings 9 on April 18th in the four-man tournament.”

Awesome, sounds like a busy couple of months! Thanks for the interview Suds.

If you live in Nelson and want to learn the art of eight limbs, you can find the Maui Muay Thai gym on the Facebook page or follow them on the Instagram page. If you’re in Christchurch, check out the fights at Domination fight night on March 20th.

 

This article is dedicated to the late Tania Sheridan, former Maui Muay Thai kickboxing student who tragically died in a vehicle collision on Sunday, 9th February 2020. Rest in peace Tarnz.