This kickboxer is klein maar getrain and proved it when he kicked ass at an international tournament over the weekend where he won gold.
David Damon, 17, a Grade 11 pupil at Vredenburg High School, reigned supreme at the Desert Storm III competition at the Jan Wilken Sports Complex in Walvis Bay in Namibia, where he took on fighters from all over the African continent.
“Going into that fight I expected to win,” the confident teen from Saldanha says.
“I have been doing kickboxing for just over a year now and I belong to the Cape Fight League fight club and we were invited to the competition by the Namibian Kickboxing Federation.”
The rookie took part in the under-53kg category and showed the manne just what he’s made of.
MEAN MACHINE: Kickboxing champion David Damon, 17
“I won my category. My final match was against a fighter from Zambia,” he says.
“The fight did not last long.
“The referee stopped the fight during the second round because the other fighter couldn’t protect himself
anymore,” he says proudly.
David hopes with his latest win, he will be noticed as he would love to be a professional kickboxer.
“I’ve had four K1 ring fights so far where I won three of them. I’ve had two Tatami kickboxing tournaments where I got a bronze and silver medal.
“By the age of 21, I’d like to be at my peak in this sport. I train five times a week.
“I’ve had a passion for the sport of martial arts for a long time, but only decided to start [fighting] at the beginning of last year,” David says.
His proud mother, Berenice Damon, says at first she had reservations about the gevaarlike sport until she saw her boy in action.
“At first, I was scared of this fighting but when I saw his passion, I had to support him.
“The match on Saturday was literally a David and Goliath match.
“I am so proud of him and it’s great to know he brought home the medal to SA,” she says.
David’s teammates David Mokoena took silver and Adriane Matthews won the gold medal.