Temple Fight Gym owners Ash and Jennie Fewson and coaches Rick Judd and Adam Dawe welcome people of all ages to Temple Fight Gym. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
On the surface, Muay Thai may seem only to be a hard-hitting, full-contact form of martial arts, full of flips and tricks.
For many involved in the sport, such as Ash and Jennie Fewson, the owners of Temple Fight Gym, Muay Thai is about embracing community, staying fit and enjoying the thrill of a good, clean fight.
For the pair, it was always a dream to start their own fight gym. With the Muay Thai scene in Wagga scattered, and a chance for the duo to purchase and renovate one of Wagga’s oldest gyms, Ash and Jennie saw an opportunity to achieve their dream.
Now, less than two months after opening the doors to Temple Fight Gym, the Fewsons are already booking out classes, sponsoring fighters, and have even had one of their own claim the NSW Amateur Light-Heavyweight Champion title.
“Muay Thai has been around in Wagga for years and years,” Ash said.
“I did a lot of my training at a gym which was originally called Street Alert, growing up with coach Liam Priest, who is now a great friend of mine. We actually work together now.
“He was there for, I think, nearly 15 years, and then he finished up. Following him was a young champion, Tony, who taught Muay Thai for a little while.
“It then got passed on to a couple of blokes, one of whom was Rick Judd, who is now our head fight coach, and the other was a super cool bloke called Matty.
“From there, a lovely lady by the name of Kelly Marks took over. She did a fantastic job lifting the sport locally, but after a while, she decided to sell it and move away.
“That’s when the moons aligned, the universe spoke to me and my beautiful wife, and we decided to go for it. We were super lucky to get this location, and it really did just become a full-circle moment.”
Ash Fewson in a one-on-one boxing class with a young student. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Teaching out of 3/47 Baylis St, Wagga Wagga, Ash, Jen and the team at Temple Fight Gym run classes daily and have already proven themselves as a popular group.
“It’s a special place. I’m a huge believer in manifestation and making cool things happen and boy did I try to manifest this,” Ash said with a slight chuckle.
“I would go to sleep dreaming of having a joint like this. Now we have the gym pumping with people, kids and their parents saying how much they love it, and even the more experienced fighters come in to train and teach regularly.”
Despite only operating since July, the gym has already claimed success, with several of its more experienced fighters recently travelling to Albury to fight in the Battle in the Border 8.
“We had five fighters go off to Albury,” Ash said.
“Rick Judd, whom I mentioned earlier, fought in an exhibition boxing match. The fella he was fighting was nervous as hell.
“Rick pulled him aside in the changerooms earlier and said, ‘Hey mate, if I’m hitting you too hard, grab onto me and tell me to back right off’, which is exactly what he did.
“It wasn’t a matter of telling him he wasn’t tough, but showing respect. We don’t fight to kill each other; it’s about having fun and just showing the love of the sport.”
Of the five fighters the gym sent, four of them – Rick Judd, Eric Harris, Alex Waring and Dru Brodin – claimed victory.
“I’m so proud of all of our boys who fought – Rick, young Eric, Alex and even Ben (Andrews), who we thought were super unlucky to not pick the win,” Ash said.
The biggest victory of the night went to Dru Brodin, who picked up the NSW Amateur Light-Heavyweight Championship belt.
“Watching Dru fight was freaking epic,” Ash said.
“Those two boys went to war, and to see Dru calm himself down and compose himself and take on the title was just awesome.
“He won convincingly in the end, and to see his arm raised and given the belt, it was so cool. To send five fighters and have four of them win and one come really close – it’s just a dream come true.”
Temple Fight Gym holds classes every day of the week for kids aged 6 through to senior fighters. To book a class, visit Ash, Jennie and the team at 3/47 Baylis St, Wagga Wagga or sign up here.
