Josh Sutherland, fighting out of Rocky Mountain Martial Arts Family Centre, recently made his amateur Muay Thai debut in Airdrie Alberta.

Josh’s fight was not without drama, as his original opponent was nowhere to be seen, but a brave young fighter, fighting out of Airdrie Martial Arts Centre/Bellegarde’s Dragons, Matias Galdamez stepped in at the last minute.

This young man gave up a little size and two years to the 16-year-old Sutherland, but he proved to be a game fighter and a very entertaining battle ensued.

The fight was the first of an amazing evening of fights, and throughout the event skill, courage, honour and respect were shown throughout.  All the matches were well matched.

Vanessa Bellegarde and Luis Cofre are excellent match makers and promoters.  The Trial by Fire cards are some of the best Muay Thai events being held in the Calgary area.  If you are a fan of combat sports, you owe it to yourself to go to one of these events.

Galdamez came out aggressively with a flying knee that put Sutherland on his toes.  If Sutherland thought he was going to have an easy time, he was mistaken.  An entertaining back and forth ensued with fists, feet, and knees flashing back and forth in the square circle, bringing enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

Throughout the fight Galdamez showed a fighting spirit that Sutherland matched. Galdamez seemed to like risky and flashy maneuvers such as flying knees throughout the battle.  Sutherland on the other hand fought with forward pressure and putting out higher volume.

There were a few times that Sutherland had Galdamez dazed and did not capitalize on the opportunity, which showed his sportsmanship, and was quite appropriate for fighting against a young man who stepped up with courage and honour.

Courage and honour are the hallmark virtues of Thai Boxing. The fight ended in a victory for Sutherland, who showed respect and gratitude for his opponent in his post-fight interview.  Sutherland is the epitome of the honourable ring fighter.

This fight punctuated an amazing spring for the fighters from Rocky Mountain Martial Arts Family Centre.

This spring our fight team, Josh Sutherland, Malakai Honeyman, Landon, Ben Gagne, Ryan Walker, Gage Willhelm, and Zach Petryshen have all gone out and fought for the honour of their gym and all have come back with the respect of their opponents and lots of medals and trophies.

Four of these fighters have placed on the WKU Canadian team, but more importantly, they have shown courage, integrity, honour, stoicism, and in many cases empathy for their opponents, and in the end, that is what really matters and what makes Muay Thai an amazing discipline, it helps to forge people into being better versions of themselves through the trials they face. Trials like the one Josh Sutherland faced in the event Trial by Fire 13.

Look for more from this local community of fighters from RMMA Family Centre.

Lead image: Greg Bennett (corner man), Joel Huncar (coach), Josh Sutherland (Mauy Thai Champ), and Tyson Hirscher (corner man). Missing from photo is trainer/coach Laurie Dickson. Photo submitted

Rocky Mountain Martial Arts Family Centre.

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