Action Jaxon, our champ

Jaxon Hanley, an 11-year-old Docklands local, will be fighting in the Australian National Muay Thai championships later this year.

Despite having only started Muay Thai training 14 months ago, Jaxon already has a tri-state championship under his belt.

Jaxon fought at 40 kilograms at the championship between Victoria, ACT and New South Wales last October in Canberra and won. From there he was awarded student of the month and “most dedicated” at his Muay Thai gym.

“Then, four days ago, I found out I was fighting in the Australian national championships at the Gold Coast in April, and that made me really happy,” Jaxon told Docklands News last month.

Jaxon began training for self-defence and general fitness, but soon developed a deeper connection with the sport.

“I started to love it for more than just that, I love it as a sport and for its traditional culture,” he said.

“When you go to Thailand, we went recently, you see more not just about competing but the way they train every day, the diet, the lifestyle.”

Jaxon’s father, Andrew Hanley, said Jaxon trained at a minimum six days a week. That time is split between his Muay Thai gym, Morakot, and PUSH in Docklands.

Marakot is home to a couple of world champions and focuses solely on Muay Thai, while PUSH helps Jaxon for strength and power training.

Muay Thai is famous for its engagement with the entire body. Jaxon said he chose the sport for that reason, viewing boxing as only utilising arms and kick boxing only arms and legs.

“It makes more sense, if you’re in a competition why only use your hands or your legs, why not use every body part.”

Jaxon hasn’t even started high school yet, but his father said his training had brought out a kind of maturity.

“He’s grown as a person and he’s so healthy. He’s a pretty good ambassador for his age, and it’s just the start of the journey.”

And Jaxon has big goals for his future. He told Docklands News he would like to eventually become the world champion.

“From that I want to fight mainly in Thailand. That’s the best you can get. That’s when you know that you’ve made it.”