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Exclusive
Interview With John Wayne Parr
Spirit of
Muay Thai
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His
record speaks for itself and
through total dedication John
Wayne Parr has risen to the
top of his art. In this exclusive
interview we ask John about
his training, how he prepares
for bouts and who he rates as
the all time best plus much
more...
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| MI:
What other career path would you have taken
had it not been with Kickboxing? |
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| JWP:
I am not sure, ever since I was about 7 or
8 I have always been interested in Martial
Arts, I played AFL when I was ten and really
enjoyed diving I also like motor cross. I
think anything to do with sport cause I don't
think I would have been a brain surgeon. |
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| MI:
How do you mentally prepare for a big fight?
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| JWP:
Now days I just try to enjoy the moment as
much as I can. For the last ten years almost
ever fight is bigger then the last so getting
used to facing the famous names and big crowds.
When I was younger I used to use a little
bit of sleep a week out but over the years
you learn that if you have done the work in
the gym everything else will happen on the
day. |
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| MI:
How has Kickboxing changed since your early
days? |
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JWP:
My first kickboxing fight was in Sydney,
it was with leg kicks, no knees and
you had to kick eight times a round
or you would lose points. Fighters were
still sporting the long kickboxing pants
and technique was not so important,
just heart. Now a lot of young guys
are going to Thailand to learn and a
lot of trainers in Australia are teaching
pure Muay Thai instead of karate, Kung
Fu and boxing mixed.
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| MI:
Who is your top five all time greats of the
ring? |
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JWP:
1.Ramon Dekker
2.Danny Bill
3.Sakmongkon
4.Jomhod
5.Peter Aerts
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MI:
whom should our readers and martial artists
look out for as potential
stars of the future? |
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| JWP:
In
Australia we have so many young guys
coming up the ranks. There is Soren,
Pixie, Aaron Leigh, and Preacher. There
is also the young guys like Blake Sloss
from my gym, Shaggy from Nuggets and
Broody from Joe Hiltons, he is only
15 but already has excellent technique.
Once he matures a little he will be
hard to beat. |
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| MI:
How does JWP enjoy life outside the ring?
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| JWP:
I run my own gym on the Gold Coast so when
I am not fighting I am still in the gym teaching
classes and privates so I am always involved
in the sport. When I am not at the gym I spend
a lot of time with my wife Angie and Daughter
Jasmine either at home or at the shops. We
are always so busy its nice to just hang out
at home (must be getting old). |
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| MI:
When you first began your training was
there anyone you idolized? |
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| JWP:
I was a huge fan of Stan "the Man"
and Alex Tui. The sport was only pretty
new when I first got into it and these
two guys were our first world champions.
Stan was very exciting every time he
entered the ring and I enjoyed watching
his fights on video. |
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MI:
What
sort of physical conditioning has best worked
for you over the
years? |
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| JWP:
When I was 19 I moved to Thailand for
4 years living in a Thai boxing camp,
they believe in hard work and long sessions
so just trying to keep up with them
was enough to get fit and strong. I
really enjoy running too; at one stage
I was running with Paul Briggs 15km
6 days a week in the morning before
our training sessions. |
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| MI:
You are probably one of the most well respected
(westerner) Muay Thai fighters in Thailand.
How does that feel? And how hard is it to
get that respect from the Thais, as a fighter?
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JWP:
Thanks for the compliment. It feels nice knowing
that you have put your heart and sole into
something and people will remember you after
you have hang up the gloves. From what I have
found with the Thai's is they love a warrior,
if you can go 5 full on rounds with a Thai,
blood running down your face and can still
stand there and trade then you would have
won their respect win, lose or draw.
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| MI:
When
you and your wife had a baby, you once
said, "Now I have something worth
fighting for". How much more determination,
drive and reason to fight has this given?
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| JWP:
When I was younger I loved fighting
for the buzz, I wasn't making much money
and it was just a hobby before I grew
up and got a real job. Now that I have
a family and starting to make good prize
money it is important that I win every
fight or at least perform the best that
I can so I can keep living the life
style of a fighter while trying to set
something up so I have something after
I retire. |
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| MI:
Who
has been your all time toughest
opponent? And which bout has been
your greatest victory? |
JWP:
Last year I fought Sakmongkon
in Australia and it was
a hard fight mentally, I
had watched him fight live
and on TV many
times in Thailand and had
a lot of respect for him.
I want to be the best fighter
I can be though and the
only way of doing that is
taking on the big names.
Sakmongkon kicks like a
horse and
both my forearms and shins
were
black from blocking but
I was happy with the fight
and glade I went the distance
with a legend. My greatest
victory would be the S-1
in Thailand. |
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There was a lot of media
covering the fight and one
Million baht up for grabs
in an 8-man tournament.
I beat Mohammed from Russia
over 3 rounds on points.
I knocked out Skarbosky
from France in the 3rd then
had to go 5 rounds with
Nuangtrakan from Thailand
beating him on points. The
next day everywhere I went
in Thailand everyone knew
who I was, very good memories. |
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| MI:
How
do you think Muay Thai and
kickboxing is moving along
in the world, and Australia?
Would you like to see anything
changed? (E.g.: rules, regulations,
broadcasting, refereeing,
money etc) |
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| JWP:
For me mainly just the
money, it is getting better
and better every year but
nothing compared to what
boxing is. Everyone does
this sport for the love
and put their bodies on
the line every fight so
it would be nice to get
compensated for it. Also
I think the rest of Australia
needs to catch up to Queensland,
we have Muay Thai promotions
almost every month so it
keeps the fighters busy
and the crowd really gets
behind the boys when its
a good fight. |
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| MI:
What
is on the future horizon
for Wayne Parr both in and
out the ring? |
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JWP:
In the ring I want to
keep doing what I am doing
traveling
the world and fighting the
best fighters that I can.
I want to try and be
a K-1 Max fighter as long
as I can because they really
look after us like
professionals and fans from
all over the world get excited
when the fights
get closer so it makes you
want to do your best every
promotion. Outside the ring
I have my gym and will continue
to train the young guys
so hopefully they can travel
the world one day like I
did. The rest I will
just have to see what happens? |
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| MI:
Is
there any advice you would
like to give to all the
men and women fighters out
there who are trying to
make it in the competition
circle? |
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| JWP:
Fighting is the
most exciting thing you
will ever do, if you have
that fire in your belly
saying that this is something
you want to do then go for
it. It doesn't matter if
you win you lose, long as
you give it your all and
Never give up. |
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| MI:
And
finally is there any comment
you would like to add? |
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| JWP:
Thank
you Lee for the interview
and to everyone that took
the time to read it. I have
one of the biggest fights
of my life coming up on
the 20th of July when I
fight for the K-1 world
Max belt, I want this belt
more then anything so I
will be giving it everything
I have also. Thanks again. |
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John
Wayne Parr's gym address is:
Boonchu
Gym and Training Centre
39 Hillcrest Miami
4220 Queensland, Australia
Phone: 07 55755147
http://www.boonchu.com/
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by
Lee Ladurner
© 2005 MI Magazine
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