On Brawling, Training to Win, and Being a Team:

Lessons from the Cellar Gym’s 2025 WAKO Tournament Gold Medalists

By Naomi Dornfeld

 

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of training somewhere like The Cellar Gym is that it offers the chance to develop and grow as an individual in the context of a thriving community and team. Students across a wide variety of skill levels, experience, and disciplines have access not just to thoughtfully structured class curriculums and invested coaches, but learning opportunities from teammates. 

Earlier this year, competitors from Cellar Gym traveled to the 25th anniversary Arnold Cup in Columbus, Ohio to fight in the WAKO (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) National Tournament. Of the 15 fights our members participated in, we had 7 wins and 5 Gold Medals. 

Our gold medalists, Ava Kehrer and Liam Doo, both secured their opportunity to fight at the 2025 Junior Pan American Championships in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Sam Bailey, Javier Huerta, and Chris Cichon won their chance to fight in the 2025 Adult World Championships in Abu Dhabi, Capital of the United Arab Emirates. Chris Cichon, the Cellar’s former owner and head coach, made an incredible return to the mats and also secured his opportunity to compete in Light Contact Kickboxing in Abu Dhabi.

I sat down with Ava, Sam, Liam, and Javier to hear some of the things that worked for them and what they might suggest to others preparing for upcoming Kickboxing and Muay Thai fights. Whether they serve as reminders or new insights, lessons from the 2025 WAKO gold medalists demonstrate the value in owning the win, training how you want to fight, passing on the brawl bait, and being a team.

 

Own the Win

“Go in hesitant and you already lost the fight.” -Javier Huerta

One thing all the fighters had in common was a resolved commitment to their outcomes. Each of them made a choice well before the clock started ticking in the first round, that the win was already theirs. They made it a point to align their actions and energy to make it reality, in training and in performance.

Visualization

“I believe in the Law of Attraction,” said Liam, when asked about his mindset during training. “So, if you can visualize it, you can make it happen.” For him, owning the win ahead of time was helpful not only in fighting with confidence, but also in staying motivated and disciplined with his workouts during camp. 

Similarly, Ava shared the importance of visualization and how choosing to envision having her hand raised at the end of her fight throughout camp shifted her performance compared to her previous fight. 

“I feel like I got in my head so much before the TBA tournament, and all I could do was think ‘what happens if they don’t raise my hand’, you know? I would think about it all the time. And I lost. But this time I only let myself think about getting my hand raised – it made me so much more excited, and ready to go.” 

 

Mindset

Beyond owning the win, Javier approached his final fight of the tournament aiming to make a statement about being the best. “I wanted to go out there and say, ‘ain’t nobody better than me.’ And that’s what I’m going to continue to do moving forward: believe that I’m the best and then show it. The mental game is a big part that people miss out on. A lot of people go out there nervous and scared. Go in hesitant and you already lost the fight.” 

Working to have a productive mindset can apply to everyone learning. Anyone choosing to invest in their own personal improvement has the option of looking forward and saying, “That’s the outcome I want for myself and I’m going to work toward it like it’s a sure thing.” 

 

Train How You Want to Fight

Consistently practice good habits and technique if you expect to fight with good form.

Preparation through strength and conditioning, working combos in training, and maintaining a positive mindset helped get all the gold-medal winners where they aimed to be. But more than just showing up to drills and going through the motions, they proved the value of practicing with intent. 

 

Skill Development

The biggest difference Ava saw between her previous fight and this one was in her movement, bouncing around on her feet, and working angles, which she credited to consciously improving in sparring and drills. She also observed a training opportunity to continue developing in her levels of aggression. 

“In training, I am too nice,” she admitted. “It’s hard to be aggressive when the people you’re fighting are people that you know and love. But it does affect me in the ring, so I am focused on being more consistent with practicing my pressure fighting, now.”

Muscle Memory

“I noticed he’d come in with his hands down…so I’d capitalize on it.” -Liam Doo

During Liam’s fight, he noticed his opponent had a habit-formed weakness that he was able to use to his advantage. “I realized like he’d come in with his hands down. He’d be a little skittish. He’d be kind of scared. So, I’d try to capitalize on that and feint a lot; it was perfect. It helped so much.”

Likewise, Sam noted, “How you train is really how you fight. The same combos won’t necessarily come out but if you’re practicing putting your hands up immediately after a combo, staying in your stance, or bouncing around, that’s huge. It’s key.”

Pay-Off

The reward of giving 100% during the camp workouts is being fit when the points count. “The strength and conditioning with [Coach] Ben during camp is always a big help,” said Javier. “I mean, I’m never worried about getting tired. And I have been tired in fights before. That’s the worst – a feeling that you’re not gonna be able to defend yourself. The strength and conditioning is one of the biggest things that helps me along in camp.”

Whatever our discipline, it’s a good reminder that however we practice is how we perform. If we drop our hands in training, we’ll drop our hands in a fight, and if we cut corners during all our cardio workouts, we run the risk of being exhausted in a ring with someone who wants to knock us out. 

 

Pass on the Brawl Bait

Attack with composure and precision, not with wild, reactionary impulses.

Volume, power, and pressure add value to a boxing strategy, but brawling may be best reserved for the brew pub. When an opponent wants to brawl, they rely heavily on landing one good shot to win and are often willing to take a beating in order to get it. A more technical fighter focuses on footwork, range, and intentional punches to get the KO.

Going into his second and last fight of the tournament, Javier knew that his opponent was a heavy-handed fighter with a strong, boxing-forward reputation. Unphased, he trusted himself to shut his opponent down by striking on his own terms. He went in thinking, “this kid ain’t’ gonna touch me. It’s gonna be zero to whatever I’ve got.”

“Coach had said, maybe there’s a part of you that just wants to go out there and knock somebody out…to get in there and brawl with him. But there’s no need to put yourself at risk where they can get you. Don’t give him a chance to catch you.”

Passing the temptation to brawl from the jump, he used well-articulated and mindful attacks with knees and teeps, and practiced range-control in his combos to outscore with a unanimous-decision win. 

 

No Thanks

Similarly, Sam’s opponent had a history of dominating with a strong right hand, as observed from some public highlight videos. Sam noted that his experience with these fighters shows that he goes rough, hits hard, and tries to draw fighters into no-holds-barred situation. Sam made it his strategy to avoid it.

“It can be a challenge to stay composed when someone is swinging as hard as they can on you,” Sam said. 

He controlled his energy and form throughout the fight which included landing one beautifully executed head kick and a slip to hook that knocked his opponent down, (for the third and final time, in the second round). Sam’s opponent threw his punch so hard that missing the shot off-balanced him and made him especially vulnerable to Sam’s effective counter.

“The one time I did get clipped,” Sam confessed, “was when I decided to brawl a bit.”

 

Strategy

For Liam, the lesson was a growth in learning to calculate when and how to come in with power and pressure. “When I was in C class, I was like, I’m just gonna punch them as hard as I can,” he explained. “But then I’d gas out first round. Now that I have more fights, I was able to think it through: maybe throw it a little less power right here, throw this with more power…I could more intentionally pick my shots, understanding where I was and how I was feeling.”

One thing a fighter can do to evade getting baited into a brawl is to be aware of their own impulse to match energy and consciously choose to stay present in their own strengths. Allowing ourselves to get worked up in nose-to-nose combat is an expensive risk in terms of energy and exposure. So, unless our strategy is to withstand the most strikes and trust that our last one is going to be the hardest hit, it might not be the move.

 

Being a Team

“Martial Arts is what it is because of the people.” -Sam Bailey

Reflecting on other important parts of the tournament experience, all the WAKO winners noted the difference it makes to be a part of a team. From strength and conditioning groups to sparring partners to carpooling with fighters on the card, not going it alone made a positive difference for them.

With consideration for how the events themselves shape team dynamics, Sam said, “Going to these competitions and traveling makes a big difference. Traveling together really bonds the team in a different way. Martial Arts is what it is because of the people. So, to spend more time with those people, to travel together, see people that we’ve seen before, and meet new ones is a really, really, blessed experience.”

One of the clearest examples of how we can learn from one another at the gym is in Ava’s reflection of training the way she wants to fight, referencing another member’s fight camp weeks prior. “When Kailey was getting ready for the Ignite fight, in shark tanks and training, she was so consistent; and during her fight, she was consistent: power, speed, pacing, every round, so consistent.” Ava expressed sincere gratitude for the support in the community and extended her heartfelt reciprocity, “I’m here for everybody. Always.”

“I’m always happy to help,” Javier said, thinking about how he could share the things he’s learned that have led to his recent success. “If people have questions, fight related or mindset related, it’s kind of what I’ve been doing for the last several years, so feel free to reach out.”

 

Moving Forward

Both Sam and Javi are planning on a couple of fights this summer before heading to ‘Worlds’ and gearing up for MMA competitions. Ava and Liam are planning on fighting in the TBA tournament in June and working towards the Junior Pan Am Championship. They all have long term aspirations to take their talents and skills as far as they can go.

Before wrapping up our conversation, Sam expressed his encouragement to other members to try competing, if you haven’t, and if not interested in competing, attending the fights as you’re able. It makes a big difference. With many upcoming fight opportunities for both novice and more experienced fighters, now is a good time to take advantage of the resources and support in the community. 

To help develop your technique, you can hire Sam for private lessons! Many students (present company included) can attest to his knowledge, expertise, and coaching skills. He’s great to work with. Send him an email at sam@thecellargym.com to get in touch with him about the options!

Both Ava and Liam are raising money for their trip to Pan Am! You can support them by buying a shirt, sponsoring them, or by donating. 

Congratulations Ava, Liam, Sam, and Javi! We appreciate you sharing your experience with us and will be cheering you on as you prepare for your championships!