Varty: Busting to be best

CHAMPION kickboxer Brendan Varty has forsaken rest, mirth and mates for a clutch of New Zealand titles in the three years since he first crossed the ropes as a competitive fighter. And he says his sacrifice has helped seal each victory.

The 24-year-old Alfredton shepherd, who today holds five championship belts across several weight grades, said his father, Jim, had been another vital ingredient during his so far undefeated amateur career on New Zealand soil.

His introduction to the fight game came through sporadic training with his father from about the age of 8 in Okinawan Goju Ryu karate - and Jim has travelled to every title fight his son has fought to date.

His training crew and fellow Harley's Kickboxing Gym clubmates, Bryce Baron, Simon Hodder and Chris Stevens, had been essential as well as his fight coach, Mal Harley.

Varty said his clubmates, who have won national kickboxing titles in the past, all helped "bring out the mongrel in me" and Harley, an astute corner man, coached him in the finer points of the brutal art.

He took up kickboxing after attending the first Battle of the Bush tournament run in 2007 by Harley's Kickboxing Gym in Masterton. By July of 2008, he was lacing up his gloves for his first competitive bout.

Varty says he runs a six-week training cycle ahead of each fight, infuses daily farm routines with fitness training and hones his strikes - elbows, knees, feet and hands - on three bags hanging at the Alfredton farm part-owned by his father where he works. Varty is a committed believer in preparation being the key to success.

"It's not easy coming home at lunchtime from work and going for a run up the hills. It's easier to watch TV or curl up in front of the fire. But you don't get titles watching TV or getting liquored up on a Friday night. They don't just give them away," he said.

"I drive 120km every day to train in town. I sacrifice my social life and don't have the mates I used to have. I sacrifice rest.

"Because at that level you have to do everything you can to get the edge on your opponent.

"When I go out there, I'm thinking 'I ain't gonna let you beat me'. As soon as I see my opponent I'm not looking at him as anything other than my victim. I have respect - don't get me wrong - but I'll still beat him down. It's kill or be killed. You can get your head cracked open and, in this sport, you can't take any chances."

He said the support of his wider family, including sisters Melissa and Christina, and his partner, Aleksei, were invaluable as well to every bout he fought.

Another principle for Varty as a competitive kickboxer is delivering his best without crowing before, or after, a bout. "Some fighters will tell you what they can do - I'd rather show you."

This year, Varty will for the first time step into the ring in the hunt for a professional purse at the King of the Ring 72kg 8-Man Eliminator tournament.

The $4000 first prize showdown at the ASB Stadium in Auckland on October 28 may have thrown him headlong once again into a merciless six-week cycle of training and deprivation but he says he has never been in the sport for the money.

"I couldn't possibly do this without Dad, Mal, the boys, or my sisters and partner. I mean I'm doing this without any sponsorship - besides my mate, Darryl Algie, who gave me $500 for petrol."

He is non-committal about shifting to prize fighting as a career but is certain that should he turn his hand to pro bouts, every strike delivered will be as disciplined as any he has ever thrown. "I don't do this for the money or the name. I do it to be the best. Nothing else."