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07
Dec 2024
The Knaresborough thai boxer 'addicted' to the sport
Knaresborough’s Ciaran Smith finds muay thai addictive.
The 27-year-old picked up the sport as a teenager and has fought his way to become the UK’s number one.
After trying several sports, he fell in love with the physicality of the Thai martial art, which allows punches, kicks, knees and elbows.
Now, he finds himself number one in the UK and has ambitions to go further.
‘This is what I want to do’
Ciaran always wanted to try boxing when he was younger.
As a youngster growing up in Knaresborough, he found himself drawn to physical sports and the thrill they gave him.
He tried football and a bit of rugby league, but by his own admission he was not very good.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, he said it was not until he picked up the pads that he found what he was looking for.
When I first hit the pads, it was like ‘this is what I want to do'.
Under the stewardship of Pierre Mahone at the Kao Loi Gym on Skipton Road, which also boasts the likes of Nathaniel Kalogiannidis, Ciaran set about his journey into muay thai.
Ciaran Smith competing in fights.
He started out in ’N’ class, which is the lowest fight level and includes shin guards, before working his way up to ‘A’ class and full combat.
For Ciaran, the adrenaline of the sport is what kept him coming back.
It’s the adrenaline. You do not feel half the stuff when you are in there [the ring].
His first fight came in a function room in Wigan. Since then, he’s gone on to compete in 26 fights, including multiple world title bouts.
His last came against Jack Bullock in November, where Ciaran claimed the UK number one spot with a victory at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield.
His ambition is to take his career beyond the UK and compete with the world’s best.
But, for now, he continues to commit his time to muay thai, including coaching other fighters at Koi Loi.
He took up personal training full time after visiting Thailand in 2022 and realised that he wanted to commit himself to the sport.
At the time, he was working at Sainsbury’s in Harrogate — but later scrapped the day job to coach fighters. He now has up to 14 clients.
I just like to see people get better.
'It's a form of therapy'
From starting out as a 19-year-old to fighting the country’s best some eight years later, Ciaran has committed himself to a sport which at times can take its toll.
But for him, muay thai is “addictive” and something which goes beyond competing for titles and number one spots.
You come away from a session feeling a million times better. I would say it’s a form of therapy.
A lot of people have stress in their lives and I see this as therapy.
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