In our newest series Unbound Voices ellenfelem.hu will introduce Hungarians, people with Hungarian roots involved in combat sports on a professional, amateur or even a hobbyist level from around the world. With the interviews we literally want to bring our readers closers to a different world and provide insight into the daily life and the stories, backgrounds of our interview's subject.
Our first guest 21 years old Rozi Komlós, living in Sydney moved to Australia at the age of 3 met combat sports at an early age and fell in love with the art of eight limbs upon the very first meeting. She's been training for 6 years now and trainig in Thailand for the second time with 16 fights under her belt. Rozi Komlós on life, muay thai and following your heart and intuition.
Q: Would you please introduce yourself to the readers and tell us a bit about your family's history?
A: Hello! My name is Rozi Komlos I am 21 years old & I am currently living in Sydney Australia about 10 minutes from the beautiful Bondi beach, I am very lucky!
My big family (true Hungarian style) all originates from Budapest. The first half of my family who migrated to Bondi beach was my uncle and cousins and instantly the details of the sunny beach life sold my mum on making the big move too! My father, mother, twin sister, elder sister and I all made the move to Australia in the year 1996 when I was 3 years old. The many stories & videos of my early life in Hungary were always filled with warming food, family love and the beautiful city but my mother and father always wanted to raise us near the ocean.
Q: How you met combat sports and why you chose muay thai?
A: I met combat sports in my early childhood, my family was always involved in some kind of martial art, originally it was my mother and twin sister practicing kung fu. I would reluctantly have to sit and watch then punch and kick in my ballerina outfit ha-ha that soon changed!
A few years later when my mother was training Muay Thai frequently she took me along to a fight show with her trainers and I was in awe! Stunned at how these people could use their bodies and I truly found it beautiful. I instantly connected to what I saw & felt that I could do it, the follow week I began training at the gym.
Q: How did you parents, relatives, friends reacted when you told them you want to fight?
A: My family and friends have always been extremely supportive, naturally they get nervous for me but they truly believe in me. There’s a truth in Muay Thai that followings; “It takes a village to raise a fighter” I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family.
Q: How long have you been training for?
I’ve been training for 6 years now; I started when I was 15 years old. I think the longest time I’ve taken off training in that whole time has been maximum 2 months when I hurt my knee, its quite addictive! Ha-ha
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your current gym?
My current gym in Australia is 8Limbs combat & conditioning. The gym has just passed its first year but I’ve been training with owner & head trainer Alessandro Vidoni (Alex) since I first started Muay Thai. It was always his dream to open an authentic Muay Thai gym and to be apart of its prosperous rise has been incredible. The art of Muay Thai truly stems from a place of respect, humility and hard work and Alex has created a gym that breeds just that. Alex has a wealth of knowledge from his many years of fighting too! His notable achievements are:
- World Title contender Nov 2009
- Official WMC judge & referee
- 2009 Australia Middleweight Muay Thai Champion
- W.K.A Australian Champion
- W.K.B.F. Muay Thai Commonwealth Champion
- WMTA East Coast Champion
- Trained & fought in Thailand, Australia, NZ & Italy
Alex and I have a wonderful bond, a fatherly figure to me and have constantly believed in my potential & me even when I have failed to see it for myself.
Q: How did you end up in Thailand? Can you expand on the whole story behind this?
A: During my last year of school I found myself completely uninterested, the only thing that truly had my attention and effort was Muay Thai. Most nights when I was meant to be study for final exams I would be watching endless amounts of fights, often my mum would hear the sound & remind me I should be studying ha-ha
I had decided that I truly want to see if I had what it takes to become a fighter so my family helped fund it and I worked to save some money then after my last day of school I hopped on a plane to Phuket Thailand! Originally I would train at a small traditional Thai gym in Phuket called Suwit Muay Thai. The trip was for almost 4 months and although at first there were many culture shocks and lonely moments I was able to stay determined and train hard. I improved drastically having and the incredible Thai trainer Wanmai neverdie! His Muay Thai was beautifully stylish and technical. To this day that is the type of fighter I strive to be. After the four months I returned home to begin University studies, although I could have stayed in Thailand forever ha-ha
Q: What's your goal with muay thai? Do you plan to become a full time/pro fighter?
A: It’s quite comical when I think back to my original goals as a Muay Thai beginner! Initially it was to just have one fight. Now having had 16 fights my goal is to have as many as possible! I’ve been in Phuket Thailand training at Sumalee boxing gym for the last 4 months now. I have decided that I will make a trip home for a few months then move out here for a year to become a professional fighter. I feel now more than ever on purpose with my development as a fighter, after 6 years its finally making sense! Ha-ha
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Q: What did muay thai/sports teach you about life, yourself?
Muay Thai has been a complete rite of passage for me. From a safe and easy route to one that constantly challenges me to push beyond limits, truly believe in my self and work hard. The most powerful thing I have learnt is to be accepting of fears, failures and setbacks. The ability to acknowledge and take responsibility for them but still have the heart to believe that you are on the right path. The greatest lesson of Muay Thai is to have a strong heart and respect life.
Q: What's the best advice you got and who gave it to you?
The best piece of advice I ever received was in a beautiful letter someone wrote me it had the message:
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow know what you want to become”
Q: Any closing thoughts?
A: I would love to thank my big beautiful Hungarian family for their eternal support & teaching me what hard work looks like. One of my greatest mentors Alessandro Vidoni for always believing in me. My second family at 8Limbs combat & conditioning thank you for the constant love and laughs! And to my new family here at Sumalee boxing gym in Phuket thank you for re-igniting my passion, I feel more on purpose than ever.
Thank you Rozi! Wishing you all the best in fighting and in life and hope to cover some more good news about you for our readers soon!
