Yellowknife kickboxing coach selected to help lead Canada's national team

A kickboxing coach in Yellowknife has been selected to coach Canada's national team for the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations.

John Stanley will be one of four coaches starting in January 2022. Stanley has been involved in combat sports since he was 15 years old starting with boxing and then Taekwondo.

He's been coaching kickboxing for the last 11 years at his gym Stanley Boxing and Fitness. He says his work as a boxing coach and his track record of nine championships might have helped him get the job.

"They saw that my guys had really good hand skills because originally my background was boxing," he said.

"And if you look at the international scene, kick boxers that had good hand skills, they were the ones that were dominating."

He's also hoping this can help N.W.T. kickboxers elevate their game on the world scene. With access to training, education and other coaches, he says this can benefit both him and the North.

"To just put the Northwest Territories on the map for kickboxing … is going to be what really makes me pumped about the whole situation."