Esterhazy boxer breaks world record, helps battle bullying

Through blood, sweat and lots of smiles, a young Esterhazy boxer has broken a world record.

Zach Gehl, 19, sparred for 150 straight rounds on Aug. 29. That’s 10 hours.

It was a feat of endurance that took a lot of preparation.

“Most of my training was (punching) bag work, hundreds of rounds. I also did hundreds of miles of running,” Gehl said.

The idea first came to him when the COVID-19 lockdown cancelled all of the events and fights he had scheduled.

“I’m always competing. Basically every month I have some sort of competition. So I needed to have a goal,” he explained.

After some thought, he decided to pull off the sparring session with two goals in mind: Break the record, and raise money for a good cause.

He asked for donations to pay for martial arts lessons at his gym, the Yorkton Martial Arts Training Centre, for kids who have struggled with bullying.

It was a success: The community donated nearly $3,000, enough to pay for more than 130 classes.

For Gehl, it helped out with two causes that are very personal.

“The goal was to help support my coach, because he was shut down with COVID. (When it comes to) getting the classes for bullied kids … that’s how I started. I was being bullied and I thought martial arts would be good for confidence, so I thought it would be great to help kids get the same thing that I did,” he said.

Mike Forster, the master instructor at the Yorkton Martial Arts Training Centre, is proud to have been a part of Gehl’s performance.

Forster was humble when asked about Gehl’s training.

“If I had a whole class full of Zachs, I wouldn’t have to work at all,” Forster said with a laugh.

He appreciates the financial help, but he’s just as passionate as Gehl when it comes to the issue of bullying.

“Most kids that get into martial arts have been bullied,” Forster said. “It’s nice that he used this to help kids get into it, so they can hopefully stand up for themselves and use martial arts as it is intended.”

The entire session was livestreamed online. You can see it here.