Spinning elbow to a superman punch down to a flying knee. This sequence may sound like a foreign language, but to sophomore Ron King III this is second nature.
King is flying to Italy later this year to fight in the World Kickboxing Association Championship, an event that brings fighters from around the world to compete at the amateur and professional level. As you can assume, this is a big deal for King.
“It’s a gateway to the worldwide stage. I get exposure and experience for when I go pro. I’m going to be traveling around the world so I need to get used to it,” said King.
King will be fighting the best of the best from around the world, but he says he is ready.
“I’ll be fighting guys around the world. Like Ireland and Australia. Everywhere,” said King.
King will be traveling to Italy with his father and his coach Mark Deluca. King’s dream is to go professional much like his coach, Mark Deluca.  He works with him at Yamasaki academy of Woodbridge. King has put in a lot of time each week to get ready for this competition.
“I come an hour early to train, get my work in. Then I go to regular class and cool down,” said King.
His “cool down” consists of hitting pads and heavy bags, sparing for 5-10 rounds, and working on technique and fundamentals. King frequents various gyms in Springfield and Fairfax.  The training at these gyms is rigorous, but also helps him prepare for wrestling at WS.
King uses his experience at the kickboxing for wrestling. Though Kickboxing, and more specifically Muay Thai, which doesn’t involve take downs and grappling, King still feels his training can prepare him for the winter.
“[Training] helps me stay in shape and I get used to contact. I won’t get shocked when I get hit,” said King.
King will be taking his fighting skills from the small gyms around WS to an international spotlight with thousands of fans. King is ready to make WS proud.
But, the real question here is, what kind of nickname do you give to a name like Ron King III?
“Most of my wrestling friends call me RK3, so I’ll go with that one.”