Senior Kru and Owner - Kelly Westerlund 

Note: Kru means teacher in Thai

Kelly has  trained over 17 years in Muay Thai Kickboxing with the majority of that under his former instructor Arthur Pereira, who spent his life dedicated to the art of Muay Thai and was a true inspiration to Kelly. Kelly continued his training at various other Muay Thai gyms in Winnipeg before starting his own club in 2006.

In November of 2006, Kelly traveled to Thailand to achieve his certification as Senior Muay Thai Instructor. Kelly trained intensively for 3 months at the Muay Thai Institute of Thailand (MTI) and the World Muay Thai Council Camp in Koh Samui. Kelly attained his designation in Thailand as a ‘Senior Kru’ on December 15, 2006 with a score of 72% (for reference, the highest score ever achieved at the MTI was 84%). This prestigious title designates Kelly as an accredited Professional Muay Thai instructor, legally recognized by the Department of Education and the Sports Authority of Thailand (the offices that certify and authorize Thai Boxing in Thailand). Kelly Westerlund is one of approximately 15 people in Canada who has achieved this official recognition.

December 15, 2006, Thailand - Kelly receives certification as Senior Instructor from Master Amnauy (400 professional Muay Thai fights and founder of the MuayThai Institute in Thailand).

Assistant Instructor - Joscelyn Bailey

Joscelyn teaches Advanced Muay Thai in our Level 2 classes. He has been training at Kwest since fall 2008 under Kru Kelly Westerlund, but began his training in Muay Thai and Kickboxing in the spring of 2005 under the tutelage of Kru Steve Witter (IKF - North American Full Contact Champion, KICK - North American Low kick Champion) in Ontario. Joscelyn has competed in amateur competition and has experience training fighters. He has a keen interest in Muay Thai and excellent Muay Thai skills. Joscelyn is a biogeochemistry PHD student at the University of Manitoba and is also certified in First Aid.

Assistant Instructor - Scott Finn

Scott is a trainer and competitor for Kwest Kickboxing, teaching Conditioning Muay Thai in our Level 1 classes and competing in amauteur MuayThai fights. He has been training at Kwest since 2006 under Kru Kelly Westerlund and has years of previous experience in Judo. Scott is currently a Masters student at the University of Winnipeg working in molecular genetics.

Assistant Instructor - Grant Rutherford

Grant Rutherford has been training with Kwest Muay Thai under the tutelage of Kru Kelly Westerlund since January 2008 and has an extensive and varied background in martial arts training. Grant's passion for martial arts began at age 9 with Kuk Sool Won instructed by Serge Turcotte out of Thompson, Manitoba. Since then, Grant has had the opportunity to study many different martial arts and expanded his martial arts knowledge by studying grappling and ground fighting through Hapkido and Judo training. He has also being trained in traditional techniques from Yu Shin Do and Wing Chun Do, to Kuk Sool Won; as well as testing and expanding his competitive nature through several 'OSK' provincial tournaments. With his diverse martial arts experience, Grant taught for several years at the "Thompson Martial Arts Club" and has won several provincial titles.  

Assistant Instructor - Lindsey Hawkes

Lindsey (right, with UFC fighter Forrest Griffin) is a top notch trainer with a degree in Kinesiology who is currently teaching the boxing course at Kwest and will be leading the MMA course in 2011.

Lindsey Hawkes has proven coaching methods and brings a level of professionalism and skill to his classes that many students seek. Currently an active pro MMA fighter, Lindsey is in tune with what it takes to get in shape and understands that hard work is the key to success.

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