MOUNT FOREST – It’s finally coming time for “the beast” to feed.
Dave Reeves is a master taekwondo fighter out of Mount Forest, and at 50 years old, he’s at last representing Canada on the world stage.
Reeves’ age matters. Not just because the fifth-degree black belt is in his prime when most his age are thinking of slowing down, but because this moment is 33 years in the making.
“I’ve had people in my ear all my life telling me I’m too old,” Reeves told the Advertiser.
Reeves was 17 when he began dreaming of representing Canada at the world-level in taekwondo – a Korean martial art that translates to “the way of the foot and fist.”
“Here I am, at 50, finally getting that shot,” Reeves said, speaking by phone from Toronto Pearson Airport on Nov. 20.
By the time this story reaches readers, Reeves will have completed the 13-hour flight over Europe and the Middle East to the United Arab Emirates, weighed in, Facetimed with his family in Wellington County and spent the past week training.
Reeves is set for his first couple fights at the WAKO World Championships on Nov. 26. The event features over 2,000 competitors from 150 nations, including 80 from Canada.
Depending on how qualifiers go, Reeves will be up against any 10 fighters from across the globe in the master’s division semi-finals and final on Nov. 27-28.
Fighting on foam tatami mats, opponents will land punches and kicks above the waist.
Reeves has wrestled and trained in close-combat jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai martial arts, and had coached young fighters. He’s also a third-degree black belt in the Korean striking and grappling martial art of Hapkido.
But it’s his mastery of kickboxing – his “bread and butter” – that will be tested in Abu Dhabi this week.
Mount Forest taekwondo fighter Dave Reeves is competing at the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations’ World Championships from Nov. 21 to 30. Photo by Jr Walker Photography
Reeves’ early years were marked by his parents’ rocky divorce; a child of a single mother, he grew up feeling rejected by his father.
He was sexually molested as a child, and felt guilty and responsible for the abuse.
It’s a mere sentence in this story, but Reeves said that fact, closely guarded for much of his life, has been a “driving force” behind why he trains and fights – a decades-long form of “mental release.”
In 2004, at 29, Reeves sat over a pizza with tears in his eyes watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games in Athens.
Instead of being in Greece, a Canadian flag draped over his shoulders taking on the world’s elite, he was alone in a Sault Ste. Marie hotel room, working as travelling rep for a sports medicine company.
“I was just watching that thinking, ‘I missed my shot,’” Reeves recalled.
A few years later, he opened the doors to Rise Combat and Fitness, a scrappy little gym in Mount Forest with a reputation in fighting circles.
It’s also where he would meet the woman who, 15 years ago, became his wife.
“The first time I ever watched the fights, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, why would anybody sign up for that? Why would you want to be punched in the face and be okay with it?’” Kelly Reeves said.
Now, she’s the one screaming the loudest on fight nights.
A brain tumour prevents her from flying, but Kelly said she’ll still be screaming and cheering from afar.
“I’m really excited for him to actually be there and close out his journey in the biggest way possible — something he’s always dreamed of,” Kelly said.
“That woman has brought out the best in everything I do,” Reeves said. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”
Dave and Kelly Reeves. Submitted photo
Kelly has prepared Reeves’ meals, designed by her son, Ryan Seles, and cared for his body after punishing training sessions.
Dave’s son, Jamie Reeves, has been tempting his dad with food photos as he worked to cut his weight to the strict 185 pounds required for the fights.
“With every battle that we have to face, somehow it brings us closer,” Kelly said.
“It makes you understand each other from a different perspective and we just push through everything.”
Reeves spent much of last year in and out of Princess Margaret Hospital fighting throat cancer, but managed to bring home two bronze medals from the WAKO (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) Pan American championships in Chile.
Three days after surgery to remove the cancer, he was coaching kids at provincials.
“He didn’t slow down, he didn’t take time off, he didn’t miss training,” said Marc Beer, Reeves’ coach at Rise.
Now a year cancer free, Reeves has been training four to five times per day ahead of the world championships: high intensity cardio and intervals, 10 to 12 rounds of kicks and punches, 20 to 40 rounds on a bag, sparring with MMA fighters or kickboxers and mental acuity work.
Beer has been working on Reeves’ hand work to compliment already-powerful, quick kicks.
“His hands are starting to get up to the level of his legs, which makes him pretty dangerous,” Beer said.
Reeves can hold his own for 12 rounds with fighters half his age, Beer said, adding, “he’s ready.”
“There’s still some stuff in the basement,” Reeves said, repeating Sylvester Stallone’s line in Rocky Balboa.
“It’s time to release every bit of that beast that’s inside me, every piece of that inner turmoil, pent up aggression, frustration, everything else that I’ve put into my life,” Reeves continued.
“I’m planning on taking these guys to spin town and introducing them to a whole new world.”
Reeves has fought for a lifetime, and for his life, to represent Team Canada – he’s currently ranked 24th in the world – but come the weekend, a career with more than 150 fights and a long list of wins will be over.
“After this, I’m done,” Reeves said.
Victory or defeat, there will be no more “what ifs” for Reeves, the stuff in the basement sweated out and left on the mats in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m going to put everything I’ve got into it,” Reeves said. “It’s time for the beast to eat.”
