Senior fighters hail late-bloomer Bowen

BASKING IN the joy of his first international gold medal, won in Brisbane, Australia at last month’s International Sports Kickboxing Association’s Amateur Members Association (ISKA AMA) World Championships, 23-year-old martial artist Sharic Bowen’s determination has drawn praises from senior teammate Nicholas Dusard and coach Jason McKay.

“Winning my first ISKA gold, I have delivered on my promise. I feel like my hard work finally paid off. I fought Australia and won by the mercy rule, going up by 15 points, after which the fight was stopped,” Bowen pointed out.

Prior to Brisbane, Bowen, a former McKay Security Jamaica Taekwondo High School League fighter, had attended the US Open as a junior fighter every year since 2015, barring 2020-22 and 2024.

“I have no gold medal from the US Open. As a junior, I won three silver and two bronze. As a senior, before Brisbane, I had won a bronze,” Bowen said, referring to Vienna 2024, his first ISKA AMA World Championships.

Bowen’s hard work has not escaped the eyes of top-notch fighter Dusard and McKay, founder and coach of Jamaica’s combined martial arts team.

“Sharic’s journey to being a world champion is a lesson in determination that other young men should learn from,” said McKay, who also mentored Dusard, Jamaica’s youngest-ever senior International Taekwondo Federation Pan-Am gold medallist at age 18.

“Sharic is special to me,” said Dusard. “When he started as a white belt, I was his first instructor. It was a proud moment seeing him win a world title at the same tournament at which I was fighting, noted Dusard, who won semi-contact gold and light-contact silver (-75kg) in Brisbane.

Bowen also won gold in semi-contact (-143lb), beating an American for the title. Though he lost to an Australian in light-contact semi-finals, leaving Australia with a gold and bronze medal was fulfilling for the former Jamaica College fighter, who has described himself as “a late bloomer”.

“Training paid off. I have a better understanding of ISKA AMA. I knew how to train, so that played a large part,” said Bowen, who carried an injury from semi-contact into his light-contact bout, which had to be stopped.

“After points-sparring, I came off the mat with my ankle swollen like a ball. The medics did everything to get me in but it affected me throughout,” Bowen revealed.