Fighting alongside Carlsbad Kickboxing Club’s David Delapaz, Arthur Johnson makes his big return to the ring this weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC, during the 9th Annual IKF East Coast Fall Muay Thai Kickboxing Classic. His division, B-Class OPEN Belt Award, takes place this Sunday.

Arthur grew up in Chicago and started training in muay thai during his senior year of high school after he was done playing football. “I needed another outlet to keep me in shape.”

As it turns out, he just happened to love the sport. “Honestly I think I’m addicted to the never-ending process of learning and mastering different techniques and helping other people on their journey.”
While he has only been training for about seven years, his passion and determination exhibited in the ring would have you believe he has been training since childhood.

Arthur left the sport for about a year and four months when he found out he was having his son but he knew that wasn’t the end of his journey. “I knew I never was leaving for good but I had other things to focus. I wanted to make sure my son was born, and doing well, so that I could fully dive back into the sport.”

And the time off served him well—at least mentally. “Training almost every day for 7 years will take a toll on anyone,” he explained. “My body was there in the best shape but towards the end my mind wasn’t.” During the time off, he was able to find himself and now, the war, he says, is with getting his body not just back to where it was, but better.

“I am training hard, but know when to give my body a rest will get me a farther distance in the long run,” he says. “I want to dominate everyone I step in front of from here on out. The only thing that can stop that is me.”

As for coming back to his home, CKC? He says it is more than just a gym. “I love that Carlsbad Kickboxing Club loves me,” he says. “Everyone there wants nothing but the best for me and vice versa.”