IT’S not every day you have the opportunity to learn from the very best, but 16 members of local Jenko’s Muay Thai gym felt that rare excitement on Saturday afternoon.

Four-time Muay Thai world champion fighter Toby “The Weapon” Smith held a special two hour seminar on Saturday afternoon, offering hands-on and in-depth teachings for local fighters.

Trainer and gym owner Michael Jenkins said it was a thrilling experience for everyone involved, with Smith going through advanced techniques for grappling, stand-up clinching and sparring strategies which have taken the fighter to the top of the world.

“It was terrific, from the get-go he said he was going to throw a bunch of different stuff at us which was really cool; everybody learned a lot,” he said.

“The feedback from everyone was amazing, I was a little bit anxious because you never know with some really big name people, sometimes being a really good fighter doesn’t mean they’re a great trainer, but this was one of the best seminars I’ve ever done.

“It was very physical, very constant and he had great energy which was infectious.

“He was really inclusive for people of different abilities and different fitness levels, everybody was just buzzing at the end.”

Smith was in Albury on Saturday morning hosting a separate seminar and helping a local fighter, Noah Hamilton, prepare for their first pro fight.

Seminar spots quickly filled out before organiser Ben Hamilton could save room for mate Jenkins and his class.

But in good faith, Hamilton offered to see if Smith would travel to Wangaratta and host a separate seminar for Jenkins and his keen gym participants, which he was happy to do.

Learning the sport from his father’s gym in Perth, Smith took his career to the next level by moving to the sport’s heartland in Thailand, where the 30-year-old became famous for his relentless, pressure based style which has led to an impressive 61-8-1 career record with 26 knockouts.

Jenkins said it was a privilege to host Smith at the gym and an excellent initiative in growing the sport through “The Weapon’s” masterclass.

“It’s one of those things which is really inspirational for guys to be able to have that experience, to train with someone who is world-class in that sport and seeing how they put things together, how smoothly they move and their strategies,” he said.

“Grappling is not my strong suit so it was good to have someone come in and be able to open so many doors and different ways of approaching it and being effective in it.

“Even afterwards, most people stuck around for another hour just talking about their highlights, what they enjoyed and took away from it, so it was a really invaluable experience.”