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Coaches
Bios
Mark "Shah" Evans
Owner of The BLAST, Mark "ShaH" Evans has been boxing for over 20 years and a student of Muay Thai at The BLAST for 10 years. His hard work, determination, and training led him to return to the ring after suffering a severe injury that almost kept him from walking. ShaH is the Phase 1 Instructor and Head Boxing, MMA, and Muay Thai coach!
Herma Hoda
​Lead Instructor, Herma Hoda has been training Muay Thai at The BLAST since 2010 and received his black sash in August 2015. He spent the next 6 months training with another black sash candidate and then competed in the Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority's annual tournament in 2016. Herma has been a phase 2 instructor since 2016. His other martial arts credentials include earning a blue belt in Judo in 1997. Outside of the gym, he works in the biomedical engineering field.
Abby Lex Evans
​Abby Lex started her Muay Thai journey in 2017 while living in Thailand. When she moved to Madison in 2019, The BLAST was the first Muay Thai gym she visited and it’s been a huge part of her life ever since. She currently has a fight record of 2-1 and is excited to use that experience to serve as one of the gym’s assistant coaches while continuing to learn and improve her own martial arts practice.
Brett Ritz
Grappling instructor Brett Ritz began his martial arts journey when he was 10 years old at a karate kickboxing club in San Antonio Texas. He started training in the grappling art of Judo in 2002, and transitioned into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in 2005. Brett earned his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt from Cristiano Ribeiro in 2020. He currently trains Muay Thai at the Blast and teaches their submission grappling classes.
Brett was in the U.S. Army from 1990-1998 and served in the 101st Air Assault Division and the 2nd Infantry Division. In addition to his martial arts and military experience Brett has a Masters degree in Criminal Justice and undergraduate degrees in Anthropology & Nursing.