Sean Kearney is living the dream. Having moved from Vancouver to Thailand, the Canadian has been fighting, living, and traing out of Sor Sumalee in Ubon Ratchatani in Isaan the rural northwest portion of Thailand. Having just fought for Max fight, Thai Fight, and an 8 man tournament in Laos Kearny is slated to take his dream further in his match up against Fabio Pinca, the experienced Frenchman out of Lyon France. Sean took some time out of his training to talk to me about Isaan, his fighting and his upcoming bout on Lion Fight 19 on November 21^st, 2014 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

How did you start get you started with Muay Thai?

I had my first fight when I was 17 and I started out when I was about 15. I wasn’t serious until I started to fight. I’d gotten into knowing that I wanted to fight and then when the first fight came I became serious. I was training at Master Song’s gym, a Laotian trainer in Vancouver. I had seen one of Song’s professional fighters at a gym ripping up the bag, Esh! Esh! Esh! “Woah,” I said. “What is this?” I asked the fighter where he was training at and I followed him.

How did you get to Isaan?

I was training out of 13 Coins at the time. I stayed there for four months and I had five fights. Anyways Lamnamoon’s boss from Australia, Lamnamoon had been to the country for a couple of stints to teach, came through 13 Coins. I ended up talking to the boss and he said “Hey if you ever want to head up to Isaan there’s Lamnamoon and I think they will take care of you.” 13 Coins wasn’t the best place to learn at the time for me. I ended up going to a few different gyms and then went to Lamnamoon and I’ve been there ever since.

When did you initially go out to 13 Coins?

It was January… 2008. Saenchai was there. It was the old gym. It was just one ring. All the bags were out in the open and there was this sandpaper that you trained on.

What do you like about being out in Isaan?

All the other gyms that I’ve been at never really molded me as a fighter or as a person. I was just kicking pads and fighting. Going out to Isaan I ‘ve learned so much so quickly. There’s a real family atmosphere and when I was first out there it was super cheap. I was pretty broke. I was 18 and hurting in terms of money. I was in the ring all the time and was able to pay my fees fighting. I was taking bouts about twice a month.

Were you staying at the camp?

When I was first out there I was staying at the camp. Later on I stayed with Lamnamoon as at his house he has six apartments that are attached to the building. He was renting them out to college students and then he had one of them free up. I still sleep at the gym during the day but at nighttime I go back there.

How would you describe the camp?

Sor Sumalee is closed now so we’ve been going to train at Kiatpatarapan for the past five months or so. The gym is ghetto. There’s a ring with bags surrounding by essentially shacks. Around there are rice fields. In the morning when we run there are buffalo and cows in the middle of the road. There are rubber trees. We run through basically the small village and farms.

Are you the only foreigner in Town?

No. Ole Larsen has a gym in Ubon. Though all the serious fighters either come to Lamnamoon or Neungtrakan Por Muangubon who brings his students to Kiatpatarapan. A lot of people come but not a lot of people stay. I don’t think a lot of people can cut it. I think because the training is hard. If you’re not headfirst into Muay Thai and you’re into other things it’s harder. From what I’ve seen some people either love it or they just can’t do it.

How is the training different from 13 Coins and some of the other gyms you’ve been to?

There are more teachers at Sor Sumalee. The gym just clicks for me. I’ve found a teacher who I connect well with and someone who is managing me the right way, getting me good fights which is important for a career.

Is there a style you like to emulate when you fight?

I like to fight like Lamnamoon. I like to walk forward and knee. I’m trying to box and elbow more, which I’ve been finding out opens the body more.

Lamnamoon is in the white agains Lippet in the blue

What was your recent Max Muay Thai fight like?

I fought Sangpet Kiatpetnoi. He’s fought at Lumpinee at 147lbs handful of times. He’s fought for Max Muay Thai a few times. The first round was cagey. He was kicking well and in the second round I started to push forward with long knees. We had some good kick exchanges then I hit him with a left hand right on the nose. He started leaking blood out of his nose. I could feel him starting to fade. In the third round I came out like hell, kneeing, kneeing, kneeing. I dropped him with one to the body and then he got back up and turned away. I caught him with an elbow and he didn’t get back up. I basically wore him down.

How was your recent 8 Man Tournament experience?

The Kokiet group does a show every two months at an American owned casino in Laos. It was at a higher weight for me as I normally fight at 65 or 67kg. The tournament was at 70 kg. There were a few foreigners like myself in there. It was South East Asia versus foreigners; the competition wasn’t as stiff as I’m used to although there were good guys in the tournament. All the bouts were three rounds. It was different because you can’t get too high or two low after a bout because you have to get in the ring again. It was almost like having longer breaks between rounds. I basically had three fights in a couple of hours. I love to fight and getting to fight three times in one nights was awesome. I wanted the bouts.

The first fight I got touched with an elbow so I had a welt on my temple. In the last bout my opponent was pretty tired. I’d gotten two stoppages already, as that was the plan. Lamnamoon told me to knock my opponents out early that way I could rest.

In addition to the Max Muay Thai bout and the 8 man tournament you also did participated in Thai Fight under Kaard Cheuk rules using bound hand wraps instead of gloves. What was that like?

The kaard chuek fight was awesome and it was so much fun to try something new.  Offensively there wasn’t anything different but defensively, because you have no gloves you cant block as well, we had some different tactics.  The fight was amazing and it was so much fun to fight Iquzang in front of so many people and take a convincing win.

How are you feeling about your match up with Pinca? He’s had more fights than you and on an a solid international level, What makes you feel qualified to be fighting him?

My last few fights I’ve fought guys that are on his level although he’s probably 50 or 60 of the same caliber guys. I’ve put on a good show lately and I just want to test myself against the best.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a fighter?

I’m still growing a lot. In another two more years I think I’ll be peaking. Right now I’m able to get in there with whomever though. My energy is really good and my boxing is getting better. I can clinch like a champ. I’m also working on a lot of stuff that will hopefully show in the fights.

You had some issues with your balance in your fight with Malapet a year ago on Push Kick promotions. He was throwing you and putting you off balance. How are things different now?

I wasn’t training with top level Thais at the time. Now if you watch my fight with Iquezang he was trying to do the exact same thing as Malapet without any luck. I’ve gotten way better and stronger. If I fought Malapet again it would be a different story.

What is the different about the Isaan world of Muay Thai?

The Isaan world it’s just pro fighters. The kids are fighting every week. In Bangkok the fights are only there because of gambling and in Isaan it’s the same way. In Isaan the main event will be two mid level Lumpinee fighters but there’s all the kids learning. It’s more like high school for a Muay Thai fighter. Bangkok, Lumpini, and Rajadamnern are more like university. Most of my career has been in Thailand, at least 25 or 30 of my fights have been in Thailand. I’ve fought about 15 times in North America. In North America the attitude towards fighting is very different. You win, you lose, it doesn’t matter in Thailand. You’re going to fight again in three weeks. It’s not the end of the world. You get sick and pull out? Whatever you’re fighting again soon anyways. If you pull out of a fight in North America you’re not going to fight again for six months.

How do you support yourself financially?

I mainly fight on the bigger shows in Thailand now and I’m able to make enough money. Like regular Thai fighters I give 50% of my winnings to the gym for my rent, food and training. For Thai Fight you get about 50,000 baht. My boss gets half and I get half which is pretty good for Isaan. I get about $1000 per fight for myself. My only expense if I want to get coffee or get foreign food. It’s the only way I can live, train and fight full time.

What’s your plan for the future?

I will stay in Thailand. I love it out there and I love fighting so much. I can’t deal with fighting three times a year out here in Canada and dealing with bullshit with promoters and fighters pulling out. If I was to stay here in Canada I would retire from fighting. Fighters like Pinca are slowing down more and I think when I am his age I’ll probably consider settling down somewhere else. I think I’ll put in at least another year and then evaluate where I am at.

Where do you see Muay Thai in Thailand and internationally going?

It’s tough to say. The pool of fighters at Lumpini and Rajadamnern seems to be getting smaller. Muay Thai in Thailand, however, is alive and well. The shows like Thai Fight are on Saturday night on Channel 3 and everyone watches it. Muay Thai will never get MMA or Boxing big.

The post Living the dream with Sean Sor Sumalee Kearney appeared first on My Muay Thai.

David Huerta, The Golden Branch of Los Angeles, is a man about town. Having grown up in the city of Angels he’s been a fighter, promoter, and a coach at Robot Fight & Fitness. He’s also trained and fought some of the best featherweight fighters on the west coast, Eric Luna and Jason Andrada, to name a few. He’s taking on Anthony  Perales at the WCK event on December 4^th. I got a chance to talk to the east L.A. native about promoting, fighting, and loyalty.

How did you get into Muay Thai?

I was always into boxing when I was a kid. I’d tried karate when I was in junior high and did a couple competitions and fights but I didn’t really like karate that much. I wanted to be a boxer. I got into MMA in high school and soon after I graduated I learned about Pride, the fighting organization. During the events I kept hearing “Muay Thai! Muay!” I ended up moving down the street from a Muay Thai gym in east LA and I had to try it.  The first time I went in I fell in love with it. It had things that I loved, boxing and martial arts. I found a sport where I could kick and punch. I started with Jorge Zarate who I’ve been with since day one.

You’ve been with Team Zarate working out of the East L.A. Youth Center for over 11 years. Why have you chosen to stay with Zarate for so long?

I think I have everything I need with him. I’ve never felt like there’s something I’ve been missing. I’ve worked with a lot of trainers,  going to other gyms sparring there, or taking their classes but with Zarate I feel like he’s the whole package. He has a lot of knowledge and brings something different to the game. He was a boxer himself and trained under Montri Suppanich who acts as an adviser to him.  I train with Zarate four or five days a week with him and train at other gyms as supplement too.

We’ve always had a small team so we’ll go to other gyms to get our sparring in. When you spar with the same people you pretty much know their game, what works against them so we usually go to other gyms especially when we’re getting ready for fights.  I’ve never wanted to switch gyms though.

How do you feel when people chose other gyms, or gym hop? 

That’s a tough question. I’m fortunate enough to have found a trainer that knew the sport. Zarate did Muay Thai when it was under Full Contact Karate rules. He was fortunate enough to train with a Thai guy- Montri. I’ve been lucky to train with someone that knows the game. A lot of people go into the gym not knowing about it and don’t realize that their trainer isn’t a traditional Thai boxing instructor until several years later. It’s a waste of time. I’ve seen it myself. They don’t know how to check or throw a proper kick.  So for some people I think it’s good. They realize they’re not getting the instruction that they need.

I also see it the other way too. If you have a trainer that’s built you up and has helped you out throughout your career and you see another trainer that says they are gonna help you out so you switch… well I don’t really respect that. I think loyalty is important in this game.

What is training with Zarate and Montri like? How have they influenced you?

I’ve been with Coach for a long time. Zarate’s knowledge with the game is impressive and he knows the right words that trigger certain emotions from me. He knows me really well and we have a close relationship. He’s also very technical. He’s a perfectionist. If he sees any flaws he’s gonna correct it. We do a lot of different types of sparring. We spar against professional western boxers, MMA guys, and a lot of other Thai boxers.

As a coach I’ve learned to focus a lot of technique and repetition, which is something, that Zarate taught me. He also understands the game a lot, the mental aspect and how a fighter thinks. He has also taught me how to deal with promoters.

We come from a small gym and everyone in the gym is a fighter but at Robot where I coach I am teaching people that want to learn the sport but may never want to fight. I’ve had to switch styles and do a lot more drilling and cardio based activities. We still do a lot of the same things though; hit thai pads, spar, drill, and clinch. The usual Muay Thai training.

Montri became a huge influence over my fight career. I fought on one of his shows for Songkran and he taught me the wai khru. He took me under his wing and has taught me a lot about promoting. He’s the one that helped being out Sanchai, Kaoklai, Sakkadeo etc. Zarate trained under Montri in 1982. Montri started promoting in the mid 1970s and brought out a bunch of fighters including; Desielnoi, Kaosod, Narongnoi, Detphakong, Kitti Sor thanikul etc.

Montri also gave me my nickname, King Tong, which means “Golden Branch” in Thai. He named me after one of his favorite fighters, King Tong, a Muay Thai boxer in Thailand.

You’ve had some breaks in your career. What is it like having a long gap in between fights? 

My last fight was 9 months ago and the fight before that was about the same amount of time, May of 2013. On December 5^th 2010 I was fighting for an amateur title, against Mario Martinez, it was part of the undercard for Chaz Mulkey vs Joe Schilling and Malaipet vs Kevin Ross. For the fight I cut too much weight, I’d dehydrated myself, and I wasn’t able to rehydrate. I collapsed in the ring. It was a good fight and I was doing well. I looked on the scorecards later and I was winning. In the fourth round my body couldn’t take it anymore and I ended up collapsing. I lost the fight of course. My family and friends were scared about what happened. I came back after a couple weeks off and a rematch was supposed to happen but didn’t. I ended up taking a break from fighting. I focused on promoting. We did several MTA shows. I ended up taking about 3 years off and then fought Eric Luna on a M-One Grand show that was May of 2013. In the past 4 years I’ve had 3 fights. December 4^th when I fight on the WCK card will be an anniversary from when I had that accident. So I’m excited for this bout.

How does it feel seeing past opponent’s go on to success? Do you feel your career has been slow compared to other fighters such as Luna and Andrada? 

I’m excited for some of my past opponents. I expect them to do well. Luna has had two pro fights and I think he’s gonna have a great pro career. Jason started off his pro career doing really well. I think it’s good. In this sport, or at least for me, I end up being friends with the guys I’ve fought in the past. I think there’s a chance we’ll fight again in the future and I like that they’re doing well. I like that my past opponents are representing the U.S. well. There are a lot of new guys that are coming up though. When I see them I don’t think they really know what some of us have done. Some of these guys turn pro early and don’t know that some of the other pros have had a long amateur career. That bugs me sometimes but then again if they want to turn pro and think it’s their time well more power to them. I’m excited to come back and make a name for myself. Each fight I get closer to what I want to do and where I want to be.

How would you describe your fighting style? 

I have a traditional style. I also have good hands which some Thai boxers lack.

You’ve done a fair amount of promoting working with MTAA and M One. What was that like?

I loved promoting. Being able to bring fighters from other countries and having them fight on our shows was amazing. Helping with the match making, dealing with fighters and trainers was both great experience and negative one. I think there are a lot of things that go on that people don’t know. One of the major things that I saw is that there is no loyalty when it comes to promoting- if you can do something for me than great we are gonna use you but as soon as we get what we want we are gonna move on to the next person. That was something I didn’t like.

Fighting on the same show that I was helping to promote was too much. I was juggling too many things. I was working a full time job, I was training, working part time as a trainer, and helping promoting. It got a little too stressful. I lost focus on what I was trying to do. My time right now is as a fighter. I’ll have the opportunity to promote in the future.

Now that you coach how does coaching influence your fighting and vice versa?

Now that I have students I go back and review the things that I was having a hard time with technique being a major factor. There is also learning. I think teaching itself is an art – how to break down a move, and how to take the proper steps without skipping the fundamentals. A lot of times we want to teach fancy moves or get to the things that are more exciting but you have to learn how to crawl before you can walk. You have to be patient. Explaining moves to students helps me get a better grasp of what exactly we are trying to do.

As far as the fighting… I put pressure on myself. I have to perform well and students help motivate me. If my students and fighters are training hard, eating right, and pushing them I feel like I need to do the same thing or even more.

What do you look for in a fighter?

The number one thing is that they have to have heart. I think that with the drills and the type of teaching that we do they’ll learn the technique but I think the key factor is having heart.

I try to emulate what I look for by being pushing myself. My trainer tests me out as well. We have hard training sessions at the gym and when you feel like quitting my trainer pours it on even more. His job is to make our training sessions way harder than the fight. So when the fight comes around we’re ready for it.

How do you feel about your last bout against Adam Rothweiler?

I’ve grown a lot since my fight with Adam.  I’ve finally got rid of some of the rust from the long lay off, I feel sharp, and back like my old self. Im looking forward to showing that in my next fight.

I think it was a close fight but I think I edged out the victory. He was the aggressor but I landed more clean shots and frustrated him with my movement. I would be more aggressive in our next bout but again I think rust had a lot to play in my performance.

Where do you think the U.S. Muay Thai scene is going? How do you think Muay Thai boxers here in the States compare internationally?

The U.S has a lot of talented fighters and we are able to compete against the best. One of the main differences I see with our fighters and international fighters is the lack of opportunities to fight against world class competition. It’s rare when promoters bring top level fighters to compete in the U.S. The times that they have our fighters have matched up well against them. I think in the next few years America will be in the same conversation as Holland, France, Russia, etc as one of the top countries in Thai Boxing. It seems like our athletes are finally sticking to Muay Thai instead of losing them to other sports like boxing and MMA.

How long would you like to fight?

I want to fight as long as my body allows me to. I feel fresh still. I don’t take a lot of punishment in my fights as I have good defense so as long as my trainers say that I am still at a high level and still able to fight I don’t see myself quitting.

What would you like to accomplish?

I’d like to become a world champion and would like to fight whoever is in my way for that. I’d like to fight internationally and would like to fight any Americans that are in my weight class and move on from there. I want to do as much as I can while I can.

The post King Tong of L.A. – An Interview with David Huerta appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Andy doesn’t need much of an intro here in the UK… to our N. American MMT family, you may have seen him fight here an there in the States.  Andy who holds multiple world belts, used to fight out of the Bad Company gym in Leeds… notable stablemates include Liam Harrison & Jordan Watson.  Andy has now ventured out and is part of a the Black Widow Martial Arts Academy in Birmingham.

In this promotional piece Andy talks about commitment, sacrifice and  what it takes to be great.

The post Andy Howson appeared first on My Muay Thai.

When I think of Muay Thai and Oakland I think of Ra Karma. To me the owner and trainer of CMT Athletics personifies everything that is awesome about the East Bay. He’s smart, savvy, sassy, and tough as nails. I sat down with Ra and talked about training with Jongsanaan, what makes for a good trainer, and IFMA (International Federation of Muay Thai Amateurs) back in the day.

How did you get into Muay Thai?

I’d been doing Martial Arts off and on since I was five, mostly off during puberty because I found something better than Muay Thai – Women! In my young adult years I had a girlfriend and she was stressing me out. At the time I was a lifeguard for the city of Oakland, I’d taken the job just for some hours, at the YMCA. They had a cardio kickboxing class and I figured I’d try it out. It was actually a thinly veiled Muay Thai class. The instructor had us do some Tae Bo style stuff but at the end of class we would hit pads. One day the original trainer of the class, Cheetah, was there and he needed a little help. My mom was a dance teacher and so I knew the ropes of how to teach group classes and so I helped him out.

Cheetah was like “You think you wanna train for real?” I was like “whatever.” My girlfriend was stressing me out still and so I ended up going to King’s Boxing gym in East Oakland. I started training Muay Thai with him and boxing with the Excitement Crew. I just got into it. It was a good stress reliever. I’d wanted to get back into martial arts and one day, ironically, I said “It’d be cool if I found an Asian dude to take me under his wing.” It actually happened.

I got real enamored. It was like the 80s all over again. I was always watching fights and training. People around were confused, they didn’t know what I was doing. They all thought I was doing Tae Bo. Someone asked me if I wanted to fight and I said sure why not. I totally scraped the dude, I don’t remember his name just that he was some Latino dude. After I fought I was like, “This shit is cool, I get to do all this stuff and put it on someone else? Yeah!”

How did you end up with CMT?

I have been here since it started in 1996. In the beginning it was Team Bushido Kickboxing. I don’t know why it was called Bushido kickboxing. The name changed to Amsterdam Kickboxing because no one running the gym was Japanese. Then it was Cheetah Muay Thai and now it’s CMT Athletics. It’s been a work in progress. The gym has changed several times.

How did you get involved with Fairtex?

It was when Fairtex San Francisco was over on Clementina street. It was a little hole in wall. I went there for a few regular nighttime classes. Jongsanaan told me that he wanted to train me. So I got invited to the fighter class. The first day was uber ultra cool. When I left though my car was towed! I was like, “what the fuck?” I went back to Fairtex and they was like, “oh they probably towed it.” I went to the tow place and there were 10 other people that had just got their car towed.

Anyways it snowballed. I started doing every smoker that I could. There weren’t many at the time, mainly at Fairtex.

What was Jongsanaan like as a trainer?

I appreciate the way I was trained because it was old school. No coddling. They used to beat our ass. Which either makes or breaks it. I liked that Jongsanaan wasn’t all just theory too. He’d actually been through it. In that sense he was perfect. It was cool to say that I was trained by a living legend.

How did you make the decision to go professional? 

The Thai guys all the time were like, “Why you fight for no money!? Makes no sense!”

“I don’t know,” I told them.

“You fight for no money you stupid.”

“Oh what you talking about? They gonna kill me. You think I am good enough to go pro?”

“Fuck it. Do it. Fight for no money now you stupid.”

What was your experience in Thailand like? I know you fought at IFMA with Bryan Popejoy.

I was asked me if I wanted to fight at IFMA in Thailand. I said yes. It wasn’t very organized. We raised the money ourselves. My mom didn’t know why we weren’t on the news. I had to ask people for money and they’d always wonder why.

We went. We were like the bad news bears. We went to Fairtex Bangplee. I’d never been to Thailand, I’d traveled before but never to Bangkok. I got up in the morning and was looking around. Everyone else got their stuff together to train.

“What are you doing!? We just touched down,” I said. I didn’t wanna look like a lazy American though so I put on my shoes. We went running with a bunch of Thai kids that were running like it was for their rice! I ran and of course it was stereotypical, I’m black so I can run.

“Oh you really fast,” everyone said. I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to go fast.

I was thinking cool. We gonna do some sight seeing. Then everyone started to get they gear on.

Later that day we went to the actual event. All the other countries had coordinated outfits with their colors, a massage therapist, and a manager. Waa waa waaahh. We had nothing. I asked that a trainer go with us to the fights –NO!

“Can we get a mongkol and some Vaseline?”

“Go to the store and buy it.”

“Seriously?”

We bought the Fairtex shirt with the American flag on it then we bought pants at the FBT mall. We had uniforms but it was hella whack. HELLA WHACK!

We had to make weight every day and we were put up in five star hotel! I got sick of the food after a while though. I wanted pancakes, grits and eggs. We were in downtown Bangkok across the street from some gigantic brothel.

“What’s that?”

“Oh that for puk puk,” one Thai guy told me.

How was the tournament structured?

The tournament was set up into two classes, A and B Class. Stefan Fox he dismissed the U.S. saying, “Oh they in the B class.” I was mad but then later I was in the sauna with some guys from the middle east and they talking about how many fights they had – fifty or sixty. I’m not saying I’m a bitch, but logic dictates that I don’t need to fight someone with fifty or sixty fights. Come tournament time I fought a dude from the Filipinos. I blew him out of the water. It was the second time I’d been able to elbow so I went elbow crazy.

Then I’ll never forget they dragged me up in front of some General, Stefan Fox and a bunch of people and they wanted me in A class. It was an honor but I didn’t come halfway around the world to get my ass beat. I wasn’t getting paid. I just wanted to get some experience.

What did you like and dislike about fighting?

It was a miniscule amount of glory but I liked the work and the end result. For a fight you can get real world feedback. If you didn’t train properly you was gonna see. It was tangible. Win or lose you you accomplished something. At least I don’t it.

What are some of the differences between when you started Muay Thai and now?

Accessibility. Now you can look at the Internet and get fights. A person who’d watch “Kickboxer” a couple times could say they did Muay Thai. Shit when I started you couldn’t see no good fights.

I think the advent of MMA has helped Muay Thai because you get to see some Muay Thai technique so it’s more exposed.

What do you think makes for a good trainer?

Just like for fights different styles make for good trainers. One person that says this person is a good trainer another would say isn’t a good trainer. Across the board is someone that is able to adapt to each different situation. You gotta stay pliable cuz each each person is different. Also the things in the past you might have been able to do as a trainer aren’t as “PC” now. At one point you’d just be able to beat yo students ass and they’d come back “Yaaaayyy!!” Now you can’t really beat people up anymore. Now you gotta be nice to people. The Thai guys that I trained with only told me I did good once. It was my most boring fight. They said, “You win, you lose, it doesn’t matter. You do what I say.”

What are some of the biggest stumbling blocks in the learning process for fighters?

Them. The journey is the destination. The biggest stumbling block for anyone learning anything is the lack of openness. Just to be able to inundate yourself.. I always use myself as an example and when I tried to get better at Muay Thai I did two things; I looked at a lot of videos, I listened, I inundated myself and I showed other people stuff. Teaching other people stuff helps you realize your own mistakes. I think a lot of people have problems because they being pig headed.

When you work a corner what do you say to your fighter? How do you go about working a corner?

Working a corner is interesting. I’ve worked a lot of corners for Muay Thai, boxing, and MMA. Like training it’s all-unique. You can be in a corner with someone and they are totally zen like. They are there. You say something and they do it. Or you can be in the corner with someone and it’s a total cluster fuck. They don’t know what’s going on. They just on auto pilot. In that situation I’m just trying to bring them back to the moment. A fight is culminations of minutes put together to make each round and all you’re trying to do is make it through each round. You also trying to win but sometimes you just trying to get someone to survive. One time I had a fighter that couldn’t calm down he just kept saying “Get me through this, get me through this.”

A good corner helps you out and sees things that you can’t see in the ring. A corner is an integral part of the fight although you can be experienced enough that your corner is just there to put Vaseline on your face and water in your mouth. I’ve seen that. I’ve had fights that are just that easy.

When you train people what do you like to do?

I like to have regular drills. The thing about fighting is that you need repetition til it becomes second nature. You do something so much that when you actual fight it happens without thinking. But also each person is unique. Everyone has a different body. A tall guy I’m gonna have him using his length. A short guy I’m gonna have him try to get in. Both I’ll have taught fundamentals though- how to jab, how to kick, knee, elbow. Each one of them should each have their own special move like a superhero. I always say to people you need to have a go to move that will yield the highest dividends. It may not be pretty. At the end of the day if you can’t knock out your opponent the next thing you gotta do is win. If that’s by points so be it.

What are some of the unseen difficulties of running a gym?

It’s always something. You have to wear a lot of hats. Being a trainer you’re like a drill sergeant, parent, and a therapist at once. As a manager you’re a fix it man, janitor and a book keeper. You gotta have on the right hat for each situation. You might have your fix it hat on when you actually need to have your nurturing hat on.

Who are some of your favorite fighters?

I watch fights sometimes now. I like people’s styles, win or lose. So Connor McGreggor for the UFC. The dude is dope. His whole demeanor is comical. Rob Kaman. I liked him because he was totally intelligent. He had a lot of styles. He could do the slow Muay Thai methodical plot forward or he could get on the ball of his feet and do boxing. I liked Danny Bill. What can you not say Danny Bill? For Thai guys Jongsanaan. Even though his style was plod forward, typical Thai style. As he got older he baited people in. Coban. For boxing, Joe Frasier. He didn’t have the prettiest style but his left hook. Also Floyd Mayweather. Everyone hates Floyd but look at who he fought and on the flip side he a true business man.

The post Straight out of Oakland – An interview with Ra Karma Young appeared first on My Muay Thai.

I first heard about Daniel McGowan after his trainer Liam Robinson passed away. McGowan went on to fight on a Yokkao show and slaughtered Nestor Rodriguez. McGowan was then recruited by Petchyindee gym in Thailand to fight for them. He said yes and now the young Englishman is in Thailand training with top talent. He’s had one fight thus far in Thailand under his new contract and it looks like he might have a promising future ahead of him. We’ll see what happens. Thanks for the great interview Muay Ties 

The post Interview with Daniel McGowan appeared first on My Muay Thai.

I haven’t written about MMT friend JWP in quite some time, he appears to be doing quite well with his caged muay thai shows.  For those of you new to our sport, John Wayne Parr is trail blazer, and Muay Thai Champion with a slew of titles.  He was training and fighting in Thailand in the mid 90’s, (won the kings cup in ’99), and has done a great deal to promote our sport, internationally.

He’s just released his documentary “Blessed with Venon” to youtube.  It was made back in 2011, good watch and inspirational!

In this documentary, he takes us back to the beginning of his training…It’s interesting… training in Thailand is such a big business.  It’s hard to imagine a time, when you needed a introduction to train at a camp…

The post John Wayne Parr – Blessed With Venom appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Happy Friday and welcome to our second instalment of MyMuayThai Pad Porn.  Today’s clip comes from the Bad Company Gym in Leeds, England.  It’s non-other then Jordan Watson, working with his trainer Richard Smith.  Jordan has been with Richard since he was 6 (21 years).  That’s a hell of a long time.

Jordan had his first full rule thai bout, when he was 11 years old in Korat, Thailand!  Jordan recalls, “I came back after the first round and said to Richard, ‘that boy hitting me in the face and the ref isn’t stopping him…’ He said, ‘It’s full thai that’s why!’ I was celebrating in round 3 then I came back to corner and he said ‘what you doing you got 2 more!’

‘I also started my wai kru during the national anthem… it couldn’t have gone any worse’”

I believe we are catching them in his 3 or 4th round.  He’s about a month away from his bout with Sandy Dahlbeck at Yokkao 12 in Manchester, England.

We’ve also got a couple of mins of play in the video, this is the tame session, apparently in a later session Jordan managed to get his fake teeth knocked out!

One of the things I love about this clip is it’s simplicity.  I often see with people who call out a bunch of shit.  5 or 6 punch and kick combos…  keep it simple, straight forward. This round is an example of  clean, straight forward basics.

Anyway, happy training!

Many Thanks to Jenni Whiteley for the shots!

The post Jordan Watson – Pad Porn appeared first on My Muay Thai.

I don’t actively follow Joe Rogan and his pod cast, I know of it but since I’m not really ever watching UFC or MMA,  I guess I never really got into it.  Maybe I’m incorrectly lumped him into that category.  Anyway, his got the gun slinger on and it’s a pretty interesting chat that they are having.  As you can see it’s a long chat… I don’t even like sitting through movies for this long, but it’s interesting to me.  They talk about a lot of stuff so, I’ve made some footnotes if you want to jump around a bit.

29:00 Clinching – The importance of Clinching

52:00 $30 for JWP’s first fight in Thailand

1:04  Ramon Deckers, a tribute to the man

1:09 Kru- the meaning behind it, and how it’s thrown around in america

1:23 wai kru- the importance

1:25 Betting- how it works

1:34 old school discipline- 6th round, gym beatings

1:37 Gambling

1:44 Mob

1:50 cunnilingus – yup…

2:04 Peter Aerts & Cro Cop

2:07 Buakaw and Yod

2:28 Josh Barnett – Killing his confidence before a major fight

The post Joe Rogan Experience – John Wayne Parr appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Kevin had one hand wrap on. He stood arms akimbo in Muay Thai shorts and a t shirt. He raised his wrapped hand. I wasn’t sure if he was ready to fight me or run with me.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry, traffic.”

I moved towards the bathroom to change into my running shorts and sneakers. Ross’ coach, Kirian Fitzgibbons, walked by and took a sip of water from his bottle. His hat had the gym’s logo on it, CSA, and the sinking bill almost touched his wire framed glasses. He wore Muay Thai shorts, a t-shirt with his gym’s logo emblazed on it, and white and blue sneakers, the uniform of a western Muay Thai trainer.

“How’s it going Kirian?”

“Good. Busy.”

“You’re living the dream.”

I wasn’t sure if Kirian heard me as he moved into the large back area of Combat Sports Academy where its equally substantial cross fit program takes place. The entryway of the 15,000 square foot facility where Ross and I stood faced Dublin boulevard and contains a ring, a raised MMA cage, a matted area for wrestling, a separate area for bag work and several treadmills. Pictures of Ross decorate the walls, his famous picture- bent down, his knuckles exposed showing his “Muay Thai” tattoo running along his fingers, his bloodied face after a bout, his portrait with a list of his achievements; Super Light weight WBC international champion, Welterweight WBC USA National Champion, FIDAM welterweight champion of Mexico, the United States Muay Thai federation welterweight champion… 

Kevin looked at me with feigned annoyance. The drive from my home in Oakland to Dublin, one of California’s fastest growing cities, took me longer than I expected. His irritation was betrayed by his close cut brown hair which gave him a boyish look despite his 34 years.

“It’s not like I have things to do today.”

I put on my shoes and followed Kevin’s sarcasm out the door.

It was 29 days until his rematch with Tetsuya Yamato. Their first bout on September 30^th 2013 brought more energy and excitement to Freemont Street in downtown Las Vegas than all the neon lights in Nevada. Yamato continually cut into Ross making blood waterfall all over his face, his body, and the ring’s canvass. The American’s aggressive technical brawling style pushed him forward and made the crowd scream until the end of the five round fight when Yamato was awarded the decision. It was Lion Fight Promotion’s fight of the year.

“You know if you keep busting my balls I’m gonna leak blood out onto the floor from my shorts.”

Kevin snickered. We began our run on Dublin Boulevard heading north away from the gym. Dublin is a new American city, expansive and reliant on car culture. There was no one else on the sidewalks as we ran by one-story strip malls.

“How have you been?”

“Good. Tired. This has been a long camp.”

Ross’ voice lingered on the “long” and quickened on “camp” as we stopped at an intersection. The traffic buzzed by us as the afternoon sun heated the pavement and our skin. Kevin looked weathered as if all of fights, all of the camps, all of the running had corroded him down to a singular but pure desire.

“I’ve been training for the last eight weeks. I thought that I might have a bout with K-1 but that never went through then and I started helping Gaston with his last fight.”

“Didn’t he get dizzy doing all those spinning back elbows?”

“Ha. Some people said that Gaston got lucky with that elbow but he did that elbow four or five times. It wasn’t a surprise to his opponent.” 

“You’ve been in long training camps forever.”

“I just wish promoters would tell me when I was fighting. When you’re at this high of a level you need to be fighting regularly or you’re losing your edge. Plus each time I fight I’m gaining exposure for the promotion. I know I’m signed but I can get fights out of the country and everyone wins.

“The glory of being Kevin Ross.”

Kevin chuckled as we turned east and then south. The five mile loop took us about forty minutes.

Kevin hates running. I know because he told me.

“Running is boring. Sometimes I run my route backwards, sometimes forwards. I hate seeing how far I have to run. I like when it’s segmented up. If I could I wouldn’t run at all. I’m on weight now but need to do some running now until I start doing sprints in a week or two.”

We arrived into the back of the gym and a horde of little kids were beginning their daily cross fit style work outs taught by adults whose musculature would embarrass Arnold Schwartzenagar.

Ross stretched by the raised boxing ring as two boxing trainers recounted their fights in the past. The trainers were waiting for their young boxers to put on their groin protectors, their head gear, and their gloves.

“This one time I got hit with an overhand right. I saw floaters. They were black, white, shining bits.”

“Yeah that happened to me before too.”

One trainer still had the lean physique of his pugilist years with a gaunt face that exposed missing molars when he talked. Boxing sculpted his nose. It was flat, wide, and crooked. The other trainer was short with a tomato can belly and squinty eyes. They tied up their wards’ gloves and sent them into the ring. The two young boxers, they were maybe 18, began to spar.

Kevin lathered his legs with nam man muay. The minty menthol perfume of the boxing liniment overpowered the smell of sweat that lingers in every gym. The American Nak Muay stretched and shadow boxed as he waited for Kirian to come back and hold pads for him.

One of the young boxer’s nose started to bleed. He continued to dance around the ring. The round ended and the young man went to the bathroom to take care of his poor plumbing.

Kirian entered the ring and looked at the matted canvas. His eyes found droplets of red liquid.

“There’s a few spots.”

The tall boxing trainer entered the ring with a spray bottle of cleaner and some paper towels. He misted the canvas and wiped up the blood.

Kevin entered the ring. Kirian tied his six ounce gloves on. Kevin turned to me. His hands sculpted into tight fists covered by red leather.

“I like certain gloves. They have to feel right. A lot of gloves don’t allow you to make a fist. You break your hand that way.”

Ross has broken his hand repeatedly in his 56 fights.

Kirian began the first of the six round series wearing a belly pad and two focus mitts. In between rounds Kirian came over to the ring’s edge where I stood.

“Kevin’s first fight after his knee surgery I would call out combinations, but now I just let things flow. Some fighters, like Gaston, I can just call out combinations, ‘Gatson 3, Gaston 1-2,’ but with Kevin I just let him do what he wants and remind him of things in between rounds, ‘Kevin don’t forget to work the body, Kevin chop the leg.’”

Ross’ punches, kicks, knees, and elbows in the ring are compellingly straightforward. It is easy to compare his actions in the world. It is shown in his record. His movements are beautiful, capturing intangible concepts like grace and power. He rotates his core perfectly as his leg raises and his shin smashes into the pads. He pushes off his back foot and snaps out a jab and instantly shifts his weight so that the power of his cross to the body sinks into Kirian’s belly pad. It is the type of movement that many of us watch and long for.

Watching Ross prepare draws me to ask why. Why is he doing this? Why does he train so much?  Why does he kick so hard? What goes through his mind? Why does he keep going?

[1]I didn’t know and I still don’t. He was and is just able to do it. It is the sort of dumb cliché that top-level athletes embody. Athletes like Ross no longer think about their actions when performing, they just do them. It is this dumbness, this unthinking, that is at the heart of the athlete’s gift. They don’t think they act.

Gaston Bolanos appeared at the ring once the pad work was done. The young Peruvian Muay Thai prodigy had recently turned pro and has as many wins as he has fights. He began to clinch up with Ross. The two turned and worked their knee strikes. Kevin ducked away from Gaston’s elbows teaching his muscles to dodge Yamato’s.

The bell rang. Twenty minutes had passed, fifty minutes since Ross had taken to the ring. His chest heaved up and down.

“You look tired.”

“I’m exhausted.”

Kirian came over to his fighter.

“You can teach class still?”

Ross sighed while his chest still heaved for oxygen. He took a long slow breath. He pulled out his dinner, a protein pancake with banana, sunflower butter, and pomegranate jelly. He chewed. He swallowed.

“Yes.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Kevin took to the center of the room and began to teach a group of students. I walked out the door.

Ross was one training session closer to his rematch.

This article is part of a series leading up to Ross’ rematch at Pechanga Casino on March 27th. For more info check out Lion Fight Promotion and make sure to check in here again next week for the next installment.

Click here for the second in the series

Click Here for the third in the series

Click Here for the fourth in the series

Thanks to Jeff Dojillo for his wonderful cover photo. For more of his work check out his site.

For those interested in Matt Lucas’ writing check out www.matt-lucas.com or his novel The Boxer’s Soliloquy available in print and on ebooks.

[1] Reference to David Foster Wallace’s essay “How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart” included in Consider the Lobster. DFW recounts his disappointment with tennis player Tracy Austin’s biography and depicts the estrangement of readers of sports memoirs from the actual participants. By doing so he captures the paradoxical essence of why and how top-level athletes perform.

The post On the Road to Rematch – Ross vs Yamato appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Kevin lay on the mat when I walked in, his body resting under a long black foam roller. The cylinder massaged his muscles. He pushed off the floor and stretched out.

It was ten after ten in the morning and on a Saturday morning traffic to CSA in Dublin wasn’t that bad.

“I’m only ten minutes late.”

He’d been stretching for the last half hour before my arrival. I always wondered what the reason for his success was. Maybe it was this- that he stretched? Whenever I’d seen him in the locker room before a bout he was always lengthening his muscles, pulling on them, drawing them out. Far more than the other fighters in the room. He told me he spends an hour a day on his muscles developing his flexibility.

His phone sat propped up next to him. Out of the speakers came the familiar whine of the pi java, a clarinet used during Muay Thai fights. Two figures on the screen fought. I looked a little closer.

“What are you watching Kevin?”

“I usually watch fights when I’m stretching; usually old fights.”

“What are you watching now?”

“Singdam and Manak. Have you seen it yet?”

“No.”

“Oh. I won’t say anything about it.”

“Whatever. I know what happens. They get in the ring. They fight. Someone wins. Someone loses.”

Kevin shrugged. He stood up and rotated his wrists and then began to circle his neck around. He looked at me and yawned with like a lion.

“So what happens?”

“You really wanna know?”

I nodded.

“I don’t really think that Singdam has that much of a chin. Whenever he gets hit he pulls back.”

I imagined Singdam’s face getting punched in his grill that protrudes like a bucktoothed donkey.

Kevin went to the bathroom and came back without his hoodie or black sweat pants. He came out and sat on the steps of the ring. He reached into his large gym bag pulling out a pair of thin soled shoes.

“Are those minimalist shoes?”

“Yeah. Ever since I read ‘Born to Run’ I started wearing shoes like these. I think they correct my form. A lot of the science in the book made sense to me.”

Written by former war correspondent Christopher McDougall, ‘Born to Run’ follows the Tarahumara Native American tribe in Northwestern Mexico as they run through the desert landscape. Some wear only thin sandals others go barefoot. They travel light carrying only meager supplies, of tortillas and beans. The tribe runs ultra marathons regularly. They can run 100 miles while I can’t drive 60 miles without stopping for a stretch, a snack and or a nap. If nothing else the best seller book does shows the ability for humans to adapt.

Kevin walked over to the treadmill where his stablemate Eddie Abasolo stood waiting. Eddie, a 2-1 Vacaville native was readying for a fight as well on a card in Southern California for the WCK. The two stretched out their legs and got on the treadmills clipping at a regular but brisk pace.

“You doing four or five minute rounds?

“I’m doing five five minute rounds.”

Eddie pushed up the speed of the treadmill. With each round the pace went from 10 mph to 11, from 11 to 12. The older more experienced fighter did the same. Kevin began to breathe heavily as sweat began to form on his brow and slide down into the collar of tattoos on his neck. His legs worked like a steam locomotive and his body heated emitting warm mist emitted from his pores. He sprinted for 20 seconds, took a 10 second break and then ran again. After finishing a five minute set he increased the incline, took a deep breath and did it again. And then, again.

Eddie’s superman tee shirt turned an increasingly darker shade of blue as he tried to keep up the conversation we were having.

“What do you do for work Eddie?”

“I work at a car restoration place in Hayward. I work there from 6 to 4.”

“Then you drive out here after work?”

“Yeah. Then I go home to the girlfriend and the kids.”

“Wait so you’re a father of two at 28, you drive an hour an a half to work in the morning. Then another thirty minutes here to Dublin where you train for a few hours. Then drive all the way home? What are you doing with your life?”

Kevin laughed and shook his head. Small splatters of sweat rained onto the floor around the treadmill.

“Well, I love it.”

Eddie took a deep breath and hit the machine running again. Kevin has no children. Maybe that’s his secret to success. His lack of ties. At 34 years old most men his age have settled down, gotten together with someone, tried to cut down on their debt and started some semblance of a family but then again he does have a its just not the traditional family. I see it when I go to the gym and the easy conversations he has with the people he sees every day. The fighters around him, his trainers, his two pit bulls, Gatti and Layla both of whom are tattooed on his body, those are his family.  

When the two finally dismounted I noticed the photo on Kevin’s treadmill. 

It was Tetsuya Yamato holding his WBC belt over his shoulder. The 28 year old Japanese fighter stared at me with black and white eyes.

“A picture of your girlfriend?”

I laughed and waited as Kevin gained his breath. It didn’t take long.

“I started putting up pictures of my opponents since my twelfth amateur fight. It was my first loss and rematch to Matt May.”

Kirian walked up to his fighters and appraised them briefly.

“Hey Kevin, Ed, why don’t you work together until Dam comes.”

The 43 year old former bodyguard walked away and let the two fighters begin to spar. They focused on technical sparring neither of them wearing anything more than bag gloves as they quickly but systematically threw their blows. Each kick, punch and knee was precise. In an actual match each attack would have scored highly.

“What is it that you like about CSA Eddie?”

“There’s no ego.”

“That’s because Gaston isn’t here.” Kevin laughed.

As the two men finished their four rounds of sparring a small Thai man, Prasan Phatanak, entered the gym. Kirian and Prasan’s home camp of Sitmonchai had flown out the native of Thamaka Thailand to hold pads and help train Kevin.

Kru Dam, as Phatanak is more commonly known, is a petite 49 year old father of two. He has been the lead trainer since the onset of the camp and developed a technical brawling style infamous in the battles of Pornsane Sitmonchai. Dam smiled at me with a wide grin that showed off an elongated incisor. I hadn’t seen him since Pornsanae fought Pokkeaw. We wai’d and said hello.

Kru Dam walked up to the ring and put on a belly pad different from the one he’d used yesterday.

Kirian looked at me as my eyes followed the celebrity trainer to the ring.

“He gravitates towards certain gear but I haven’t seen him wear that bellypad. Can you tell him that he can wear whatever he wants?”

My Thai is limited so I blundered out a few words like a boxer who mistakenly believes that a ten count is actually thirteen beats too long.

Dam nodded his head and the five foot five Thai man began to hold pads for Kevin. They didn’t keep their rounds structured and went for approximately 4 to 5 minutes. They took a break and then continued to work. The fighter and trainer flowed together. Dam didn’t call out combinations but rather caught Kevin’s kicks, punches, elbows and knees. Rather than smacking the pads towards Kevin’s hands as the punches came in Dam held the pads out close to his body making Kevin fully extend.

They wound down after a half an hour and Kevin went to work on the bag. He struck with precision born out of obsession but since he is accomplished it is considered a passion.

After five more rounds on the bag, push ups, sit ups, and more stretching Ross showered and changed.

“What are you doing today Kevin?”

“I’m going to a birthday party.”

“Oh?”

“It’s for Madi Parker.”

“That’s the girl that you raised money for with your walk out shirts?”

“Yup.”

We walked toward the door together and Kru Dam said something.

Kevin shook his head unable to understand Dam.

I pushed on a door that said pull and Kevin had to open the door for me.

“Well you can’t speak Thai but you can open doors.”

Kevin laughed and got in his car. He pulled out and drove off to celebrate a little girl’s fourth birthday.

Twenty more days until his rematch.

This article is 2nd in a series leading up to Ross’ rematch at Pechanga Casino on March 27th. For more info check out Lion Fight Promotion and make sure to check in here again next week for the next installment. 

Installment 1 can be read here.

Thanks to Jeff Dojillo for his wonderful cover photo. For more of his work check out his site.

For those interested in Matt Lucas’ writing check out www.matt-lucas.com or his novel The Boxer’s Soliloquy available in print and on ebooks.

The post Twenty Days Out: Ross vs. Yamato part 2 appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Chaz Mulkey stood outside of the Oakland Airport clad in a maroon Syndicate t-shirt, blue jean and converse. The 34-year-old former fighter had retained his fighter’s build but had filled out. He still stood tall at six foot one but his shoulders had become wider and he didn’t look as emaciated as he had when he’d been actively fighting. He’d retired three years ago after knocking out the mouthy Kit Cope in a K-1 fight and had dedicated himself to the instruction of the craft that had changed his life.

I honked my horn and he looked over. I waved and he opened the car door.

“Thanks again for picking me up. It’s nice seeing you”

His thick black eyebrows raised and fell into a face that had been weathered by the hardships of life and softened by the comfort of familiarity.

“No problem. I was heading out to Dublin anyways.”

I pulled out of the airport, stepped on the gas and headed to the gym.

We drove a backwards way to CSA that can only be achieved by the wonders of faulty technology. We zig and zagged our way through Oakland, Hayward, and managed our way through the heavy traffic caused by the Saint Patrick’s Day fair.

The annual celebration was buzzing with activity right, tilt a whirls spun, Ferris wheels circled, and hordes of children snacked on sugary sweets. The decadence of the fair contrasted sharply with the life of Kevin Ross across the street. It was thirteen days away from his rematch against Yamato.

Kevin was tired when he came in from his run. The closer he’d been getting to the fight the more dedicated he’d been to his training. This increasing focus came at the cost on his body. While the children a block away feasted on cotton candy delights Kevin ate the grime of determination. He wrapped his hand as Chaz and Kirian chatted. Kevin unrolled the tight cylinder of his handwrap onto his knuckles, casting his fist into a solid hammers. With each session Kevin was chucking off more of the externals. There was little else besides training.

Chaz had been coming out to each of Kevin’s camp since his old sparring partner had moved away from Las Vegas. Not only had they come up together at Master Toddy’s in Las Vegas, where Chaz had an undefeated amateur career, but Chaz had also been cornering for Kevin since 2007.

Kirian walked away to help out the legion of students that had come to his popular noon Muay Thai class and I stood ringside with Chaz watching as Kru Dam began to put Kevin through the paces. The bell dinged and Kevin went to work.

Kru Dam made Kevin advance, holding the pads out of Kevin’s reach. The American inched forward, striking hard with his punches. The Thai man held the pads to the left and Kevin responded with a sharp left kick leaving his foot forward ready to strike with his hands. Kru dam threw up the pads and Kevin blasted them with a cross and a hook. I turned to Chaz who was intently watching his friend.

“How does Kevin look?”

“Good. About the same. Maybe a little sharper than the last time I was out here.”

“What was it like starting at Master Toddy’s?”

“It was good. I got there towards the end. I still got 12 or 13 amateur fights in a year there though and my first two professional fights. There was a crew of guys there, like 10 solid guys, Mark Beecher, Anthony Brown, Kevin. Guys that wouldn’t be easy with you.”

“What is it like cornering Kevin? And being cornered by him?”

“We all corner the same. It’s simple. Give them some water then tell them something that they’re doing right, and something that they’re doing wrong, or something that they need to look out for. I didn’t always like being cornered by the Thai guys, they tend to yell.”

I nodded remembering an excited Thai trainer squealing with a high pitched voice at his fighter in the corner.

Kru Dam and Kevin’s twenty five minute long session came to an end as Kirian’s students began to bang on each other. Chaz stepped into the ring to do what he’d been flown out to do, spar.

The two began with technical sparring, without shin pads and without gloves. While larger than the 5’ 10” Kevin, Chaz was unable to back his old friend up. Chaz pushed at his friend. Kevin was immobile, not backing up, then his body sprung into action. His leg lifted and his shin smacked into Chaz’s bicep. The wet smacking of skin against skin continued for fifteen minutes non-stop.

“You can’t replicate what these two have.”

Kirian stood next to me watching the boxers in the ring.

“They’ve been at it for a long time.”

“Yeah. Chaz is the only one to really have hurt Kevin. When Kevin tore his knee it was because Chaz dumped him. When Kevin had his intercostal tear in his ribs it was because Chaz caught him with a body shot. But still there’s that trust.”

Kevin and Chaz put on larger gloves, and shin pads. There was an increase in pace. Their gear allowed them to strike with more power. The increase of velocity did not correspond with a decrease in precision rather the padding of their gloves and on their shin pads allowed them to absorb more damage than normal.

Perhaps success wasn’t just about training but who you train with, who is there for the fight camps, who supports you day in and day out. Did Chaz’s presence show that having the right people around you matter just as much as throwing the right punch at the right time?

They continued for thirty minutes until they broke. They came back together without their gear to clinch. The standing wrestling is an important part of Muay Thai and in Thailand the boxer who is better at throwing knees, and elbows while grappling will often outpoint, and damage his opponent more.

Kevin dumped Chaz to the ground. They laughed. Chaz dumped Kevin to the ground. They laughed. Kevin dumped Chaz to the ground. Everyone laughed.

Kru Dam gave them pointers as they clinched. When the Thai coach had a moment I talked to him.

“How do you think Kevin did against Yamato last time?”

“Yamato cut Kevin with elbows but I thought Kevin won. He threw more and stronger knees. It tired Yamato out.”

Chaz and Kevin swung around the ring kneeing each other, turning each other, throwing each other to the ground. They got back up. Thirty minutes passed. They slapped hands and stepped out of the ring.

“Where’s my water bottle?”

Kevin ran his hands over his face pulling down a waterfall of sweat with fingers. He picked up his bottle and slugged it down and then headed for the shower. He came back a few minutes later with a banana and a protein shake.

“What are you guys doing now?”

“We’ll go eat wherever Kevin wants to eat.”

Chaz sat by one of the heavy bags. He looked spent. We waited for Kevin to finish eating his banana.

“I just want to eat a salad.”

Weight needed to be cut and salad, salad, and more salad would be the Jenny Craig key to losing that extra flab.

The two drove off to a local sandwich store. I followed them.

We went to Kevin’s favorite lunch place. I’d been there five times before. It seemed like every time I visited him we would always end up at the small restaurant off of Dublin blvd. He was finishing off a salad when I arrived. His fork moved the last bits of vegetables around before he speared them and put them in his mouth. Kevin’s mouth crunched on the bell peppers.

“What are you going to do tonight Kevin?”

“Nothing.”

Kevin was becoming increasingly flat, one-dimensional. Was there room for much else besides fighting? Besides training? This? This was the key to success to squish out all the externals and to focus, focus, focus so that there was only doing.

Kevin yawned.

“I’ll probably sleep.”

We got up from the table and walked out. Chaz and Kevin hugged.

“I’ll see you next Thursday Kevin.”

“Thanks for coming out Chaz.”

The two friends parted. They will come back together again before the fight. Chaz will be in Kevin’s corner.

It was four o’clock. I drove Chaz back to the Southwest Terminal. He flew back to Las Vegas, his day spent helping a friend.

The traffic was light on the way to the airport.

This article is the 3rd part of a series leading up to Ross’ rematch at Pechanga Casino on March 27th. For more info check out Lion Fight Promotion and make sure to check in here again next week for the next installment.

For week one click here for week two click here.

Thanks to Dale Shirley for his photos. More of his work can be seen on Muay Thaimes. 

For those interested in Matt Lucas’ writing check out www.matt-lucas.com or his novel The Boxer’s Soliloquy available in print and on ebooks.

The post The Sparring Partner: Ross vs. Yamato part 3 appeared first on My Muay Thai.

The fight draws close. There is little left to do but to step on a scale, to demonstrate that the body is nothing but the fight. The signs will be clear, dehydration, taut skin, sunken faces, the starvation for ring violence. After the weigh ins it – a quiet, long lull, full of anticipation, and for some anxiety… and then, finally… five rounds, three minutes each- a decision or a knock out. Yet I still ask myself who is Kevin Ross? What is it that drives him? What has led him here? What enables him?

At this point Kevin will just act.

Others speak for him.

The first time I met Kevin. He had just fought Tetsuya Yamato. He had a red Mohawk and more tattoos than I had ever seen on a person. I told my sister, “He is kinda scary.” But when I finally met him he had a soft voice and seemed a lot gentler than he appeared. Kevin still scares me from time to time, but it is mostly when he is hitting pads. –Stephanie Frausto, MMA/Muay Thai fighter

Kevin was a sickly newborn. He had severe jaundice and unrelenting colic. The first few days of his life were in an incubator under special lights. He cried so much as a baby that no one could handle babysitting him. After his colic cleared, he became a happy and fun baby. Everyone loved him! He had the biggest smile especially when people said, “hi” to him. –Tracy Weiss, Kevin’s Mother

He played hockey. He was that guy that would go balls out as fast as he could but then couldn’t stop and would always smash into the side wall with a huge crash, every time… I mean, like, EVERY time. Knocked his tooth out once. Didn’t get it replaced for months. I think he open mouth smiled a little extra those couple months that tooth was missing. –Gina Carano, Actress, Muay Thai fighter 

Initially, like most people I assume…I was intrigued by his look, it’s obviously very unique all the time; very bright multi colored hair, a mohawk, tattoos. It was a very interesting contradiction for an American fighting in a very traditional sport it is probably why Kevin’s Wai Kru Picture has become such an iconic image around the world…the clash of cultures but in a very organic way. – Kirian Fitzgibbons, Head Coach of CSA 

I met him at a party I was having at my mom’s house while she was out of town. I was 19 and he was 21. He had black hair that did whatever the hell it wanted and that usually chose to stand straight up. He wore really baggy pants and white tank tops. He was skinny, with a six-pack. Just naturally blessed that way. –Gina Carano, Actress, Muay Thai Fighter

Kevin has abs you can wash clothes on. If I had some of those, I’d wash clothes all day. –Stephanie Frausto, MMA/Muay Thai Fighter

He’s Stubborn, he will make fights harder then they have to be just to put on exciting fights, if you tell him not to do something he will do it anyway just to prove he can.But that’s who Kevin is and he will never change…but the losses to Sagetdao and Yamato were avoidable if he wasn’t so stubborn.  He would rather lose and exciting fight, then win a boring one, how can you not respect that? –Kirian Fitzgibbons Head Coach of CSA 

Everything he picks up he’s really good at and when you’re competitive it makes it frustrating to know there’s a 90% chance at anything you do together he’s gonna be better than you at it.  On the flip side it also makes everything challenging with him so it keeps it fun. –Chaz Mulkey, sparring partner, trainer at Syndicate MMA

There are so, so, so many great memories that I’ve had. When he fought Freddy Medrano, Freddy jumped knee’d Kevin OUTA nowhere and knocked him down big time! I tried to ice his head down so he could catch some snap in between rounds. He was rocked! Then Kevin’s heart showed up and he went on a Muay Thai rampage and won the fight!! –Mark Beecher Muay Thai Trainer

My least favorite thing about Kevin is how much of a perfectionist he is when it comes to the sport.  He never gives himself enough credit and always feels he can do better or be faster or work harder.  It annoys me how much he doesn’t see how hard he works or how he doesn’t give himself enough credit for the amazing things he has accomplished. – Jackie Perez, Crossfit trainer at CSA

Kevin loves food, I think more than he loves Muay Thai. During K1 in Los Angeles we went back to the hotel room and in the corner was Kevin Ross really enjoying his In-n-Out. By himself alone. I walked up to him and took one of his fries. He gave me a dirty look like, “touch my food again and I will kill you!” I ate the fry. It tasted amazing and I told Kevin, “Hey, give me another one.”

He looked me dead in the eye and said, ” NO!”

This past trip when I went to go shoot Kevin for the recent video, I knew he considered me a friend when he offered me some of his food!!  -Jeff Dojillo, photographer for Can’t Stop Crazy

When we are not in camp our hangouts consist of food and tapioca milk teas, in camp we make healthy meals (for example protein pancakes which are whey protein, eggs, almond milk, a few almonds, chia seeds, banana, vanilla extract then we add sunbutter because Kevin is allergic to peanut butter) and watch glory and ufc fights. It’s great to surround yourself with positive people who share your passion.  –Gaston Bolanos, Sparring Partner 

Kevin’s determination and love for cookies showed loud and clear when he was two years old. I didn’t give my kids sugar. He had his first cookie at his grandmother’s house at Christmas time. After we’d returned home to Rochester, he would not stop asking for cookies but we did not give them to him. One evening, he would not eat his dinner. No matter how many different ways I tried to get him to eat, he refused saying, “I WANT A COOKIE!!” He went to bed without eating. The next day he refused to eat and continued to shout for cookies. I would not give in so he went to bed hungry again. The next day after he refused to eat breakfast and lunch and was still yelling for cookies, I called my pediatrician asking what to do. He said, “He’ll eat when he’s hungry enough. Don’t give in.” The next day, he refused to eat. Finally on the morning of the fourth day, he finally ate his breakfast. –Tracy Weiss, Kevin’s Mother

Well of course we enjoy food that’s a gimme. He’s fat at heart while I’m fat at the body. –Eddie Abasolo, Sparring Partner

What do I like to do with Kevin?  Nothing.  That’s the best part of our relationship. We can sit on the couch watch tv, hang out and not really do or say anything and its not uncomfortable.  Most people feel like they have to talk when other people are around but Kevin gets it. He’s just like me in the sense that we can sit for hours and not say much and just enjoy the company of a friend.  You don’t find that often. –Chaz Mulkey, Sparring Partner, Trainer at Syndicate MMA

Kevin and I go donate at a food pantry here every single month.  He donates all he can, even the shirt off his back because he knows someone else will need it more. I think to myself, you’re going to give that away? Looking at an awesome new shirt he’s barely worn and he says, “I have so much crap, I don’t need it.” – Jackie Perez, Crossfit Trainer at CSA

When I look at him, he glows, kind of like a pregnant lady does when she’s creating a miracle in her belly, maybe he has that same shimmer cause he’s constantly creating miracles with his life. – Gina Carano, Actress, Muay Thai fighter 

Kevin’s fighting style says so much about his personality – He is real. He is passionate. He is talented and smart. He is a true artist. He has flaws. He is human. He loves and gives back to those who love and support him. –Christine Toledo, Vice President of Lion Fight Promotions

This article is the 4th part of a series leading up to Ross’ rematch at Pechanga Casino on March 27th. For more info check out Lion Fight Promotion and make sure to check in here again next week for the next installment.

For week one click here for week two click here for week three click here.

Thanks to Dale Shirley for his photos. More of his work can be seen on Muay Thaimes.

For those interested in Matt Lucas’ writing check out www.matt-lucas.com or his novel The Boxer’s Soliloquy available in print and on ebooks.

The post What We Talk About When We Talk About Kevin Ross- Ross vs Yamato part 4 appeared first on My Muay Thai.

 Victory Saravia is on a run. With three exciting wins in the early stages of his pro career he’s well on his way. I got to take some time to talk to the fighter of Muay Thai America Gym out of North Hollywood before his bout on Lion Fight 23.

How did you get started doing Muay Thai?

When I was in high school I fought in the streets for money. I knew a guy that was doing Brazilian jiu jitsu and he said I should visit his gym, which had jiu jitsu and Muay Thai. He said to stop what I was doing because it was dangerous.

So I went. I first tried out jiu jitsu. It was cool and everything but I stayed a little while and saw the Muay Thai. I fell in love with Muay Thai and not jiu jitsu. I tried the class and loved it. They were charging just $8 a month because it was a weight lifting gym with a small little room to train Muay Thai. I started fighting with my trainer John then he brought me over to MTAG and that’s when my career started.

How did you get into fighting in the streets for money?

I wanted to make my own money. I just wanted to make it more fun. The only it was gonna work was if I fought the taller guys because I’m short the taller guys would want to fight me. “This guy is small so I’ll fight him.” We’d fight for $10 to $20. We’d wear MMA gloves and fight in parks and sometimes people’s backyards. I had a group of friends that were into it and that’s how I was introduced to it.

I was pretty good at it so it was fun. I’m sure if I had gotten my ass kicked I probably wouldn’t have done it so much.

I’ve been here at MTAG for 2 and a half years, almost three. I was 11-3 as an amateur.

What was your amateur career like?

I feel I was pretty fortunate as I know a lot of amateurs wouldn’t get money. When I was fighting top level guys as an amateur I was getting money on the low for my fights.

I didn’t like the scoring on it though. I’ve changed my training and how I do things now that I’m professional.

How do you feel the scoring was different?

The scoring was the same. What I took away as an amateur though was that you couldn’t leave it to the judges. They would always pick the favorite or the hometown guy. That’s what I’ve taken from my amateur career. The sparring from amateur to pro is the same.

What keeps you motivated?

I came from a rough neighborhood. I moved here to North Hollywood six or seven years ago. Every amateur fight I had my grandma would call me, “I hope everything goes okay and that you win.” I promised her that I would become a champion. After my first pro fight she passed away. I want to keep that promise to her.

Seeing how hard my mom works also keeps me motivated. I promised her that I would be a champion. I would become something great in the sport.

My mom is a housekeeper and she came here from Guatemala at the age of 16. She’s a single mother for three kids. I’m in the middle. I have an older sister and a younger brother. We all fight. My oldest sister is a cosmetician while my youngest brother is in community college. My youngest brother fought for a title and won recently.

What do you think about when you fight?

I think about the promises that I made to my grandma and I think about what my mom goes through every day. I don’t think about anything crazy. I try to stay as calm as possible. I just think about the things they go through and I want to make them proud and make a future for myself.

When I actually fight I feel like I’m playing checkers. When they make a mistake I counter right away. I try to stay as calm as possible and to see the mistakes my opponent is making. As soon as I get mad I can’t see as clearly and that’s when my opponent starts to successfully attack me.

Do you feel like that ability has gotten better?

I feel like my ring intelligence is getting better. Doing a lot of sparring helps. It’s something that I just see. I feel like you should always have a plan B. Always be confident about your plan A but always have a plan B as you never know how things are gonna go. I always try to adapt to whatever they have. After the first round if things are going as planned then I stick to my plan A but if I see that my opponent is doing something different than what I thought they would do I try to adapt as I could.

How did that factor into your bout with Sam Poulton?

I didn’t expect him to come forward right away. We knew he would come forward no matter what but I didn’t expect him to do it in the first and second round as we thought he would gas out but he didn’t look like he was gonna gas out.

It makes me feel good that I had that sort of challenge early on in my career. I know the different things I have to deal with in fighting. Anthony Castrejon he uses a lot of angles and now if I fight someone who uses angles I know how to fight them. Andy Singh was a very technical fighter and now I can adapt to that. Sam Poulton was a very aggressive fighter and I adapted to that. I’m happy that I’ve had these experiences early on in my career.

What did you do to adapt to Castrejon’s angles?

I cut the ring. I tried not to follow him and attempted to prevent him from moving a lot.

There was a moment when you and Sam Poulton went back and forth with spinning back elbows in your bout. What were you thinking at that point?

I was trying to showboat a little. We didn’t really practice spinning elbows but it worked.

What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses?

I have strong hands. Every fighter has a weakness. That’s why you can never stop learning in the fight game. That’s why I am happy that I’ve had multiple experiences in my career. A lot of people get too confident and say “I’m the best ever.” Everyone is a human being though. I’m sure there are mistakes that I’ve made that I don’t know.

What’s your training regiment like?

I come into the gym around 10am and hit pads, do strength and conditioning and then go home to take a nap. I return around 1-2 and run about 506 miles and do more pad work.

When I’m not fighting I come in a little more occasionally. Sometimes once a day, sometimes twice but I’m always running, always staying shape. I don’t want to overeat or stop working out. This is my career so I need to be in shape all the time and need to be ready if something happens.

You fight at 122lbs. What weight do you walk around at?

Normally I walk around at 150lbs. Right now I am 146lbs but am trying to stay down around 136lbs. I naturally go up to about 150 but am trying to stay down at 135lbs.

What do you do to cut weight?

I try to eat as clean as possible. I eat 6 times a day. My last fight against Sam Poulton I went vegan which helped a lot.

Are there any opponents you are looking forward to fight?

I am ready to fight anyone. I want to fight the best so I can challenge myself.

What’s your plans for your career?

I want to go down in history. I want to fight as long as it takes.

A few of your first fights were knockouts – Andy Singh and
Anthony Casterjon. What were you thinking about with those bouts?

I knew that I was gonna be able to do it. Since the day I was told that I would be fighting Andy and Anthony I kept saying to myself “You’re gonna knock them out. You have the power.” I kept repeating that over and over. It happened because I believed it.

Did you think the same thing with Sam Poulton?

I sort of thought I would knock him out but he was a really tough guy.

How would you describe the Muay Thai scene here in so-cal?

I’d never heard of Muay Thai before I started fighting but now it seems like it’s getting bigger. People are really nice and polite.

Would you ever transition into another combat sport?

Maybe later on in the future but right now my focus is on making history.

*Thanks to Jack Ratana for the photos!

Want more Saravia? Check out Striking Corner’s podcast with the fighter.

The post The Dynamite Kid – an Interview with Victor Saravia appeared first on My Muay Thai.

“You don’t want to do the prowler today,” Kirian Fitzgibbon said.

The fighters were circled around their coach. Ky Hollenbeck, Gina Carano, Kevin Ross and the youngest- Gaston Bolanos. The professional fight team of the gym.

“Can’t we vote on this,” Bolanos said.

“I’ll vote,” Ross said. “You don’t have to listen to me though.”

. “Go grab the airdyne,” the head coach replied.

Bolanos went into the other room the strength and conditioning room of Combat Sports Academy large crossfit program. He brought back the stationary bicycle and wheeled it into the center of the room. The main room of the 15,000 square foot facility contains a matted area for jiu jitsu, a pro shop for gloves, gis, and drinks, a boxing ring and a raised cage. Bolanos set the bike down, lining it up next to his rowing machine, directly in front of a heavy bag.

“Today we are doing tabatas,” Fitzgibbons told the group. “Twenty seconds on, 10 seconds off. We are switching from the airdyne to the bag. When I say switch you switch. For you Gaston, halfway through you get on the rower.”

The fighters got on their respective bikes. The round began. The 23 year old Peruvian pushed his feet hard down on the pedals turning the crank as his arms pistoned forward. The locomotive exercise broke.

“Switch. You have ten seconds,” Fitzgibbons yelled.

Bolanos stood in front of the bag. The bell rang. He began to attack. Throwing a series of combinations then crossing his left foot forward and to the right. He spun like a top and slammed an elbow into the bag.

“I’ve always been doing spinning back elbows. Since I’ve become a pro I’ve been doing them more and been slicker doing them. It’s more safe to throw them. Now that there’s no elbow pads I can throw them with a little more damage as well,” Bolanos said later. The damage has been clear in his first few fights. In his third bout against Caleb Archer, Bolanos slammed a spinning back elbow into Archer staggering him to the ground causing the referee to call the fight in Bolanos’ favor.

Despite the win Bolanos hasn’t been taking it easy. “I’ve always had tough fights. Those few fights as a professional were difficult but I feel like I’ve been getting better with each fight,” he said and now that he’s a professional he has had to train even harder. “I train three times as hard as an amateur. You have to take it more seriously as a pro. Even though I have a job, fighting always comes first.”

And the competition is getting harder for the young South American which is evidenced in his upcoming match against Ben Yelle at Lion Fight 24 at the Foxwoods Casino in Conneticut. The promotion has pitted the 4-0 Bolanos against a seasoned 142lb fighter out of Marquette Michigan who has a record of 23-17 and one draw. Yelle has stepped into the ring with Malapet Sasiprapra, Matt Embree, and Jose Palacios amongst others. While he most recently dropped a decision to Sasiprapra, Yelle performed well and looks to be a tough opponent for Bolanos.

While Yelle has a substantial record Bolanos started at the young age of 10 in Lima Peru at F-14, a gym named in honor of Alex Gong, former Fairtex fighter and owner.

“My father went to the gym and I decided to try it out. It became an everyday routine for me. As a kid I was very angry. Muay Thai was a get away for me. It calmed me down and didn’t make me as angry. I used to get into fights.”

Bolanos immigrated to the states and joined Fairtex in Mountain View. It was there that he met Kirian Fitzgibbons. He went on to follow Fitzgibbons to CSA after training with him for IFMA. The coach not only served as a trainer to Bolanos but was a legal guardian for a period of time so that Bolanos could finish high school while continuing to  train.

The 142lb Peruvian does more than train for fights, he reaches beyond them, he has goals… a lot of goals “not only in Muay Thai but as a professional fighter. I want to be a Muay Thai world champion. I also want to transition into MMA as I want to show real Muay Thai to the MMA world but my main goal is to get better every day.”

When asked why he wanted to make the transition from Muay Thai to MMA he replied economically, “In order to make a living as a fighter I’ll need to transition, especially in order to make some real money off fighting.”

The conditioning session came to an end. The team sighed in collective relief. The congenial team atmosphere was obvious, something built overtime. “We haven’t had the same team atmosphere in the past. We all ended up in at CSA and Kirian has played a big role. Ky commutes from San Francisco, Diego moved up from Mexico, Eddie commutes from Vallejos, Zoila lives around here and so do I… It’s a lot more than… it’s a brotherhood. It’s a family. If Eddie fights we all walk out together. If Kevin walks out we all walk out together…”

Tbe team put their equipment away. Bolanos would go back later in the evening for more work, to hit the pads, to spar, to clinch. To grind one step closer to his fight.

Bolanos fights tonight September 25th at Foxwoods casino in Connecticut as part of Lion Fight 24. The fights will be aired on television on AXS TV at 9pm ET.

The post Young Gun Gaston Bolanos appeared first on My Muay Thai.

The raindrops were large and heavy as the 27-year-old Arizona native came back from his afternoon run. The clouds made the afternoon into night casting a heavy stillness on rural Thamaka. The gym, Sitmonchai, however, began to emit it’s regular sound. A twice-daily chorus of noise as habitual as the cocking of roosters, bellowing of cows, and barking of dogs. The clamor from the famous Kanchanburi province gym was what drew Nick Chasteen. Known for it’s aggressive, fan friendly style, heralded by Pornsanae Sitmonchai, and now Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai, Chasteen had come out to Sitmonchai for 5 weeks in order to hone his skill set for his upcoming bout against Turan Hasanov on Lion Fight 26 in Connecticut at the Foxwoods Casino.

John Earley, Chasteen’s father, had been an amateur kick boxer participating in PKA matches with long satin pants, foot booties and axe kicks. Following in his father’s footsteps, Chasteen grew up doing Kenpo Karate with his family. Chasteen graduated to above the waist kickboxing along with his younger brother Damien Early, and his two older sisters. After taking a break from 12 to 19, Chasteen reunited with the sport through Rick Roufus in Scotsdale Arizona at the Lion’s Den. It was there that Chasteen met Bob Karmel, who’d opened the first Fairtex in 1992. “If you stick with me,” Karmel told the young Chasteen, “I’ll make you a champion.” Karmel was true to his word as 8 years later and 9 titles later Karmel had kept his promise.

Chasteen began to shadow box as the other foreigners and Thais stretched and jumped rope. The tin roof of the gym pinged with the sound of rain as the heavy cords of the jump ropes made wet smacks against the concrete floor. Chasteen was beckoned into the ring and began to smash the pads, walking forward with heavy-handed crosses, walking knees, and long body kicks.

The Golden Boy, as Chasteen is nicknamed, had a long amateur career with 25 fights, 21 coming by way of victory. He gained his first title in Iowa at the Thai Boxing Association bouts, and spent most of his amateur career in Vegas, Oklahoma, and California traveling from his hometown to get experience. Fighting between 140 and 147 lbs, Chasteen bounced around in weight classes, taking what he could get. Staying in shape constantly allowed him to take fights short notice, getting wins and belts. The first amateur signed for a pro contract with Lion Fight.

After 5 long rounds on the pads. Chasteen began to spar with Yodkhunpon. While Chasteen is taller, and larger the Thai fighter was able to keep him at bay and the two engaged in technical sparring going back and forth with body kicks, heavy punches, and quick leg kicks.

For Chasteen, “if you’re gonna do Muay Thai you have to go to the homeland… at the end of the day you train with harder, stronger, tougher guys.” This was clear as he continued to spar with Yodkhunpon who has a much more direct style than Chasteen. “My style is not their style. It’s good to get a grasp on different styles. I’ve been more of a counter fighter. These guys at Sitmonchai take it to you more.”

When asked what the big take away is Chasteen thought for a moment then replied, “Realizing how stiff I am. Coming out has helped with my timing as I’ve been sparring mainly with the Thais. It’s trickier. You step in and they footjab you in the thigh. It’s little things that throw off your timing and footwork. It’s the experience with the other fighters and all the time in the clinch.”

The two fighters end their sparring session. They cool down with hundreds of sit-ups, countless push ups. It is another day done and as always one day closer to their respective fights.

Chasteen showers, and comes out to the common area. Sitting down at a table. Food is made and eaten.

“Back home you have to work two jobs and train Muay Thai. Out here you train, eat, sleep, that’s it.”

Nick Chasteen fights Turan Hasanov in the comain event while Greg Wootton and Tetsuya Yamato headline Lion Fight 26. Also featured on the card is Victor Saravia vs John Nofer.

The post The Golden Boy – A day with Nick Chasteen appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Living in Thailand is great, sun, food, and Muay Thai. It gets even better when you go on roadtrips with friends. The other day John Wolcott, Scott Hirano and I took a drive out to Sitmonchai gym in Kanchaburi. The two photographers practiced their craft while I got a chance to interview Sanny Dahlbeck. The Swedish fighter is fighting solidly at the “A” level with only four years of professional experience. At only 24 years old the Malaysian Singaporean descendent is doing quite well for himself. Along with fighting full time he also owns and operates, Odenplan Fight Gym in Sweden. Without further ado the interview:

Sanny Dahlbeck turned up the music on his phone. The device was strapped to his left bicep, part of his running outfit, which consisted of shorts, shoes, and the remnants of nam man muay that had been slathered on his body by San. The trainer had put Dahlbeck on a matted surface at Sitmonchai gym and dumped an entire bottle of the yellow menthol liquid on the Swedish fighter. The smell of peppermint filled the open air gym. Dahlbeck got up, shook his body and took off down the road.

The electronic music of Steve Aioki’s song “Freak” cut through the country sounds of Thamaka in the western province of Kanchanburi. The synthesizer and bass overpowered the noise of the dogs, chickens and road side hawkers that he ran by.

He began to quicken his pace. The beat of his shoes on the dirt road picked up along with the electronic music. A collection of old discarded spirit houses lay ruined on the roadside as Dahlbeck ran along a dirty canal.

“You ever go swimming in there,” I asked as we stopped on a bridge over the water.

“Nah. It’s tempting but there’s prolly bodies, dogs and humans,” he replied.

I nodded and took some deep breathes. He stretched and began running again. He was quick and I tried to keep up. Dahlbeck was in the final stages of his fighting camp for an upcoming bout with Aikpracha Meenayothin on Monday for Top King promotion. The Thai fighter has an impressive record of 92 wins 18 losses and 1 draw and well known for his elbows.

While Meentonin has a significant amount of fights compared to Dahlbeck, the Swedish fighter was sure of himself. “Records favor the underdog,” he said as he continued his flight forward.

And while Dahlbeck may not have as many fights as Meenayothin he certainly has had some top level experience. While he was dropped by Jordan Pikeur in K-1 six months ago he was able to achieve a knock out victory against A Class fighter Jordan Watson, Meenayothin has also beaten, and has shared the ring with Robin Van Roosmalen two years ago. “He throws very quick and fast, if I had more experience I would have been able to fight him better,” Dahlbeck said of his bout against Glory Champion Roosmalen.

With only four years of professional fighting under his belt Dahlbeck has come along way having achieved a victory of Yoshiro Sato, “I remember watching him as a kid. During the fight I saw my name on the screen as we were fighting. It was surreal,” he said as we finally slowed down in front of the gym. Dahlbeck not only beat Sato at Glory 3 in Rome by TKO but also defeated the veteran fighter earlier this year for the K-1 Grand Prixe.

Dahlbeck began to shadowbox and was quickly put into the ring with San. The large Thai trainer focuses on power. With a big body and small pads, San demanded consistent explosion and Dalhbeck gave it to him. His crisp left hands made the pads bend in half and he was able to move the large Thai padholder with his kicks.

After four rounds with San, Dahlbeck switched over to working with Kru Dam, the famed trainer of Sitmonchai. The trainer had just completed working with Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai who is gearing up for the Isuzu cup finals. The winner receives a million baht along with a Isuzu pick up truck and a substantial amount of fame. While San focused on power, Dam focused on technique, asking that the Swedish fighter become sharper with his punches, kicks, knees and elbows. The southpaw fighter switches between the trainers on a daily basis honing his power and technique, hitting pads 6-10 rounds each twice daily session.

“Power with San and technique with Kru Dam,” Dahlbeck said between rounds.

His training has paid off. Tattooed on his left bicep are scratch marks, one for each knock out he has achieved. “I still need to put three more on,” Sanny said laughing. “I only have 17 marked down and I’ve knocked out 20.”

Sanny stepped out of the ring and did some mobility work after a lengthy amount of calisthenics. When asked if he ever gets nervous before fighting, especially on big promotions Sanny replied, “no, not really. Sometimes if I think too much about it I’ll get nervous but otherwise no.”

Dahlbeck laughs and relaxes after training. The family atmosphere is obviously comforting for the fighter. When we part he is on his way to go get Isaan food at a nearby restaurant, a favorite of Pee Aye the owner of Sitmonchai gym. “I love spicy food as long as the heat doesn’t take over totally,” Dahlbeck said with a laugh.

The post “A” Class fighting- an interview with Sanny Dahlbeck appeared first on My Muay Thai.

Samuel Bark took the brick from the fire. His fingers clasped it lightly. He bounced it back and forth between his hands then held it tight as it cooled.

“What are you doing? I asked.

“The Thai guys told me that it would help with my shins, they are sore from my last fight,” the Swedish fighter replied. He pushed the hot rock on his leg. He winced with pain as the steaming brick ground against his shin. Bark had been training at Sangtiennoi’s in Phatum Thani for 9 months when I had met him. He’d stay in Thailand for 11 months, fighting 15 times.

He was a long way from his hometown of Halmstad, Sweden. Halmstad is a small town where everyone knows everyone and the winters are cold and long. The summers are short. There isn’t much to do.

It couldn’t be much different from Sangtieenoi’s gym in Thailand where the summers are long and the heat is constant. Two broken down cars sit on the side of the road near the entrance to the legendary Deadly Kisser’s gym. Grass and shrubbery have grown through the vehicles. Every day there is constant activity, running, clinching, sparring despite the sparse environment.

As an adolescent, Bark, made a run at soccer only to quit to take up fighting. “I wanted to see if I could fight,” Bark said in his accented English. The 14 fights he had in his homeland were B-Class bouts: no elbows, no knees to the head, but no protection either. He’d started Muay Thai at 14 and ten years later he’d amassed 18 professional bouts with only one loss to Tum Sitydotong in Australia.

The blonde haired Bark had arrived at the gym because of a suggestion. He’d spent five months in Australia at Don Millar’s gym while working at a fruit and veggie delivery shop. Millar advised Bark to go to Sangtiennoi’s to take his training to the next level. Bark saved his wages after fighting a professional fight in Sydney and moved out to Bangkok.

The training at Sangtiennoi’s get much more raw. Fighters smash threadbare pads, while ducks and pigs meander around the barely carpeted gym floors. In the breaks between rounds the trainers move the fighting cocks so the chickens will stay in the shade.

“Training at Sangtiennoi’s is hard. It doesn’t get much harder,” Bark told me. “I know I’m gonna win when I train here. All the hours, all the clinching, sparring, padwork. All the hours kicking and punching…”

Bark’s constant focus has paid off with 8 wins at the Max Stadium, 4 of which came by knockout in one year (check out Bark’s knockout over Max champ here). When I asked him how he developed his knock out power, he replied, “I don’t know. I felt that I could hit hard and with 5 knockouts this year. I proved it to myself. “ His hard hitting hands gained him the nickname of Samon Dekkers after the legendary Dutch fighter Ramon Dekkers. Sangtiennoi, who nicknamed Bark, had three bouts with the famous Turbine from Hell, winning two and losing one.

Bark’s heavy hands and knockout power were no doubt honed by his padholders. For five months he had one padholder. That padholder worked 3 rounds of boxing and 2 rounds with both kicks and punches every session.

Bark then went on to a second padholder during his stay. His second padholder constantly pressured him, requiring Bark to hit the pads with the same techniques each time. “It was the same stuff over and over but I used the same techniques in my fights. I do the same thing over and over in my fights.”

The repetition has created a confidence for Bark, “I worked up a name for myself at Max. When I am there I feel confident. I know what they believe and I believe it too.”

The constant fighting was both a bone and a bane to Bark. “When you fight every month you hurt somewhere. The experience is good… I feel more calm in the ring when I fight constantly. For my body it’s hard. For my mind it’s good.”

Despite the action in the ring fighting elsewhere such as on the Kunlun undercard made Bark more nervous. “I was nervous because there were so many big names on the card, Sittichai, Dzabar. I felt okay in the ring but my opponent, he hit hard. I got a decision win though he got me in the first round but I got up quick after he knocked me down with a left hook. I knocked him down in 2nd with head kick and secured the win.”

Bark was also given the comfort of Moses Sangtiennoi in his corner at Kunlun. The son of Sangtiennoi, Moses had taken up muay Thai in his teens and had won an S Cup under the guidance of his father. “Moses was good in the corner, almost the same as Sangtiennoi. They say the same things.”

The rhythm of fighting will continue on for Bark as he returns to Sweden for the Amateur Championships, then he is off to Australia for a bout on Rebellion and finally a reappearance on Max Muay Thai and Sangtiennoi’s gym later this year.

The hot brick had cooled by the time I left Bark but he was still pressing it on his shin, pushing out the soreness. He didn’t have big dreams to try to make a living off of fighting… “I don’t wanna get rich but I don’t wanna work. I’d rather train and fight.”

The piece of mason was cold but Bark kept pressing it down, pushing out the pain, getting ready for the next fight.

The post A Continuing Legacy: Samon Dekkers appeared first on My Muay Thai.

He keeps his hands down low like he’s driving a convertible: a Bentley  with a leather interior. You can hear his internal engine wind up as he screams out “Zeap.” His hip whips around and his leg accelerates into the trainer’s pad. He’s Jordan Watson, one of the United Kingdom’s best Muay Thai fighters.

I met Jordan Watson as he was getting ready for his daily run. He came up with a porcelain grin, an unnaturally white veneer that he later told me were false. He’d had his front  teeth knocked out by Jean Luc… when his opponent threw a spinning back elbow into his English mug.

“They came out before I got on the plane,” Watson said, conjuring up the image of a Bently without a front bumper. “It was a bit of a rush. I had to hit up the dentist an hour before I was to get on the plane.”

He made it though, and arrived at Yokkao in the heart of Bangkok where he has been spending the last 2 weeks in preparation for his rematch against Sanny Dahlbeck.

“I came out here to tune things up. When you are at the  same gym you do the same things. Here though I have a different padman and also I have a ton of sparring partners.” While he comes from the highly regarded Bad Company gym, at times his fellow stablemates, such as Liam Harrison and Stephen Meleady, are not always available as they all fight regularly. “When I am gearing up for a fight Harrison will have just fought and be winding down, so he’s not always available. Here in Thailand though there’s always someone to spar with, train with. If someone just fought, there is another guy ready to go tomorrow. I like the consistency of training here although there is a bit more strength and conditioning in England. ”

Watson pulled his socks up high and began running. The afternoon run around Benjataski park was at a brisk clip like an initial lap around a track prepping the cars for the inevitable race. Once back at the gym he wound down and slipped off his shoes showing me blisters from the frequent running. The inevitable wear and tear of running over 10 miles a day.

He turned on the music and LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” came on ,appropriate  given Watson’s 21 knock outs in the ring. As the music picked up tempo so did Watson’s shadowboxing. The 28 year old has spent the majority of his life in the fight game, fighting for a variety of rule sets including K-1 and Glory. “I like fighting for Glory a bit better,” he said when asked to compare different rule sets other than Muay Thai. “You can clinch a bit longer than in K-1.”

The early 90s rap was followed by 112’s “Peaches and Crème.” As the American R & B quartet crooned about getting freaky in a Bently limosine, Watson got into the ring and slipped on his gloves. “I don’t like to wear handwraps,” he said as he dowsed himself with water to cool himself from the Thai heat. “They feel constricting… but maybe it’s because I’ve been wrapping my hands wrong for the last 20 years,” he said with a laugh. Regardless of the condition of his handwraps, Watson began to hit hard with an intensity unlike fans had seen a year ago.

After his knock out loss to Dahlbeck at Yokkao 12 in April of 2015, Watson took some time off. “After my loss against Dahlbeck I had to rethink things. I wasn’t living the life of a fighter. I was taking things for granted. I scraped through fights on my natural ability. Against Dahlbeck though I was humiliated. I asked myself do I really want to live the life of a fighter? I decided I wanted to. It’s been a real positive change for me. I’ve stopped going out, I’m eating better.” Watson also has been using mind coach Vinny Shoreman whom he said helps put things into perspective. “A lot of people think you go to a mind coach because you are weak, but really you are just sharpening your tools. “

Now Watson is looking sharper than ever along with his renewed regiment and dedication, evident in his now visibly better shape, he has also begun to take up secondary education in nutrition. While he works regularly at Bad Company as a Personal Trainer he is also looking to the future having enrolled in weekend courses.

The rematch against Dahlbeck comes after a recent win against Jordan Pikkeur whom Dahlbeck lost to in July for the K-1 touranment via KO in the second round after some hard hooks from Pikkeur. When asked if his win over Pikkeur and loss to another common opponent Aikpracha Meenotinin, would effect him Watson said, “I used to evaluate how fighters did against each other, and how they would do against me subsequently, but styles make fights. You can fight a guy that’s really good against everybody but your style doesn’t work for him so it’s an easy bout for you. Also you don’t know what’s going on at the time with your opponent; how they are training… You have to be open to changes and adapt.”

When Watson was done with his padwork he smashed on the bag, clinched, and engaged in a finishing round of kicking drills, walking down Yokkao’s astroturfed corridor whacking pads as his trainer held them for his left kick, then his right kick, then his left kick… He kept walking pushing his interior engine to the limit screaming out “Zeap.”

The post The Bentley Boxer – An interview with Jordan Watson appeared first on My Muay Thai.

The scars are light. Small lines that cross her face. Not bright like the dotted white of highways but almost imperceptible, like the edges of a door. The original cuts were opened in moments of conflict; now though, they open in moments of conversation….

Melissa Ray, is tall, quiet, and English. In keeping with her national heritage we met at a tea shop in eastern Bangkok, walking distance from the skytrain, but far out enough from the center of the South Eastern Capital that the area feels suburban. It is home to the everyday folk of Krungthep.

She was silently sipping her tea when I walked in. We greeted each other and with a soft voice she told me how she first got into Muay Thai, “I had no intention to start fighting. I was studying for my PhD in Neuroscience and wanted to lose weight as I had been drinking a lot during my bachelor’s degree and gained several pounds. I hadn’t liked any other sports before Muay Thai and it was strange how I took to it.”

Ray started at King’s Cobra in northeast England and after finishing her doctoral degree she went to Dean White’s gym in West Yorkshire. She fought 8 amateur fights and a handful of pro fights, around Europe. Then went to Thailand.

“I thought I’d only stay for a few months. It’s been nearly a decade since I came out here in May 2006,” Ray said as she took a sip of tea. She set down the cup letting the hot water cool. “I liked the training, the lifestyle, I liked getting lots of fights… so I stayed.”

…The first of her scars is a “Harry Potter” scar. It runs like a bolt above her left eye to her forehead. It is faded, the visual memory of a lightning striking. The 9 stitches that made the mark were given by Joanne Calderwood fighting out of Sasiprapra gym during the 2010 Queen’s birthday bouts and for the 126 lb WPMF belt. Calderwood came up in weight but was skilled and tough. Ray edged the split decision win, mainly due to her knees. The memory of the bout and the winning of the belt forever struck on her head…

Ray in Chang Mai

In Thailand, she started at Muay Thai Plaza in Bangkok’s Suan Lum Night Bazaar—scarless though. The gym was suggested by Dean White, who was friends with the manager. After 6 months she moved on to Chiang Mai. “I fancied a change of scenery and a move up north. I enjoyed training in Chiang Mai, you can fight a lot up there. I found it frustrating living there though. You have to negotiate with the tuk tuk drivers to get anywhere. Of course things have changed a lot up there since then. There are new malls and more infrastructure. After 10 months, I made the decision to return to Bangkok and a friend of Soren Mongkongtong, who now helps run NTG (Nugget’s Thaiboxing Gym) in Australia, suggested I try Eminent Air. I decided to give it a chance.”

The steam of the tea rose towards the face of the multi belt champion. While originally starting to fight at 54kg Ray had moved up to 57kg when she’d made the move from Chiang Mai to Eminent Air in Bangkok. It was at this gym that she won all of her belts, twice achieving the WPMF 126 lb belt (winning it then losing it, then a year later recapturing it), along with the S-1 126 lb belt and the WMA 57kg belt. Before her retirement due to injury, she had achieved a record of 41 fights, with 27 wins, 1 draw, and 13 losses.

Having stayed at Eminent Air for more than 8 years, Ray has seen the cycle of fighters coming and going. “Over the years some of the fighters have retired, such as Tapaothong, Rungubon and Neungthep. Others have gone off to the army or returned to their home provinces. There are still big names like Jomhod, Satanfaa, Rungkiat and Chok at the gym, but also some new young guns,” Ray explained.

“You can see some fighters towards the end of their careers get bored and tired of putting their bodies through so much punishment. As they get older, they get injured more easily and those injuries last longer. Also the weight gets harder to cut. I think in the end it’s the loss of passion that retires them. You train and train and fight for 20 years or more. It gets repetitive,” she said with finality.

….Her second scar is faint. Almost unnoticeable under her right eyebrow but it’s there if you look close. She got it in China. Ray fought the Italian Sindy Huyer for the WMA 57kg belt in 2010. After winning the bout on points Ray was whisked away to a hospital to attend to the bleeding cut. “It was quite chaotic inside. I can remember seeing a few people smoking. The doctor did a good job on the cut though; you can hardly see it now…”

She’s seen not just the career cycles of fighters but also the life cycle of one trainer. “I trained with Pet for 5 years at Eminent Air. It was just another day of training when he collapsed a few minutes after holding pads. One of the guys had a car so rushed him to a hospital. He went straight into the ICU. Turned out he had had a stroke at the age of 39. People at the hospital were very straight-talking, “He have blood clot in brain. Maybe he not have operation he die. Maybe he have operation he die. Same.”

“The following day he was operated on but he never regained consciousness. After 5 days in the ICU, the doctors said just the oxygen was keeping him alive. Everyone from the gym was with him when the oxygen was removed and seconds later he died. We sat with him most of that night. The next day was the first day of the funeral. It was my first experience of a Thai funeral; I found it all really overwhelming.”

Despite the passing of her trainer Ray stayed on at Eminent Air. “I miss Pet but wouldn’t want to leave the gym. I still love training and am there almost every day. I have some great friends there. Also, I like the structure of the sessions in that we do clinching or sparring before pads. I feel that helps warm me up for the pad work.” Now that she’s retired though, her status at the gym has changed. “I’m no longer a customer having been there for so long. There are foreigners there for short stays, who should get the best experience. I can get taken on pads at the end, it doesn’t matter,” Ray said.

Her Muay Khao style was never very stylish according to Ray but, “I’m still learning. My current trainer Fahlaep tries to make me a bit more rounded. I know he doesn’t criticize me as much as he would if I was fighting. He still corrects me and tells me what I should be doing though.”

There is little that has separated Ray from the other fighters at the gym. At Eminent Air the women train in the same ring, and with the same equipment. “I mainly trained with men when I was competing,” Ray explained. “Now there are more women at the gym. Women fighters and women coming for exercise.”

“It’s good to train with men as they are stronger. Especially Thais as they are so skilled, but it’s also beneficial to train with women fighters because it’s more real. If guys don’t know you sometimes they can be too gentle in sparring. When you get hit for the first time in the ring it’s not like sparring at all.”

“When I had my first fight it wasn’t anything like I’d seen in fights on videos. It wasn’t stylish—it was a bit of a scrap. I don’t think it’s good preparation to watch too many high-level Thai fights when you are a novice as the reality is nothing like that. An old trainer once said you shouldn’t take too much notice of your first ten fights or so, and I would agree with that. It takes a while before you can learn how to relax in there,” Ray said with battle won wisdom.

…The cut below her left eye was her first ever. Jomyutying Kiat Nor Wor, the smallest of the fighters in the 8-woman S-1 54kg 2006 Queen’s birthday tournament gave it to her. Kiat Nor Wor was the favorite with the crowd’s support. “I didn’t even feel the elbow that cut me—it was so accurate. The referee stopped the fight in the third. Jomyutying did the same to her next opponent. The Thais thought it would be hilarious to have a photo of us with matching bandages over our left eyes. Another scar for the Trophy Case…”

The post Afternoon Tea with a Veteran- Melissa Ray appeared first on My Muay Thai.