Words from the Coach

People come to Muay Thai for different reasons.  Some people join the gym for the health benefits – and there are many.  As a combat sport, Muay Thai is extremely demanding, requiring its practitioners to acquire and maintain the highest level of physical conditioning.  They must be motivated enough to push their cardiovascular limits, build their strength, and acquire a set of skills and techniques that are unique to the sport.  The physicality of Muay Thai, however, is just one aspect of an incredibly dynamic martial art.

For those of us that are passionate about Muay Thai, there is something much deeper and more meaningful carried out through the various techniques of this ancient practice.  A certain dynamism and fluidity exists in the movement of the body’s limbs, a rhythm and cadence that evolves with each strike and combination.  The pacing of the bout, the delivery of each technique, marks out the creation of something new and expressive – almost like brushstrokes on a canvas.  Two fighters in a ring together create the intimacy and delicacy of a dance, yet with the force and brutality unique to Muay Thai.  There is a fine beauty in that balance.

Creating within the medium of Muay Thai requires more than just diligence and physical strength.  It demands a keen level of mental discipline and devotion.  You cannot hide anything in this sport.  Whatever you hide, you give power to, and before you know it, your deepest fears and shadows will usurp your greatest efforts.  The way you respond to Muay Thai is the way you respond to life, and subsequently you must be willing to lay your innermost thoughts and feelings open to your instructor and teammates.  Only then can you build the strength and willpower that it takes to overcome your demons and become a true warrior, a ‘Nak Muay’.  Those who choose the path of a Nak Muay will quickly understand that this sport is about so much more than getting fit and training hard.  It’s about shaping your character and transforming the way you respond to the world.  It’s about refining those aspects of yourself that hold you back in the ring, and hold you back in life.  It’s about taking your spirit to new unexplored potentials.  It’s about surrendering to the art form, and allowing IT to create YOU.