Muay Thai. The Art of Eight Limbs. Somehow i never think of Muay Thai as something that i would learn. It is such a graceful art, i see my instructors, Nuengpichit Sityodtong, Chatri Sityodtong, Daorung Sityodtong, and Yoddecha Sityodtong throw kicks, elbows, punches and knees and i am in awe. I ask myself, “would i ever be able to do this?” Clearly not as i have no body coordination whatsoever! I can’t even skip rope!

About 2 weeks ago, i went for submission grappling training and within minutes i was gassed out! Then i remember one of the instructors, Chatri telling me that Muay Thai is good for cardio. With that in mind, i went for my first Muay Thai session last week. I went in with a heavy heart.. well.. i can’t skip rope and my cardio is at an all time low but surprisingly it is not as bad as i think it would be. Our instructors for that session, Nueng, Yoddecha and “Papa” Daorung made the session fun.. yes. FUN. We started with a 20 minutes plus warm up, running, stretching, skipping rope (though i do have a little problem with that). Then it’s off to light shadow boxing and kicks followed by pairing up to train on light boxing and kicking. I pair up with Marc; my buddy. The instructors walk around, making sure that we got our posture and technique right.

After the light training session, Nueng ask us to line up and this is the part i love! We line up to deliver a series of low kicks to the paddings held by the instructors, even our two Korean MMA instructors also joined in, helping with the paddings. We are suppose to deliver low kicks to the paddings, then to the heavy bags for push kicks, low kicks, middle kicks and high kicks. Then suddenly Nueng switches and ask those at the heavy bags to do a series of 50 knees to the heavy bags! It was cardio packed and the thing is with everyone going at it. You don’t even notice that you are tired! I left that Muay Thai session, muscles aching but in a strange way felt energised!

Today’s session was even better, the usual warm up session and Nueng taught us to do the Wai khru ram muay after which we learn how to do a simple left jab, right cross followed by the elbows and knee strikes.. and then the fun part starts! I don’t know what the instructors call it but it is definitely good. We started off with push kicks on the heavy bags and then move on to the instructors who are holding paddings, ready for action! Marc and myself got teamed up with “Papa”. A little bout “Papa”; when i first saw “Papa” at Evolve, my first thought was uncle.. but “Papa” is no ordinary uncle, this is an uncle with a record of over 100 professional Muay Thai fights and “Papa” is really tough. Despite the language barrier, “Papa” never fails to interact with us whenever we drop by the gym. I have nothing but respect for “Papa” and the respect i had for him goes up to another level after today’s session. He guided us, shouting out moves, “Punch! Elbow! Knee! Kick! Kick!” Even though at times our kicks don’t connect, “Papa” simply held the padding up again and motions for us to go again! It is such a wonderful feeling training with such professionals.

No doubt there may be other Muay Thai gyms in Singapore but for me, Evolve is the first MMA gym i’ve joined in my life. I enjoyed my submission grappling experience at Evolve and right now i am enjoying my first Muay Thai experience. I might never have a chance to put what i’ve learnt to use but i do learn more than just Muay Thai. I learnt that the art of fighting transcends everything, including the language barrier. I also learn to control my breathing and work more on my cardio. It is definitely an experience i will remember. All i can say is i can’t wait for my next Muay Thai lesson. So what are you waiting for? If you have yet to try out Muay Thai, do so now!