What’s your obsession?
‘Muay Thai/Thai kick boxing’
What got you into it?
‘I have always been into martial arts, however, I didn’t hear about Thai boxing until the age of 15 and I only went along because a friend asked. But within the first few lessons I really began to love the sport and realized how beautiful the art was. I also loved the fact that you could perfect the techniques and really see if they would actually work or not by competing full contact with your opponents.’
How often do you do it?
‘Training varies based on where I am. If I’m based in Jersey then pad training, bag work, skipping and other forms of fitness will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with sparring on a Saturday and I will do a 10k run on a Monday and sprints and stair runs on Wednesdays and Fridays.
‘If I am in Thailand then training will be dragged out over longer periods of time as I am not working through the day. Over there I will train six times a day. The morning session consists of running, skipping, bag work, pad work and other forms of fitness, such as sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups and leg weights.
The evening session would include session running, sparring, bag work, pad work, grappling and others managed before. In all, the work out involves at least six hours a day training, sometimes more depending on what type of mood the trainers are in. You will probably think anyone who does this is mad and I often think that everyday I’m doing it, but it’s the feeling you get after about a month of it – a sense of accomplishment and achievement and as far as fitness goes you’re superman.’
Is it easy to get into?
‘Yes, you can just go along to lessons.’
What skills do you need?
‘You don’t need any apart from motivation – everything else comes with time and practice.’
Is it popular in Jersey?
‘Yes, it is growing more and more popular as a ring sport and for fitness benefits/self defence etc. Each lesson we tend to get anything between 30 and 40 people turning up.’
What do you like about it?
‘The thing I love about Thai boxing is the level of skill the very best achieve, meaning that the combinations and speed they move at to catch their opponent out, using elbows, knees, fists and kicks; not relying on lucky blows, but waiting and picking the right shots to beat your opponent the best way possible.
What do you need to do it?
‘To start off with you only need a pair of shorts and T-shirt, but if you do enjoy it and want to carry on you will be expected to buy the club shorts and T-shirt, as you would at any other martial art club. Gloves, pads etc are provided and can be bought through the club.’
How do I get into it?
‘The way to get into the sport and to find out the times, club whereabouts etc is to speak to either James on 07797 724634, or Pete on 07700 897777.’
• Know anyone with an offbeat passion for crazy dance moves, wild sports or anything else extra-ordinary? Put them in touch with the jepGO… team
