Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns

Last Man Standing 25th April 15th 2015

Luke Greenshields (Black Widow) V Steve Johns (Chao Phraya)

Steve said: “So as much as I’d like to say that after a hard fought bout yesterday I came away with a win, unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case. I was caught with heavy leg kicks in the first round taking it out of action and was unable to continue. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone that wished me luck and especially those that traveled to support me.

With a hostile local crowd it meant the world to me. After seven weeks of hard training I’d also like to thank Kru Leigh Edlin, Kru Brian Pawsey, Fight Specifix and Max Skidmore for all their help in my training. Most importantly the never wavering support of my amazing wife Lisa… Much love to all”.

A few photo’s and video from the event:

Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 5Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 9Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 8Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 2 Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 3 Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 4Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 1Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 7Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns 6

These fantastic images from the event are by Howarth Photography and can be purchased online here >> www.howarthphotography.com

YOKKAO Saenchai & Pakorn Seminars

YOKKAO Saenchai & Pakorn Seminars

YOKKAO Saenchai & Pakorn Seminars

The official first dates for the YOKKAO UK Seminars which will take place beginning this coming May 16th in Edinburgh.

Friday 22nd May 2015

At Black Widow Martial Arts Academy

325 High Street, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B70 8LU

  • 6:00pm – 7.45pm (Ticket £50)
  • 8.15pm – 10:00 (Ticket £50)

Contact: Yogendra Parekh on 07821416628 or email: yogiboxer@hotmail.co.uk

YOKKAO Saenchai & Pakorn Seminars

Muay Thai Living Legend Saenchai PKSaenchaimuaythaigym, called the best pound 4 pound in the World and YOKKAO World Champion Pakorn PKSaenchaimuaythaigym, will join together with YOKKAO mastermind Stefania Picelli and YOKKAO UK distributor Jack Bolam, from May 16th until May 24th to host a series of seminars at the most prestigious gyms in the UK.

YOKKAO-SeminarSaenchai-and-Pakorn

In just a few days, from Edinburgh to Bournemouth, 5 staging grounds have been confirmed covering strategic zones throughout the UK.

The growing importance of YOKKAO Seminars continue after a series of successes in Asia, Europe and USA. A consolidated guarantee for Muay Thai lovers of any age. This year the YOKKAO seminars will work alongside the Games whose workouts will see an overall winner of the season win 2000USD prize money. More info to be released soon at www.games.yokkao.com

One month after the successfull edition of YOKKAO YOKKAO 12 and 13, YOKKAO continues a massive promotion of Muay Thai in the UK, helped by the solid support of fighters, owners of gyms and trainers, all together with the common goal of promoting Muay Thai in to new levels.

Map:

Source: www.yokkao.com

Muay Thai v Kickboxing

Muay Thai v Kickboxing

Yodsanklai Showcases How to Beat a Kickboxing Opponent

One of the biggest rivalries in stand up striking is Kickboxing vs Muay Thai. Given the fact that most Kickboxers fighters don’t train with elbows, clinching, or throws, it is only a fair fight if Thai fighters fight under the Kickboxing rules. This means that in every “Kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight,” it is essentially a Kickboxer vs Muay Thai Fighter who isn’t allowed using half of his weapons.

Recently, more Thai fighters have been fighting in Kickboxing promotions, in pursuit of a bigger pay day. For Muay Thai fighters who don’t have good boxing skills, this can often result in Knockout losses.

This fight between Yodsanklai vs Marat Grigorian showcases the classic matchup of Kickboxing vs Muay Thai in a Kickboxing setting. Check out the full fight below:

Yodsanklai Fairtex vs Marat Grigorian @Kunlun Fight:

Differences in Blocking Kicks

Yodsanklai instragram

A very noticeable difference between between Kickboxing and Muay Thai is the way fighters block body kicks. Instead of using their legs to absorb the impact of the kick, Kickboxers use their arms to absorb the damage of the kick. While this does a good job of protecting the side of the body from any impact, the arm and elbow take a lot of damage from the kicks.

Repetitive kicks to the arm over time will weaken a fighters punching ability as the fight wears on. Over time a fighter will have less knockout power in the later rounds of the fight.

Yodsanklai exploits this difference against Marat Grigorian, beating his opponent with relative ease. There was no time in the fight where he was in danger from Marat, a fighter who packs a strong punch. (Marat recently Knocked out Aikpracha)

The Basics Win Fights

Right Jab Instagram

Since Yodsanklai Fairtex is a southpaw fighter, his left kick is his weapon of choice. He demonstrates that you don’t have to be fancy to win fights, you just have to be effective at what you do. Instead of throwing a variety of flashy kicks, the whole fight he smashes his left kick against his opponent who is unable to block it.

Throughout the entire fight, Yodsanklai uses 3 basic moves that win him the fight: Right Jab, Left Straight, Left Body Kick

No flashing spinning back fists, flying knees, head kicks or anything else. His opponent was not blocking his body kicks, so why would he change something that was working? Even though Yodsanklai has a lot more tools at his disposal, he knew that his opponent had a lot of knockout power in his hands.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

Marat’s strategy the entire fight was to come forward with aggressive punches and try and get a knockout win. While this strategy is effective against Thai fighters who lack boxing skills, it is not a winning strategy against Yodsanklai.

Yodsanklai once again showcases why he is the best Thai fighter that is currently fighting foreigners at the higher weight classes. His mix of timing, power and speed make him a tough matchup for anyone, regardless of their fighting style.

Source: www.muaythaipros.com

How do Muay Thai Fighters earn in Thailand?

If you study of Muay Thai, chances are you do it for the love and not the money. More than likely you’ve heard since day one… “This sport isn’t about becoming rich.” But still, most Muay Thai fighters are struggling to get that break, to land the fight that will put them on the map to finally score a big day payday.

But how much is that payday exactly? In MMA, we see great champions are making huge amounts of cash and even huger sponsorship deals. More than likely, those at the top of the sport are at least earning in the six figure range, sometimes more. So how do these contracts compare to a top of the line Muay Thai fighter, holding a belt in the prestigious Lumpinee or Rajadamnern stadiums?

A current Lumpinee champion makes roughly 60,000 baht per fight (Around £1,200) Only after the gym takes their cut of profits, fighters are typically left with around 20,000 baht for themselves (£400). Doesn’t seem fair or much does it?!

There are ways for Thai fighters to earn significantly more money through gym bets. You might have seen certain fights advertised as having a 1,000,000 baht prize placed on them. These are usually large bets put on particular fights for gym owners to make an extra bit of money if they feel like their guy has a significant advantage going in. If a fighter invests his own money into the bet, it’s possible that he will receive a cut of the earnings. Of course, this is a very dangerous game. Losing means sacrificing an already minuscule paycheck, and perhaps being forced to fight more frequently to make up the difference.

Despite Thailand being a land where the cost of living is much lower than much of the western world, £400 per fight is still not very much money, especially at the highest possible level of the sport. Not only that, but the 60,000 baht pay day is only for top of the line competitors that have already established names for themselves.

Fighters that aren’t champions usually receive somewhere between 10 and 15,000 baht (£200 – £300). It can vary depending on how much interest there is for a fight, betting, and other factors, but typically the price range stays within those two numbers.

For farang (foreign) fighters, the paydays are much less. A foreign fighter will earn between 2 and 5,000 baht per fight if they are competing at Lumpinee stadium. This comes out to less than £100 per match-up.

There is more demand for farangs in the outlying markets, like Phuket and Koh Samui. Foreigners can make significantly more in Bangla than anywhere else, because that’s what the gamblers and audience come to see.

The real market for Muay Thai lies outside Thailand. International fighters can often earn more than double what Lumpinee champions pull in, despite the quality of competition being much lower. It is not incredibly difficult for a decent Thai to make over 100,000 baht per fight. It’s also much easier for farang fighters to come by competition their own weight, at a price that allows them to live above the poverty line.

Because of the low pay for Thai boxing within Thailand, many former Lumpinee or Rajadamnern champions end up in demeaning or ill-fitting jobs after their careers are over. There is not enough money saved up to retire comfortably, nor do they have many skillsets beyond the scope of muay thai. To make a living, skilled nak muays absolutely must take up a coaching position. Finding a teaching position inside the country is difficult, considering the market is already flooded with extremely high level trainers. Going international is an option, but many former fighters don’t want to be away from their friends and families for extended periods of time.

Right now, gamblers in muay thai are making huge amounts of money off the fighters, who are seeing very little of it for their efforts. We can only hope that the future sees either a change in the wages for some of the greatest athletes in combat sports, or newer organizations give stadium fighters the amount of money we all know they are worth.

How to score in Muay Thai

How to score in Muay Thai Workshop

Shaun_Boland

Sunday 29th March @7:30pm

With Kru Shaun Boland

This is a hands on course which will cover correct and effective scoring techniques in addition to teaching the rules & regulations governing Muay Thai scoring. This course will benefit fighters, coaches and anyone who wishes to receive a better understanding of scoring in Muay Thai.

Course content

  • Introduction
  • Muay Thai scoring criteria
  • Scoring strategies (offensive & defensive)
  • Fouls
  • How to effectively score using:
    1. Kicks
    2. Knees
    3. Punches
    4. Elbows
    5. Clinch
    6. Off balancing
    7. Trips

Cost

Normal training session fee for Chao Phraya licensed students.

NOT TO BE MISSED!!

Last Man Standing & Super Fights

Last_Man_Standing

Yogendra Parekh is very happy to announce

Last Man Standing & Muay Thai Super Fights

Saturday 25th April 2015

Steve Johns (Chao Phraya Lincoln)
V
Luke Greenshields (Black Widow)

Super Fight – Under B Class Thai Rules
Both fighters are very talented and exciting to watch and are returning to the ring after long breaks from the sport, the clash of styles here alone promises for a very exciting fight.
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BIRMINGHAM’S PREMIERE MUAY THAI BRAND RETURNS WITH:

Location: At The Al Miraj Banqueting Suite in Birmingham
Doors Open: 1pm
Preliminary Bouts: 1.30pm
Main Event Fight Card: 6pm

This will be our record 4th 8 Man Tournament to take place within 5 years of establishing the Last Man Standing brand, which in previous years has covered 63.5KG (Winner Angelo Campoli), 67KG (Winner Thomas McCormick) & 72KG (Winner Kyle Nicol), all our previous tournaments were a huge success.

The show will also be co-main evented by the reigning x6 World Champion Andy “The Punisher” Howson, who will be competing for his record 7th World Title, in a rematch against Thanit “Boom” Watthanaya.

The fight card will also feature international and national stars Prathet Sor Thanikul, Nathan Bendon, Leko Wright, Joe Newton, Correy Robbins & Naqqash Khan, all supporting the main event fight card. There will also be an undercard of preliminary bouts, featuring some of the best up and coming talent in the UK today.

Here’s the line up so far for our 8 Man £3,000 Tournament at 61KG max.

Ross George (Kaang Raang)
Martin Avery (Lumpini Thai)
Anthony Ferguson (Renegade/Knowlesy Academy)
Luke Bennett (Masda)
Paul Barber (Benfleet/Double K)
Cathel McDermott (Shin Kick)
Steven “Jimpy” John (Eagles)
Alex Bublea (Knowlesy Academy)

Reserve Match Up:

Luca Roma (De Gym Italy) v Mike Bateman (Super Gym)

COMING SOON: Match ups for the following:

Luke Greenshields (Black Widow) v Steve Johns (Chao Phraya Lincoln)
Nathan “The Body Snatcher” Bendon (Corefit)
Joe Newton (Evolution)
Leko Wright (Black Widow)
Naqqash Khan (Black Widow)
Correy Robbins (Black Widow)

Promo Video:

Ticket Prices:

VIP Ringside Tables for x10 people (Including 3 course dinner): £600
VIP Ringside Seats (Including 3 course dinner): £60
Adult Standard: £30
Child Standard: £15

Tickets available from:

Kru Steve Johns at krusteve@lincolnthaiboxing.co.uk

OR

Yogendra Parekh at yogiboxer@hotmail.co.uk

Map:

Pornsanae Sitmonchai Retires

Muay Thai Legend Pornsanae Sitmonchai Retires

Life After Fighting:

When Pornsanae Sitmonchai stepped into the ring in Bangkok’s Omnoi Stadium last Valentine’s Day, not even the owner of his gym knew he intended it to be his last fight. The Sitmonchai team prepped him backstage, wrapped his hands and rubbed him with oil. Pornsanae, normally exuberant and outgoing, pulled into himself and concentrated on the battle ahead.

It was a high-stakes fight; he was defending his Omnoi title. He freely admits he’s afraid of losing every time he steps into the ring, “but this fight was different,” he said. “It was even worse because I knew it was my last.” It was a lot of pressure, and he was bearing it mostly alone.

He’d been on the fence for weeks about retiring, hadn’t even fully decided to retire until a few days before the Omnoi match. About a week before the fight, he approached his close friend and fellow fighter Jun (Thepnimit Sitmonchai), and told him about his plan to retire. He asked Jun not to tell P’ Ae, the gym’s owner. Jun agreed to keep quiet. He and Pornsanae had grown up together, training and living alongside one another at Sitmonchai for the past nearly 20 years. For the few days leading up to the fight, Jun and a handful of Pornsanae’s other closest friends at Sitmonchai were the only ones who knew this fight would be his last.

None of Pornsanae’s friends was surprised to hear he wanted to retire. At age 34, Pornsanae has amassed around 300 fights and a reputation for a wildly entertaining, aggressive, unrelenting fighting style. With that style, however, comes the danger of injury, especially the cumulative effects of knockouts and concussions.

Recently married and now with a young family, Pornsanae had been questioning his decision to keep fighting since his daughter was born nearly two years ago. In the ring, his aggressive tactics suggested fearlessness. Outside the ring, however, he worried about the effects such a career might have on his health. “When I was younger,” he said, “I was never afraid of anything. But now that I have a family, I’m afraid I’ll die soon if I keep fighting.” His interactions with other pro fighters, mostly Western-style boxers, gave him pause. “You can tell when you talk to these boxers that most of them don’t function at a hundred percent anymore. It scares me that someday I might become like that.”

The first sign of trouble happened during a plane flight in early 2013. Pornsanae had just lost a fight by decision to Michael “Tomahawk” Thompson in Australia. It was a full-rules, caged Muay Thai show in which the fighters wore MMA gloves, far smaller than the gloves Pornsanae had been using in his 20-year career.

On the plane home from Australia, Pornsanae’s head started aching. This was unusual for him, and he worried about what it signified. Thompson hadn’t knocked him out, but Pornsanae had been given two standing eight-counts during the three rounds. Once back in Bangkok, he hurried to the hospital.

He told the doctors he’d been fighting since he was 11 years old—more than 20 years of shots to the head. The doctors understood his career as a Muay Thai fighter meant he had to continue fighting to support his family. They told him to keep coming back for regular checkups, gave him pills they said would increase blood flow to his brain.

Pornsanae’s fans and fight critics were taking notice. Comments and blog posts started showing up, calling for him to retire, alleging that Sitmonchai Gym was forcing him to fight. In Thailand, however, it’s not always a straightforward transition from earning a living as a fighter to earning one as a trainer, or any other job. Hundreds of high-level Muay Thai boxers retire every year, often with no certain method to support themselves. Some fighters become trainers; many do not. Motorcycle taxi stands and fruit stalls are populated with former fighters trying to get by.

Like many other fighters approaching the end of their career, Pornsanae felt the pressure. “You get to a point where you can’t fight, so you have to find some new experiences, do something else. I can’t be a boxer forever, and I have to find other ways to make money. Most of all, I have to think about my family.”

“People were analyzing his knockouts and fighting style, talking about his life and what he should do, without actually talking to him to see what his wants and needs were,” said Abigail McCullough, foreign liaison of Sitmonchai and a resident of the gym for the past five years. “They have no idea what his life is like. I was getting pissed off at these people who were writing about Pornsanae’s life from their positions of privilege, espousing to know what’s best for him. It’s creepy moral arrogance. It’s all well and good to say he should be retiring, but are you going to pay for his kid’s food? If you’ve been here [in Thailand] any length of time, you know these fighters fight for survival. It’s how they provide for themselves and their families. Other people’s values, all the critics saying he needs to retire from fighting, it doesn’t apply in his world. Everyone knows he’s getting old and that he needs to stop fighting. But this is the current state of Muay Thai. It’s changing all the time, and now luckily these retired fighters are finally getting better options for their post-fight careers. But the transition is not always easy.”

When he stepped into the Omnoi ring for the last fight of his career, Pornsanae wasn’t thinking about what he’d do after fighting. He told himself this was it, his last fight, so put in one hundred percent. He wanted to leave a legacy, what he called “a beautiful history.”

From the red corner, Pornsanae squared off against his opponent, Petch GL Suit. The fight lasted only two rounds. Pornsanae knocked Petch down with an elbow in the second round. Petch jumped back to his feet quickly but shakily, received a count from the ref. Looking to end it before Petch could fully recover, Pornsanae pushed forward, fired a sharp low kick, stepped in and leveled Petch with his punches.

Petch collapsed onto his back. The ref waved it off, fight over. Pornsanae raised his hands and danced around the ring, leaped onto the neutral corner and faced the cheering gamblers in the stands, mouth agape in the half-crazed ecstasy of knowing he did it, he retired as a champion, an old fighter at 34 and now permanently a legend in Muay Thai.

Back in the dressing room after the fight, Pornsanae broke the news to gym owner P’ Ae that he was officially retiring from fighting. P’ Ae and Pornsanae had grown up sharing a room; they were like brothers. Keeping the secret from him had been hard. Pornsanae apologized for not telling P’ Ae sooner, saying it would have been too stressful before such an important fight. P’ Ae was understanding, and completely supportive of his decision to retire.

Pornsanae was relieved to let his secret out to everyone at the gym. Making the decision to retire and then keeping it from his fight family had been an emotional burden. “He was afraid even to tell me,” said Abigail, Jun’s partner and close friend of Pornsanae. “But the truth is, we all wanted him to retire. We wanted him to take care of himself, didn’t want his health to suffer. He himself had said a few times that he was getting too old.”

According to Abigail, one of the biggest hurdles to Pornsanae’s retirement was money. “He didn’t have anything that would pay as well as his fighting career so we all knew he was inclined to keep fighting. He has a new family so of course he wants to make as much money as he can while he still can.”

What prompted Pornsanae to hang up his gloves once and for all was a call from Evolve MMA in Singapore, a highly regarded gym famous for its coaching staff of retired champions. The day after Pornsanae’s Omnoi fight, Evolve MMA announced he would soon be joining their team as a trainer.

In his 23-year career, Pornsanae has seen the sport of Muay Thai go from being nearly exclusively Thai to internationally famous. This foreign interest in Muay Thai is providing him a smooth path from famous fighter to highly sought trainer. Pornsanae, who was born into a poor family in rural Kanchanaburi Province, will be making a base salary of approximately 100,000 baht a month (about $3,100), not counting additional private lessons. He’ll potentially make more in a month than many of his countrymen make in a year. Not bad for a high school dropout who grew up fighting for a living.

Pornsanae is scheduled to depart Thailand in March 2015. He plans to work the next few years in Singapore, taking a break every four months to visit his family in Thailand. Working as a fighter and now a trainer abroad present challenges to his family, but both the financial and emotional stability of his family are paramount to him. “When I was growing up,” he said, “my parents were never very warm and we were not very close. Now that I have my own family, I want to give them the warmth I didn’t have growing up. Unfortunately while I was fighting, I had to be very focused and disciplined, so I didn’t have much time for my family. Now I’m going away to Singapore, which is necessary because I have to provide for my family, but I plan to come home as often as I can, and have them come visit me too.”

Knowing the kind of person Pornsanae is, some of his gym friends have started making bets as to how long he’ll last at his new job. “Some of us think he won’t last more than a few months away,” Abigail said. “He’s such a homebody! He hates being away from home.”

The high salary and good working environment are appealing to Pornsanae, but what he’s most looking forward to about Singapore, he says, is being so close to Universal Studios. “I can’t wait to bring my family there. I’ve been to a lot of countries, but Singapore is my favorite because Universal Studios is right there and I can go all the time now.

“I won’t stay in Singapore forever, though,” he said. “I’m doing this to earn money for my family, and we will ultimately stay in Thailand. Kanchanaburi is my home; Sitmonchai is my home. I will always come back here.”

Source: www.fightland.vice.com

MSA Interclub (15.02.15)

MSA interclub

MSA Logo

Sunday 15th February 2015

Weigh in: 10am – 11am
Fights Start at: 12pm

At:

Master Sken Academy
1st Floor Woodbank Works
Woodbank Industrial Estate
Turncroft Lane, Offerton
Stockport, Cheshire
SK1 4AR

master sken

About

All Fighters will be presented with MSA Awards/Trophies

The MSA interclub is an event that enables the students to improve their Muay Thai skills at their own pace. Alongside sparring sessions which are regularly held within Master Sken Academy classes to help improve participant’s techniques focusing on fighting strategies that are taught to aid the fighter when competing.

All MSA interclub events have fight officials referee and time keeper; students are encouraged to spar in controlled safe environment learning from each other’s techniques and strategies. Trophies and certificates are awarded on the day. Everybody is welcome to support their club and fighters on the day.

MSA Interclubs are held regularly throughout the year. Clubs from around the country are welcome to join the Interclub event by sending their Club name Instructor and students name with the students weight age and experience. We will match each person prior to the day.

Due to the popularity of the MSA Interclub’s we are asking each Club to book in advance & are limited to 7 fighters per camp. 2 assistants (corner). Weigh in is done prior to the day.

  • Weigh in at the event is strictly between 10 to 11am.
  • Interclub will begin at 12pm.
  • Instructors please bring your own protective equipment.
  • Bring your friends and family to support your camp.
  • Everyone is welcome to support on the day.
  • Admission £7 for fighters and spectators.

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Chao Phraya Academy Fighters

Could Fighters Attending, please add their Name, Age, Weight & Experience in the comments box below…

How to get there

Master Sken Website > www.mastersken.com

Thinking of fighting

This is a short movie taken at Daria Albers last fight at King of Kings KOK. This movie shows it’s not only about the fight. It’s the mental part, the emotions, the team and the people around you… what makes all of us, love it so much.

Thinking of fighting?

Originally posted by Sandy Holt at Bolton Muay Thai, Thinking of fighting – “What does it feel like, how high up the tree do you want to climb? When a student wants to test themselves to the max in the fight area? After all those punishing weeks, training daily, dedication, discipline both physically and mentally and torturing yourself…. This is what you fell as an individual!

Featuring Miss Daria Albers from Darnell Knoch‘s HAMMERS GYM in Germany. This gives a ‘REAL’ insight into How the last Moments before you climb into and inside those four Ropes and the very lonely square ring”!!

Thai Warriors

Thai Warriors

Thai Warriors

6th December 2014

At Leamington Spa

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Sam Hyde (Chao Phraya) v Kieron Walsh (8 limbs)

Our very own Sam Hyde will be fighting at this event, so please support him!!

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About
Thai Warriors is a Warwickshire based Muay Thai promotion with the goal of being the leading pioneer in promoting the science of 8 limbs in the area.

Description
Thai Warriors is a Warwickshire based Muay Thai promotion with the goal of being the leading pioneer in promoting the science of 8 limbs in the area. Be there for the debut show 6th December Leamington Spa’s first night of all out Muay Thai action!

TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE 1ST OCTOBER 2014


TICKETS
STANDARD – £25
VIP Balcony (including Food) – £45

AVAILABLE FROM SAM HYDE

EMAIL
thaiwarriors@outlook.com

LOCATION
www.leamingtonassembly.com

leamington assembly

MAP