Have Monkoon will travel!

For twenty years as a competitor I traveled the world competing and training, from my home in great Britain to first Europe, then in later years to the Far East. My thirst for knowledge and experience led me to train in the backrooms of shady looking bars in Burma and Laos to some of the most famous Thai Boxing camps in the world, Pinsinchai, Carryboy, Fairtex, EPM, Singnakhonchai, Sityongtong, Sitsiam, Chakuricki, Vos, etc to name but a few.

Without exception I was treated with respect and friendliness and after a short period, proving myself technically and knowledgeably, was treated as one of their own. I was told a long time ago by my Arjarn (Master) that there are no secrets in Thai boxing, which meant if you share what you know, then likewise trainers will show you what they know or how or why they do a particular technique.

Rather than lot of other martial arts which are shrouded in secrecy, Thai boxers are proud of their art and are always more than happy to explain the differences in kicking style and technique, rather than keeping secret the power of their techniques or the training methods used to condition the body to withstand such extreme forces.

I’m sure that the reason for this in Thai boxing is that by sharing information and making everyone better, it raises the overall standard of the art, which is how Muay Thai or Muay Choa Chur as it was originally called when developed back in the 15th century when Thailand was still the kingdom of Siam. The king needed to train an army to fight against the invading and richer surrounding countries of Burma, Laos, Cambodia etc. and so called together all the best fighters in the country and for ten years they distilled their fighting knowledge into one book called the chupasart, and it was this book that was then used to train the army of Siam.

Rather than the ancient battlefields of Ayudhhya the distilling of great fighters knowledge is now done in the Thai boxing training camps of Bangkok and in the ring in the Lumpini or Rajdamnern stadium. As a fighter I was very fortunate to have had over 120 professional fights in Muay Thai without a loss. These have included British, European and World titles, but this was only possible due to the training I received from my various masters and trainers over the years. The name of my Thai boxing camp is Petchyindee, which means “Diamond Delight” which comes from a very old poem about Thai boxers.

Top boxers are rare as diamonds
Their techniques polished to perfection
As the surface of a glistering diamond
Magnificent in its beauty, unique in its strength

The different people that I have been fortunate enough to have trained with whether for an hour, a day, a month or a decade has all added polish to my technique and therefore my knowledge.

Though being too old and bashed about to still compete in the art I love so much, I am now lucky enough to be able to pass on all that knowledge to my students or whoever else is interested. As an instructor your abilities are usually judged on a number of things. The number of students you have, the number of champions you have produced and the number of victories you have had. In some way this correlates to the knowledge you have or it means you are very good at marketing yourself and your product.

In Pattaya there is a boxing camp, it is no bigger than one small room, there are probably no more than 20 students who train there but it produces many champions every year because of the knowledge and experience of the teacher.

Therefore don’t limit yourself only to the knowledge of your instructor however great they may be, as their knowledge could contain gaps However always be loyal and respectful to your instructor and to your art, even if you are told by someone else that they are no good and because they don’t perform devastating techniques all the time.

Although not quite a dinosaur yet, I am not as young, fit, fast or flexible as I once was, and therefore performing repeated jumping, spinning, hook kicks are definitely not going to be a pretty or awesome sight they once were.

However as time has robbed me of my youth and a degree of my performance, it has given me so much more in the form of knowledge, though physically still formidable, with time that too will wain, however my knowledge will allow me to produce students, black belts, and champions equally as good if not better than myself, simply because of the knowledge I pass on to them . By sharing knowledge and being open with people you will only gain from the experience.

Nick Hewitson
Nick and WTC World Champion Mathee fight ready.