Muay Thai boxing starts up in Moncton
Published Tuesday June 16th, 2009
Martial art emphasizes discipline and respect
"It flows like water," says Tony Doolin of Muay Thai boxing. "It's beautiful to watch."
Doolin recently opened Spitfire Muay Thai in Dieppe, a new gym offering class and private lessons to anyone interested in learning the martial art.
Often called the art of eight limbs, Muay Thai is a stand-up martial art that utilizes the hands, shins, elbows and knees.
Aside from teaching self-defence and attack techniques like other forms of martial arts, Muay Thai teaches two traits Doolin views as vital to living a prosperous life.
"The emphasis is to get involved in discipline and respect," said Doolin, whose Muay Thai experience stretches over 10 years. "Respect for yourself, for your students, for your teachers and for your fellow man, and it goes through your whole life."
The sport is widely popular in the United Kingdom and is also Thailand's national sport.
Doolin, a student of Grand Master Sken, a world-renowned Muay Thai boxing teacher, moved to Moncton from the U.K. in 2007.
When he arrived with his son Adam and daughter Louise, both Muay Thai students, he couldn't find any gyms offering Muay Thai, so he decided to start his own.
"It has taken off," he said. "There's a lot of interest, and from people from all aspects of life. People who want to keep fit, people who want to lose weight, and people who just want to try Muay Thai."
A typical training session comes in three phases:
A 15-20 minute warm up, followed by 30 minutes of Muay Thai instruction.
Doolin teaches new techniques and then has students partner up to practise their punching, kicking and blocking while he circulates the room to ensure they're executing the moves properly.
The final 20 minutes of the class is a cardio-based workout focused on different Muay Thai moves.
One of Doolin's students, Brad Duguay, is a mixed martial arts fighter.
He said while he uses Muay Thai to sharpen his MMA skills, the sport teaches him basic focus and concentration skills.
He credits Doolin's teaching for a victory in a May MMA bout.
"Tony's there for you," said Duguay. "He's an awesome teacher. If you're not doing something right, he's going to let you know. I've been places and seen instructors that don't know what they're doing, but Tony does, for sure."
At the end of this month, Doolin said he'll be moving his current class up a level and will be starting a new beginners class.
* Those interested in learning Muay Thai can contact Tony at 227-4444 or visit the gym's Facebook page, Spitfire Muay Thai Canada.
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