Fighting fit

I have had some fantastic adventures along the way and met some amazing people through Muay Thai boxing.

Dubai has a lot of character and I think a lot of people don’t acknowledge it at times.
I think it’s too easy to take things for granted. It’s only when we visit other places that we realise how spoilt we are here. I simply love Dubai.

Its been interesting growing up with people  of diverse backgrounds.
My father is Jamaican and my mother is English, so I come from mixed cultures. I grew up in Jamaica from the age of three. My accent often sparks people’s interest. When I moved back to England at the age of 14, I had to adjust to the English way to fit in.
They say that your younger years are your best because you have no responsibilities. But it went deeper than that for me. We didn’t have much while I was growing up because Jamaica isn’t one of the richest countries. But what we did have was an abundance of natural beauty, natural food, natural resources. I maintain that that’s why Jamaica produced Usain Bolt, the fastest runner in the world. I feel privileged to have had such a healthy upbringing. I spent my childhood climbing trees and exploring the island and its white sandy
beaches. Unlimited freedom like
that is priceless.

As someone from a mixed cultural background, I believe that you should make an effort to understand both sides of your identity; if you know both parts of your background, you will know yourself better.
That’s why I asked to return to the UK to live with my mum, since I had been living with my dad in Jamaica. I also felt that my education was beginning to suffer. I wanted the chance to get to know my mother better and explore the other aspect of my culture.
Arriving in the UK was a shock to me. I had never seen snow. I remember the moment I reached there, I started eating it, thinking it was something like ice cream. It was a confusing but also exciting time.

I was always into sport.
While my other friends were content to party non-stop, I wasn’t particularly interested in that kind of lifestyle. I was health conscious from a young age;
I was always playing football or doing weights in the gym.
But more than anything, I loved dancing. I had a group of dance friends who also just happened to be Thai boxers. They encouraged me to give Muay Thai boxing a try. I liked watching boxing but  I wasn’t particularly keen on getting pummelled. Nevertheless, I joined a class.

I wasn’t remotely intimidated by  the prospect of going to a training session as I was 20 at the time and  I considered myself to be super fit.  But it was an unbelievable wake-up call for me and for my body! By the end of the session, I was aching absolutely everywhere because of the intensity of the exercises. When I finished the class
I went home and thought deeply about my fitness level. I finally decided that I would take another class in boxing. I quite liked it and soon started taking classes once a week, then increased it to three times a week. Before I knew it, I was doing Muay Thai seven days  a week. After a year, I started competing. I was hooked.

It appealed to me more than other sports because it wasn’t only about challenging others; it was about challenging myself  and my own personal fitness goals.
Many people associate fighting sports with aggression and antagonistic personalities. It is a misconception that I admit I held before I started. But when I got to know the people involved, I realised that they were very humble and simply exceptionally disciplined. There was a curriculum to follow; there were concrete rules to adhere to that advocated a behaviour that one could equate with any strict moral code. The way the sport was packaged piqued my interest where other sports had failed. The hierarchical structure was also a clincher in that I could gauge the next level to work towards, which was an incentive to work harder.

My master, Master Sken, has been my greatest influence and inspiration.
Originally from Thailand, he is an exceptionally skilled Muay Thai boxer. He is very athletic. Incidentally, he was in the first Batman movie and he’s still going strong today. He has trained some world-class Muay Thai boxers, among them Phil Nurse, who is the current trainer of Georges St-Pierre, a current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion. We all trained together, taught each other and learnt from each other. We trained under Sitnarong International Muay Thai Association (SIMTA). I still meet Master Sken when I visit the UK and he still is relentlessly strict. I am considering introducing a curriculum here with the guidance of Master Sken.

I’ve gained composure and control through my two decades of Muay Thai.
It has taught me to think ahead and inspires me to take hold of every challenge. It is a great teacher of discipline, inspires belief in yourself and espouses a positive attitude.

I am a big fan of Manchester United. 
When I arrived in the UK as a teenager, I was naturally out of my depth. On my first day at my new school, I was picked on because I was different. A big lad named Martin came over and stood up for me. Since that day, Martin and I have been best friends, going on 30 years now. He was the one who suggested I consider moving to Dubai. Martin is a huge Manchester United fan, and as he took me under his wing, I found my English side in our shared love for this football team.

I abhor bullies.
I’m very strict when it comes to ridding bullies in my classes. I have
a zero tolerance policy of bullying and tardiness. If you’re late for my class you’re going to be punished for it.

In the UAE, the response of expats and Emiratis to Muay Thai has been fantastic.
I love it when we’re counting [during certain exercise sessions] and throughout the classroom you can hear different nationalities counting in their respective languages.
I encourage this so that people get an idea of who comes from where. The result is multicultural interaction. It creates a bond in the class and people realise that while we might all be from different cultures, in this room, we’re all together as one. As a team.
 

For more information or to receive a free Muay Thai tryout in Dubai, email Anthony Willis on: thaiboxeruk@hotmail.com