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On December 15, 2024, the Muay Thai community was invited by Ajahn Suchart to celebrate Thai National Day at Etobicoke Martial Arts. Elite Martial Arts, Siam No.1 Muay Thai, and the Kingdom eagerly showed up to the celebration. We were dressed and ready to train, but it felt more like we were just hanging out with Ajahn while he shared some of his wisdom. For some reason, I had trouble focusing that day, and my mind kept wandering off. So, my apologies if my thoughts are all over the place in this blog.
Ajahn opened by saying that it was Sunday, and he wasn’t Ajahn that day; he was a pastor. He called Muay Thai the “religion of all religions” because it brings people together regardless of their religious beliefs. He also said that Muay Thai is meant to be safe and not about knocking people out. Sparring has to be safe so that parents aren’t afraid to enroll their kids in Muay Thai. Ajahn shared with us that the path to improvement never stops. He was also working on one of his bad habits: drinking close to 30 beers a week. He said he has cut down significantly to maybe a couple of beers some nights.
Ajahn continued, saying that it was Sunday, and some people go to church to go to heaven. But doing Muay Thai on Sundays is better because, first, it makes you strong. Second, it makes you smart. Third, it makes you good-looking. And fourth, it makes you sexy. When Ajahn said Muay Thai makes you sexy, I wondered… I mean, Ajahn Suchart is 65 years old and has been doing Muay Thai for over 50 years! When is the “sexy” phase going to kick in? Picturing Kru Alin… It’s not very promising! Kru Dylan is definitely getting there, but when it comes to Kru Laura… I think we’re all speechless. I must have been distracted by my thoughts for a good 15 minutes and missed some of Ajahn’s wisdom.
When I started listening again, Ajahn was saying that Krus and PC Krus should not show off or try to impress, and they definitely should not bully. At this point, I gave the dirtiest look to PC Kru Hamed. Never mind the unfair burpees, which are demanded out of nowhere for his amusement. The surprise fake knees and elbows become real too often and are too painful! I thought about dropping the “C” from his PC Kru title (take a moment to work that out), but I knew Kru Arash wouldn’t allow it. I think I’m just going to slip some laxatives in his food to get even! If you find Coach Hamed significantly skinnier after the holidays, you’ll know what happened and why.
When I started listening again, Ajahn was talking about the importance of repetition with good technique to create muscle memory. He said it was important to create muscle memory for fighting because stress causes your technique to drop. Ajahn said sparring with bad technique creates muscle confusion. Thinking about muscle memory and muscle confusion, I think Coach Vince must have been having muscle Alzheimer’s that day because when Ajahn asked him to extend his left arm, Coach Vince raised his right leg!!
Ajahn continued that in Muay Thai, your form is your accent, and it shows how well you can communicate your technique. I thought to myself… Does Ajahn’s accent get Irish after 30 beers? At Kingdom, we have a Russian accent you must come to watch! Do we have a British accent in our community? If you know someone with a British accent, please let me know!
Ajahn Suchart closed the sharing part of the ceremony with the deepest thoughts. He shared that in 2010, he won the Canadian Immigrant Award for the change he had made in the community by sharing and teaching the Muay Thai culture. He said that over the years, he has trained over 50,000 students who have become teachers themselves, and some have opened up their own gyms! Ajahn Suchart said, “If I die in 5 years, I don’t care that 50,000 people remember me. I’m happy if I’m remembered by two, but I want those two to continue my path and continue teaching the Muay Thai culture.” The celebration continued with the playing of the Canadian and Thai national anthems, some prayers, and paying respect to the Thai Prime Minister. At the end, we all enjoyed delicious Thai food.
What a great way to end the year! Looking forward to 2025. I think I’ll see most of you on January 25th at the Primo Fight. Come talk to me! All eyes on Coach Francesco at Legacy! Word on the street is that he’s going to gain 20 lbs over the holidays.
Happy holidays everyone!
