Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 34

HEALTH & well-being Training with Stephan Fox Fight Like a Girl by Shannon Frandsen Photos: Merle Debelius A s an expat in Thailand, Muay Thai is one of the first cultural aspects of the country to leap out at you. It’s hard to miss the shiny boxing shorts sold on the streets of Bangkok. If you’ve been to Phuket, maybe you’ve heard promotional trucks roll by with loudspeakers blaring, ‘Tuesday night! Thai box-ing! Thai box-ing!’ At the very least, I am willing to bet you’ve noticed the impeccable—pun intended—physique of Thai boxers either on TV or at the gym. Considering this, it’s safe to assume you know Muay Thai is a fundamental part of Thailand’s culture as well as its tourism industry. This was the extent of my Muay Thai knowledge until a few weeks ago, when I decided to learn more about this spiritual sport. On a quest to discover Muay Thai in depth, my first stop was a visit with world champion Stephan Fox. 32 WANDERLUST WORLD CHAMP I walked into Stephan Fox’s office and my mind immediately registered him as a real-life Rocky—skin worn by years of fighting, energy that can’t be contained, dark hair, lively eyes. Stephan leaned back comfortably with laced hands supporting his head, swiveling his office chair from side to side, ready to take on my questions. “Eye of the Tiger” unwittingly found its way between my ears. First, some background information: Stephan is from Germany but has lived in Thailand for twenty years. He is well known in the East and the West as a Muay Thai world champion and an ambassador for the sport worldwide. He has appeared on several television programs, among them “The Biggest Loser Asia” and “The Contender Asia.” Now that I’d met him, I understood why he was involved with the media. Though Stephan is small in stature, he has a larger than life personality—perfect for entertainment. I asked Stephan why he got involved with martial arts. “Small man syndrome,” he says, matterof-factly and with a wry smile. On a more serious note, he added that Bruce Lee was his childhood idol. His mother signed him up for marital arts classes as a way to channel his boundless energy. He focused on judo, boxing, and kung fu before discovering Muay Thai on a trip to Thailand at age nineteen. What followed was a fifteen-year career in the ring that brought him to the top of the Muay Thai world. After he retired from fighting, he went on to training and the executive side of the sport, www.wanderlustmag.com