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,
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