'You're going to be sore tomorrow'
Class teaches defensive art of Muay Thai
By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03-24-2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - To those who have not flipped through late night cable choices and landed on a Muay Thai fight, it's a sport that's difficult to describe.
There are many things Muay Thai is not, though.
That afternoon kickboxing class with participants executing flimsy upper cuts into thin air is not Muay Thai. Those karate movies (circa 1980s) with the flailing kicks that lift the good guy in mid-air don't have anything to do with Muay Thai either.
A good way to witness this martial art hailing from Thailand is to step inside Dobler's Muay Thai Kickboxing gym in Rancho Cucamonga where owner and instructor Bryan "Double Dose" Dobler gets students kicking, punching and shouting with impressive vigor.
Televised fights and feature movies have driven mixed martial arts like Muay Thai into the mainstream and the evolution of Dobler's gym - from a two-car garage to a business serving 150 students - is proof. The popularity also stems from a constant demand for alternative ways to get fit.
"Many ladies have called recently saying, `We've done the cardio kickboxing. I want to do the real thing,"' said Dobler, 41. There's nothing demure about Muay Thai. Elbows, knees and feet
- body parts that when used, could kick you out of most boxing rings - are encouraged here. For beginners, pain is standard fare, just like the colorful, dazzling shorts that fighters wear.
After a recent evening class, Dobler told a couple of new students, "Gentlemen, you're going to be sore tomorrow. The best thing you can do is come back."
Step class this is not. It's not even power yoga.
But getting in shape was the reason Shawn Farnsworth got involved with Muay Thai. She watched her son go through classes back when Dobler operated his gym in the garage of his Fontana home, and decided to give it a go. Three years of training and three fights later, Farnsworth found herself on a plane to Thailand to compete in an invitational tournament. Farnsworth, who initially just wanted to lose a little weight, brought home a silver medal at the age of 43. She said she still gets a little emotional talking about that feat.
"I'm married and I have kids, and they are the most important in my life but that was an absolute highlight," said Farnsworth, now 46, about her bout in Thailand. "Money couldn't buy my experience there."
Farnsworth is now an instructor at Dobler's gym, where students range in age from 6 to 60.
The gym is situated in a quiet, nondescript office plaza, a location that belies all the gritty action behind the tinted windows.
At a recent circuit training class, about 20 students went through a slew of exercises - bicep curls, jumping rope, shadow boxing and abdominal work.
Later, while demonstrating a punch-kick combo, Dobler tells his students, "We can't learn fluff, we have to learn reality. Punch directly at the target."
"Kap," answered the students in the affirmative, in Thai.
"Be respectful and begin," Dobler said.
Reminders to be respectful are uttered a dozen times a class. Kickboxing is no doubt Dobler's passion but he also has a penchant for Thai language and culture.
The red, white and blue of both the Thai and American flags dominate much of the gym. And like a typical business in Thailand, a framed picture of the Thai king hangs high.
Dobler got involved with Thai kickboxing at age 6, when his uncle introduced him to Surachai Sirisute, or Master Chai, a prominent Muay Thai expert who introduced the art to many countries outside of Thailand.
"All the other kids were watching Bruce Lee, I was watching Master Chai," Dobler said.
At the time, few in the United States knew Thais practiced martial arts. So much has changed now, Dobler said. The popularity of recent Thai films like "Ong-bak" and "The Protector" has placed Muay Thai squarely in the spotlight.
Marcos Guevara, 19, did an online search for Muay Thai schools and found Dobler's gym just six months ago and tonight he is scheduled to take part in his first fight - a match held in Van Nuys.
"I wanted to learn boxing but I also wanted to learn to use every part of my body," Guevara said. "I don't want to learn flashy kicks just to learn them, I want to learn something for the real world."
Dobler said one of his female students was attacked but managed to defend herself using the Muay Thai skills she learned.
"To me that makes everything worthwhile," the instructor said. "We teach people to defend themselves. I'm not ashamed to say this is a fighting art."
Go kick it
Bryan "Double Dose" Dobler's Muay Thai gym
9057 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga
For more information, call (909) 948-5425 or visit www.gokickit.com
Staff writer Wendy Leung can be reached by e-mail at wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9376.
Class teaches defensive art of Muay Thai
By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03-24-2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - To those who have not flipped through late night cable choices and landed on a Muay Thai fight, it's a sport that's difficult to describe.
There are many things Muay Thai is not, though.
That afternoon kickboxing class with participants executing flimsy upper cuts into thin air is not Muay Thai. Those karate movies (circa 1980s) with the flailing kicks that lift the good guy in mid-air don't have anything to do with Muay Thai either.
A good way to witness this martial art hailing from Thailand is to step inside Dobler's Muay Thai Kickboxing gym in Rancho Cucamonga where owner and instructor Bryan "Double Dose" Dobler gets students kicking, punching and shouting with impressive vigor.
Televised fights and feature movies have driven mixed martial arts like Muay Thai into the mainstream and the evolution of Dobler's gym - from a two-car garage to a business serving 150 students - is proof. The popularity also stems from a constant demand for alternative ways to get fit.
"Many ladies have called recently saying, `We've done the cardio kickboxing. I want to do the real thing,"' said Dobler, 41. There's nothing demure about Muay Thai. Elbows, knees and feet
- body parts that when used, could kick you out of most boxing rings - are encouraged here. For beginners, pain is standard fare, just like the colorful, dazzling shorts that fighters wear.
After a recent evening class, Dobler told a couple of new students, "Gentlemen, you're going to be sore tomorrow. The best thing you can do is come back."
Step class this is not. It's not even power yoga.
But getting in shape was the reason Shawn Farnsworth got involved with Muay Thai. She watched her son go through classes back when Dobler operated his gym in the garage of his Fontana home, and decided to give it a go. Three years of training and three fights later, Farnsworth found herself on a plane to Thailand to compete in an invitational tournament. Farnsworth, who initially just wanted to lose a little weight, brought home a silver medal at the age of 43. She said she still gets a little emotional talking about that feat.
"I'm married and I have kids, and they are the most important in my life but that was an absolute highlight," said Farnsworth, now 46, about her bout in Thailand. "Money couldn't buy my experience there."
Farnsworth is now an instructor at Dobler's gym, where students range in age from 6 to 60.
The gym is situated in a quiet, nondescript office plaza, a location that belies all the gritty action behind the tinted windows.
At a recent circuit training class, about 20 students went through a slew of exercises - bicep curls, jumping rope, shadow boxing and abdominal work.
Later, while demonstrating a punch-kick combo, Dobler tells his students, "We can't learn fluff, we have to learn reality. Punch directly at the target."
"Kap," answered the students in the affirmative, in Thai.
"Be respectful and begin," Dobler said.
Reminders to be respectful are uttered a dozen times a class. Kickboxing is no doubt Dobler's passion but he also has a penchant for Thai language and culture.
The red, white and blue of both the Thai and American flags dominate much of the gym. And like a typical business in Thailand, a framed picture of the Thai king hangs high.
Dobler got involved with Thai kickboxing at age 6, when his uncle introduced him to Surachai Sirisute, or Master Chai, a prominent Muay Thai expert who introduced the art to many countries outside of Thailand.
"All the other kids were watching Bruce Lee, I was watching Master Chai," Dobler said.
At the time, few in the United States knew Thais practiced martial arts. So much has changed now, Dobler said. The popularity of recent Thai films like "Ong-bak" and "The Protector" has placed Muay Thai squarely in the spotlight.
Marcos Guevara, 19, did an online search for Muay Thai schools and found Dobler's gym just six months ago and tonight he is scheduled to take part in his first fight - a match held in Van Nuys.
"I wanted to learn boxing but I also wanted to learn to use every part of my body," Guevara said. "I don't want to learn flashy kicks just to learn them, I want to learn something for the real world."
Dobler said one of his female students was attacked but managed to defend herself using the Muay Thai skills she learned.
"To me that makes everything worthwhile," the instructor said. "We teach people to defend themselves. I'm not ashamed to say this is a fighting art."
Go kick it
Bryan "Double Dose" Dobler's Muay Thai gym
9057 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga
For more information, call (909) 948-5425 or visit www.gokickit.com
Staff writer Wendy Leung can be reached by e-mail at wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9376.
(Bron foto thaiboksleerling Shauna Trummer, 33: Daily Bulletin)
1 opmerking:
He Rodney, gefeliciteerd met een mooie avond. nog vele na deze. de fifhtscene heeft behoefte aan de exposure!!
U. Elliot 3de dan karate
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