Muay Thai Goes to School

Ruang panggung Auditorium di ACS International School tiba tiba riuh seorang guru wanita di hadang beberapa orang kekar yang mencoba merampok,namun dengan keahlian muay thai nya dia berhasil melumpuhkan mereka. Itu tadi adalah sepenggal dari demo muay thai yang dilaksanakan pada Teachers Day tanggal 16 oktober Di ACS International School Jakarta yang terletak di Cilangkap Jakarta timur. Atas inisiatif Marilyn Cheng seorang guru dan telah 3 tahun mempelajari bela diri Muay Thai, bekerjasama dengan mas Endy dari MTTC.  Demo tersebut terdiri dari tiga bagian,pertama skenario perampokan, kedua WAI KRU, ketiga adalah Pad Punching singkat melibatkan sukarelawan dari penonton yang terdiri dari para murid dan guru.

Berikut obrolan singkat MuaythaiMagz dengan Marilyn :

1.How long have you been practicing and why do you like this sport?.

I have been practicing muay thai for about 3years. I like muay thai because it is simple and efficient, tricky and yet brutally honest.  If you do not train regularly in it or just stop for about a week or two, it shows very clearly.  Stamina is gone.  There is no short cut or easy way to being average (not even good haha) in MT.  Thus it is a good motivation to just keep doing it to keep fit.

1.what motivate you to demonstrate the muaythai sport in ACS ? 

As it was teacher's day celebration in ACS, I thought it would be neat to have the wai khru ram muay performed.  As the wai khru was performed as a show of respect for trainers/teachers.  I discussed it with Pak  Endy and it evolved to become a full performance... with me involved!

2.what kind of outcome would you like to achieve?did it go as plan?

It went on even better than I had expected.  Pak Endy and the other trainers from MTTC have been very very supportive.  It was a very enriching experience.

3.what was the reaction of the audience (the student,teachers,parent) is it positive?

The students love it.  Many came up to me to ask more about Muay Thai after the performance and got to know more deeply about Muay Thai as an art.  it was a good positive reaction.

4. in your opinion is this a good sport for the kids to learn?

Yes, I will definitely recommend it.  With proper guidance in Muay Thai, the kids learn about respect and discipline while gaining self defence skills and self-confidence.  They also learn that it is not all about brawling and fighting as so often shown in movies and on TV.

5. what is your hope in the future for this sport and the kids at school?.

I will love to see this sport continue to grow and the potential is huge.  Also, Muay Thai should not just be a sport, it should be an artform.  Hopefully in the near future, there will be news of more indonesian muay thai fighters making their name in the sport.  That will encourage more of the younger generation to take up Muay Thai.

As for my school, we are open to discussions and future collaborations... maybe a workshop or clinic, or a club eventually.  We will see.

MuaythaiMagz with Marilyn and MuayThai-TC Team