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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 11, 2007

Art of muay thai aims for respect, humility

Video: The state of mind needed for kickboxing
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By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Zey Tong, of Manoa, unleashes a kick on senior student Chris Nakahashi, of Kalihi, during a recent muay thai practice session.

Photos by REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Jen Kakio, of Pauoa Valley, practices at the Laupahoehoe School of Muay Thai at the University of Hawai'i.

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Ajan Ta

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Save for a few wobbles, perhaps a lurch here and there, the scene at Studio II on the University of Hawai'i campus is a study in human stillness.

There are some 30 students here this night, a surprising turnout for finals week, and each maintains the same position, right foot resting on left knee, one arm extended at the terminal point of an imagined strike, the other bent protectively at the side of the head. It's muay thai as envisioned by Andy Warhol.

Or Ajan Ta.

"This is where we start," says Ta, the founder of the Laupahoehoe School of Muay Thai. "This begins the process of controlling the body with the mind."

The students transition through a dozen or more of these exercises at the start of each class, sometimes moving slowly through the stretch, often holding a pose, yoga-style, focusing as much on balance as on the stretch itself. And it's not always easy.

Tonight, senior student Chris Nakahashi walks through the rows, casually bashing a striking pad against the student's half-bent legs. Some flinch, some teeter, but most maintain their balance and concentration.

Over the past decade, as Americans have come to embrace the rough-and-tumble entertainment of mixed martial arts fighting, the ancient martial art of Thailand has grown in prominence and stature.

Yet, the scene in the training room is hardly the image casual fans have of muay thai, often referred to as the most devastating striking art.

It is, however, perfectly consistent with muay thai's traditional practice and, by extension, Ta's own philosophy.

"I can teach somebody the physical side of it and have them moving very well in two, three months," Ta says. "But will they have the respect that should come from something as powerful as this? They have to have humility. They have to have respect for themselves, their opponents and every person."

It's a belief many training programs preach, but not nearly as many put into practice. At Ta's school, students are constantly asked to consider the implications of their actions.

"If you beat up someone, what are the consequences, not just physically, but spiritually," Ta asks. "That person you hurt is somebody's son or husband or father or uncle. How will that person feel? What have you done to that family?"

And yet, when confrontation is unavoidable, Ta says muay thai allows people of all sizes and abilities to defend themselves with confidence.

He points to 24-year-old Jen Kakio, who is 5 feet 2 and 130 pounds.

"She could be confronted by someone 6 feet tall and 250 pounds and she'd disable him," he says.

Likewise, 26-year-old nursing student Derek Min has absorbed his lessons deeply. For all of his prowess in the ring, Min says it's the sense of calm he gets from muay thai that has proved most valuable.

"All the other classes I've been in have stressed just the physical stuff," says Min, who has also studied judo and jiujitsu. Here, (Ta) talks to us at the end of class about philosophy and spirituality. He taught us to meditate.

"It helps you to be calm in stressful situations," Min added. "That kind of calm really helps in life."

LOOKING FOR MR. MIYAGI

Ta came to muay thai seeking exactly that sense of calm and balance. Loathe to disclose too much of his personal history, he allows that he was in "a very emotional state" before he began his training.

"I just felt that the world was against me," he says. "I was always quiet, but at that time I was going out partying all the time and just being rascally. There were so many highs and lows."

What Ta needed, or thought he needed, was a martial arts mentor.

"I was looking for the consummate Mr. Miyagi-san," he said, referencing the sage teacher from the "Karate Kid" movies.

A friend put him in touch with Kevin Philavanh, a muay thai teacher who shared both the secrets of the martial art and it's spiritual applications. Ta was hooked.

Over the next several years, Ta would train under several eminent muay thai instructors. And soon it occurred to him that it was muay thai itself, not the people who shared their knowledge of it, that was effecting a profound change in his life.

"The art became my teacher," he said. "It was the words, not the voice that spoke them."

Nine years ago, Ta moved from Honolulu back to his native Big Island to help take care of his mother. There he meditated intensely about what he wanted to accomplish and what he could contribute to the world. And the Laupahoehoe School was born.

It was a modest project to be sure, a small room on a gravel road, just enough for Ta and his only two students. But it was the beginning and Ta soon found his calling as a teacher.

And that's what his adopted name means: Ajan is Thai for "teacher" (similar to the Chinese "sifu") and Ta can be interpreted as "vision."

Today, Ta teaches some 80 students at the UH facility, another 20 at Chaminade University, a dozen or so more at Punahou Spa & Fitness Center. He also gives personal instruction.

SPLITTING THE BRAIN

Their stretching completed, Ta's students begin to move in unison, advancing with measured steps toward one end of the vast room, then back to the other, their hands raised defensively in the distinct muay thai style.

This is the second phase of the class, and its purpose is to give students a sense of the calm and clarity they'll need in a real fight.

"Everyone has adrenaline but it's temporary and not everyone knows how to harness its energy," Ta says. "This is about mind and body working together to harness that adrenaline. The quiet mind is the foundation of muay thai."

Ta follows the more methodical, base-building "temple" style of muay thai instruction, which emphasizes the refinement of basic skills and overall development.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, the class will pick up pace. Form work comes next, with students running through some 30 basic techniques in slow motion.

Precise execution is what counts here. Proper footwork is required to maintain balance. Punches, elbow strikes and kicks are expected to be right on the imaginary mark. Limbs return along the same movement paths as they progressed.

From there, the class will break into groups and work their way through station drills, circuit training that includes abdominal exercises, jumping rope and striking exercises with partner holding thai pads or focus mitts.

Where the previous exercises were intended to refine form through repetition and muscle memory, the station drills emphasize speed and power.

"It's like splitting the brain," Ta explains.

The final phase of each class brings the spheres back into unison with controlled face-to-face that incorporate offensive and defensive skills while at the same time building recognition and reaction abilities.

Only Ta decides when individual students are ready for real sparring, and it can take anywhere from three months to a couple of years.

Senior student Nakahashi, 23, began studying muay thai four years ago after aborted attempts to learn wing chun, jiujitsu and kempo.

"I wasn't the most athletic guy when I started," said Nakahashi, who packs 250 pounds on a 5-foot-8 frame. "But they helped me feel comfortable and I really enjoyed it."

Nakahashi, a graduate student and research assistant, said the real value he derives from muay thai comes from its core values of humility and restraint.

"You don't have to prove yourself," he says. "You can show that you're strong by fighting someone, but real strength and humility comes from being able to walk away instead."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.