"Profiles in Muay Thai:
Global Edition" - Vol. 1 - Gabriel Varga
We speak with one of Canada's
top kickboxing talents who is
ready to show the North
American Muay Thai and Kickboxing community that he is a force to
be reckoned with.
Muay Thai isn’t the first difficult thing I’ve learned, but it is the most difficult. I’ve worked with my mind before. I finished college and graduate school, learned a foreign language, and started a business.
And I’ve labored as well. One of the most wonderful and positively transformational times in my life was when I spent a summer working as a landscaper in the countryside of northern Delaware. The time allowed me to shake the cobwebs of a sophomore year of college lost to drugs and alcohol and learn what it meant to work with my hands for not a lot of money. Continue reading →
Senior MTiL correspondent Jenypher Lanthier sits down with Siam #1 fighter Natalie Yip before her pro debut bout at Lion Fight 9 against undefeated American Muay Thai standout Tiffany Van Soest
I am sitting ringside at Siam No.1 in Toronto, Canada. I sit close enough to feel the occasional drop of sweat whip towards me from a powerful swing kick or punch. Simon Marcus is hitting pads with Ajahn Suchart. The cracking sound that it makes is devastating, like thunderclaps as bones collide against leather with a force and willpower that is not often witnessed live in person. I have trained with Ajahn before, so I am aware of what it feels like to do only five rounds of what can best be described as me trying to hit as hard as I can continuously, while he resists my power with the pads. Each weapon thrown is a fight against his power. If you are not throwing with full power his resistance will make you feel like your weapon just bounces off his Thai pad. I watch as Simon destroyed the pads for five whole rounds and look like he still had energy for more after. This is just a small glimpse of what he must endure to be able to stay at the top and fight opponents such as Artem Levin. It is a mere fraction of the amount of dedication and focus required for him to be where he is. So that got me thinking, “Why? Why really go through all this?” So I asked him.
Without further ado, here is my interview with Simon “Bad Bwoy” Marcus.
Simon faces possibly one of his toughest challenges battling Artem Levin this Friday on the LionFight Promotion. We wish both fighters the best of luck and look forward to a great fight!
A special thank you goes out to Allen Chung for the photos and video and to Simon for taking the time out to sit with us and talk with us.
Matt “Matics” Embree is a well known Canadian fighter fighting out of Siam No.1 in Toronto Canada. Matt began training at seventeen years old and is fast becoming a major contender in the 140 lb category. In 2007 Matt won a Gold medal at the IFMA World Amateur Muay Thai Championships and the following year he won the 2008 WKA North American Amateur Muay Thai Championship for the 125lb weight class. He continued to steam roll through 2008 by travelling to Thailand and winning the Northern Thailand Championship in the 125lb category. In 2010 he returned back to Thailand to again win the Northern Thailand Champion for a second time at the same weight. Embree has worked tirelessly perfecting his game and waiting for the next opportunity to take one step closer to his goal of being the best of the best. One of those days came on the world stage in 2011 when he won the prestigious North American WMC Championship title and rounded out 2012 by winning the North American WBC Championship title. Continue reading →
James is the author of Paleo for Fighters
By Jenypher Lanthier
By Jenypher Lanthier
By Jenypher Lanthier
