UVSC student wins title in Muay Thai kickboxing
by Amy Choate Deseret Morning News
LINDON -- Daniel Green would rather curl up with a good book, or kick someone in the head, than watch a football game.
Green, a 28-year old English literature major at Utah Valley State College, recently became the first Utahn to win a nationwide title for his weight class at a Muay Thai style kickboxing tournament, in Orlando, Fla.
"(Kickboxing) is the best sport there is," Green said. "There's no other sport that's got that kind of excitement. Football and basketball, they're really just a watered down version of a sport. Kickboxing is raw; two men enter, one man leaves."
Ten years ago, as he was looking for a sport to teach him a style of fighting that was defensive as well as competitive, Green found the Muay Thai style of kickboxing. Green said he found the sport to be the best of the martial arts.
"Muay Thai is geared toward competing," Green said. "Karate and other kinds of kickboxing is geared more towards theory. . . . I've fought kung fu guys and karate guys, and really, they just don't know how to fight. (Muay Thai) is tried, and it's true."
Major differences between Muay Thai and other martial arts include punching and kicking styles. While karate and kung fu are more elaborate and technical, involving calculated hand positioning and specific targets, Muay Thai involves boxing style punches, holds and kicks that would be considered fouls by karate standards.
"Everything is a target," said Jason Farrish, Green's trainer. "In other martial arts you see a lot of fluff stuff, like jumping and spinning. Muay Thai has a lot more in common with Western boxing than karate or kung fu."
Muay Thai tournaments are even scored like boxing matches. Each participant enters the ring with 10 points, and points are deducted for falling down or failing to punch as much as the competitor. As with many sports, participants risk serious injury during competition.
"It's not cock fighting with people," Farrish said. "In reality, you're much more likely to get hurt, like a torn ligament or something, playing church basketball than in Muay Thai."
Training for Green begins about six months before a competition, during which time Green said he trains for three to six hours each day. Because Green didn't have a gym to train in before his most recent competition, he spent a lot of time in his friend's basement, weight training and sparring with Farrish.
Green's most recent competition, sponsored by the International Karate Federation, is one of the largest in the United States. The competition, hosting kickboxers from Canada to Mexico, took place in Orlando as hurricane Charley raged outside. Other than the few competitors who were delayed or prevented from attending the tournament because of the storm, the tournament was not otherwise affected.
Though Muay Thai kickboxing is not a common Utah sport, Green competes several times a year. He currently is training -- preparing for battle -- for an event in October.
"I'm not just trying to get a ball across a goal line or into the net," Green said. "There's no teams, no cheerleaders. It's just you against him. It's raw, like war. And isn't that what sports is based on? It's all combat."
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com
Copyright C 2004 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
Bibliography for "UVSC student wins title in Muay Thai kickboxing"
Amy Choate Deseret Morning News "UVSC student wins title in Muay Thai kickboxing". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Sep 15, 2004. FindArticles.com. 06 May. 2007.
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