[vc_row row_type=”row” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]By Sean Madden

Easton Muay Thai: April Recap 

April was a busy month for the Easton Muay Thai program! We had three major events for our student body and competition team. On April 15th we competed in the Colorado State Muay Thai Championship, the following weekend we hosted Nathan “Carnage” Corbett for a seminar, and the weekend after that, several fighters traveled to the United States Muay Thai Open in Phoenix, Arizona! 

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Colorado Muay Thai State Championships

Our first event last month was the annual Muay Thai state tournament. This was the eighth year for the tournament, and the number of athletes continues to grow every year! Easton Muay Thai had competitors from all of our locations this year, which is a great representation! The tournament rules state that teams are to be divided by school location, so ultimately Easton athletes end up competing against each other in the finals of some divisions. However, we as a coaching staff are fine with that because our primary goal in these competitions is for our newer athletes to gain invaluable competition experience!

At the end of the tournament, Easton Muay Thai had several new State Champions, including Porshya Ragoshke (Easton Training Center – Boulder), Mari Nishida (Easton Training Center – Denver), and Mike Pinkerton (Easton Training Center – Castle Rock). We are proud of all our athletes who stepped into the ring to represent our program!

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Nathan “Carnage” Corbett Seminar

On Saturday April 21st, we hosted eleven-time Muay Thai World Champion, Nathan Corbett, for a seminar! Nathan has just recently moved to the United States from Australia in order to share his vast knowledge of Muay Thai and Kickboxing with the American community. Nathan taught a phenomenal seminar to our students and coaches, covering a host of topics.

He touched on his training philosophies and mindset in competition. He told us about his unique style of fighting, which won him 11 World Titles. He then discussed his world-renowned elbow system, where he detailed when and how to throw certain elbows. He took turns picking out students to demonstrate his techniques on, and although he kept them safe, he clearly still has it! Nathan Corbett was easily one of the best seminar guests we have had to date; we are looking forward to bringing Nathan back sometime in the future to continue sharing with us! [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”10668″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”United States Muay Thai Open” icon=””][vc_column_text]

United States Muay Thai Open

Finally, the Easton Fight Team traveled to Phoenix, Arizona from April 26 – April 29 to compete in the United States Muay Thai Open. This tournament (USMTO), which has a West and an East event, is one of the largest National Muay Thai tournaments in the US. This year, the event had over 400 athletes registered from all across the country. Easton Muay Thai’s representatives this year were Matthew Bloss (Easton Training Center – Arvada), Liz Gerrity (Easton Training Center – Boulder) and Kaya Sikora (Easton Training Center -Boulder)! 

Matt competed on day 1 of the tournament and lost to a tough and very skilled fighter from Northern California. However, after researching his opponent, we discovered that he had registered for the wrong experience class. He had more than triple the experience Matt has had in competition and was subsequently disqualified from the event. Matt’s fight was ruled a “no contest” and the loss erased from his record. 

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Liz fought on day 2 of the tournament against a very skilled opponent from the famous “The Yard” gym, located in Los Angeles, CA. The ladies put on an extremely entertaining and high-paced bout, where Liz came up on the wrong side of a split decision by the judges. Regardless of the outcome, Liz put on a fantastic fight and gained some more experience inside the ring! 

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”10666″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Kaya competed all three days of the tournament, winning one fight each day to become the champion of her division! Kaya, who is only 17 years old, had her first in-house smoker in December. She went on to have another smoker in March before signing up for the ladies junior division in Arizona. She won her first fight by decision, with her second and third fights both winning by stoppage. She is Easton’s first Junior Champion at one of the prestigious national Muay Thai tournaments! The future is very bright for Kaya Sikora! [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”10665″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”What’s Next for Easton Muay Thai” icon=””][vc_column_text]

April was a busy month, but May will be just as busy! 

• We have athletes from our Boulder and Denver locations competing on the local Muay Thai event 5280 Muay Thai on Friday, May 11th! 
• We also have Wes Argrow representing Team USA at the IFMA Muay Thai World Championships in Cancun, Mexico! That tournament is essentially the Olympics of Muay Thai; there is no higher level of competition. Tony Cummings will be joining Wes in Mexico, as he has been selected as an Assistant Coach for Team USA as well. 
• Stay tuned for an announcement on the date for the Easton Muay Thai Summer Smoker, coming soon! 

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