What’s Going on at the Denver Academy this Month?
Fall Muay Thai Smoker
August 24th the Denver academy will be hosting the fall Muay Thai Smoker. Fighters from across the academies will compete in friendly matches, some of them for the first time. Just like the in-house Jiu Jitsu tournaments, the Muay Thai Smokers are a way for newer fighters to hone their skills and acclimatize to the competition atmosphere. Come out and support your teammates, no matter which side of the fence you primarily train on.
There will be food trucks, beer, and your bruised and battered buddies…only, in civilian clothes-which can be weird. Come and join us at noon on Saturday August 24th!
20-Year Anniversary BBQ Was a Huge Success!
We had beautiful weather and great company at the Easton 20th Anniversary BBQ on Saturday the 10th at Westminster City Park. The park was packed with members from all of the academies across the Boulder/Denver area. 350 plates of Arvada’s Kevin Baughman’s delicious tacos were sold and many more popped in to mingle at one of our biggest social gatherings yet. The final tally isn’t in, but we raised a lot of money for our primary charity partner, Children’s Hospital. There were games and activities, music, and addresses from Professors Easton, Marshall, and Tousignant.
Be sure that you thank the Denver Academy’s Director of Operations, Vanni Tran and the rest of the front desk staff who, along with staff from all of the academies, made this event happen.
Instructor Highlight
Coach Abby Cruz
Stats: Ht.: 5’2″ Wt.: 120(ish)
Age: 23 Years training: 4
Current rank: Blue (4/20/2017)
Where can we find you on the schedule? I teach Thursday nights at 5:30 and 6:30, and sub for other classes here and there
What do you love about teaching Muay Thai?
I love being able to teach something I love and am passionate about to others. I love how it’s not only a physical challenge for the students, but it gives them a chance to go out of their comfort zone and do something they never thought they could do. Being able to connect with the students and give them a workout they not only enjoyed but learned from is always my goal.
What are your personal Muay Thai goals? My personal Muay Thai goal is to keep training consistently, and to be a good partner for my teammates who are looking to compete. Although I love teaching, being a student of Muay Thai is still my favorite part, because I love learning new things and challenging myself.
Nutrition Tip of the Month
Did you ever have a gut feeling about something? Turns out: that isn’t just a folksy euphemism. The gut has been identified as a “second brain.” It’s called the enteric nervous system. The human microbiome has only just begun to be understood by researchers, but what we do know is that it communicates with the brain and the CNS through the Vagus Nerve and an unhealthy gut can lend to unhealthy nerve function and mood dysregulation along with a host of other health issues!
Did you know that only 10% of the DNA housed within your body is yours? The other 90% belongs to the trillions of beings that live inside of you. Microorganisms far outnumber the cells of your body. It really raises some questions about the nature of being a person!
When the holobiome (the term that describes the collective gut, skin, oral microbiomes) is disrupted, inflammation occurs; the immune system gets wobbly; seemingly unrelated problems can add up to mysterious medical maladies.
How do we keep out gut microbiomes healthy? We can eat foods and even supplement wisely to keep our gut bacteria in proliferative balance and keep pathogenic bacteria and yeasts from getting out of hand.
- Eat a diet that is rich in both soluble and non-soluble fibers. Non-soluble fiber is the stuff that we just don’t digest-think the strings in celery. Soluble fiber is like the gel that forms around flax seeds in water or the stuff that gives oatmeal it’s slightly gelatinous texture.
- Eat lacto-fermented veggies. I’m talking pickles-but not the kind that you find on the shelves at the grocery store at room temperature! I mean the stuff that you find in the refrigerated section like kimchi, traditional krauts, and fermented pickles.
- Traditional or homemade yogurts. If you’re an omnivore-you go for full-fat, unsweetened, grass-fed yogurts. Look for words on the label like “probiotic.” There are non-dairy options as well. Just make sure that you get the lowest sugar content available and that they are naturally fermented.
- Supplement with probiotics. When you shop for a probiotic: you definitely get what you pay for. Higher doses (around 10 billion cfu/per dose or more) are better and always look for the greatest variety of strains of bacteria.
- Stay away from sugar! A diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrates leads to an imbalance of bacteria and even cause those bacteria to migrate to areas of the digestive tract where they do not belong!
