Titan Fitness & Martial Arts Youth Jeet Kune Do students received their yellow belts Monday, December 21.  The children completed their tests Wednesday, December 16.  We congratulate them on their achievement and look forward to next semester as they continue on to training for their Orange Belts.

Titan Fitness, located in downtown State College, sent four of their amateur Muay Thai athletes to fight in Philadelphia at the renowned “Evolved Fighting” Thai Boxing event.  Steve Mayzack, Jay Kearns, Mike Putnam, and Tyler Higgins fought some tough competition against opponents from Boston, Philadelphia, and Reading.  Collectively the fighter’s, who have been training with Bruce Lombard at Titan for less than one year, had an impressive showing going 2-1-1.

Mayzack, Putnam, and Kearns are all Penn State University students, as Tyler Higgins is a college student at Lock Haven University.

As was previously reported, Titan Fitness & Martial Thai boxing member and Penn State student, Jordan Katz won his first ever Thai boxing bout this past July by TKO in the third round.  A better has since popped up, and we thought it would be a better way for you to see his clear domination of the fight.  So once again, check out the video and enjoy.

After a four and a half month layoff since his last fight, Titan Fitness boxing instructor and Penn State boxer, Dan Testa won a decision in his return to the ring at an amateur event in Uniontown, PA last Sunday on August 16, 2009.  After a slow start, Dan dominated his opponent Eric Parker in the second and third rounds with a barrage of attacks to the body.  Dan raises his record to 7 wins against only 2 losses.   With one more fight, Dan qualifies for the open division of the amateur level.

Titan Fitness & Martial Arts Thai boxing student Jordan Katz won his first fight at a United States Kickboxing Alliance (U.S.K.A.) event held in Hamburg, PA at the Hamburg Field House on July 25, 2009.  Jordan dominated the action for the three rounds leading up to a third round TKO.  We encourage you to watch the youtube video of Jordan’s fight.  We at Titan Fitness & Martial Arts congratulate Jordan on a great effort and victory in his inaugural bout.

After much hard work, two Titan Fitness members are ready to fight in their first matches.  Shawn Slater, 24, and Jordan Katz, 21, are competing in a Muay Thai fight on Saturday, July 25 at the Hamburg Field House, where they will see if all their training and hard work has paid off.

Slater, originally from State College, Pa., graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a  degree in Crime, Law and Justice.  He’s been training at Titan Fitness since January of 2007.

Katz is currently a Penn State student from Monroeville, Pa. majoring in Information Science and Technology.  

Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, differs from traditional western boxing by allowing eight points of contact; the hands, elbows, knees and shins are used in Thai boxing, compared to just fists in western boxing.

To get ready for his upcoming fight, Slater has upped the intensity of his workouts, and has added extra workouts twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about the past two months.  During training, Slater likes to see how far he can push himself mentally and physically.

“I’m confident in my abilities, (but) this is my first fight so I don’t completely know what to expect… I’ll do my best,” Slater said.   “When I’m sparring hard, I try to think about nothing and use the openings my opponent gives me.”

Katz also said that “ideally nothing” will be going through his head during the fight.  “Hopefully I will have drilled and sparred enough times that I will just react,” Katz said.

Katz, who’s been training at Titan Fitness for almost a year, has been training between eight to ten times a week for the upcoming match, compared to usually having only three Thai workouts a week when he’s not preparing for a fight.

“I enjoy being part of a sport again; I haven’t had that since high school… Mostly, I enjoy the nature of the sport. It’s one on one, there are no assists.  You’re either to blame or to congratulate, its all on you,” Katz said.  “Knowing that I am prepared is all the confidence that I’ll need.”

Despite their confidence, neither Katz not Slater know much about their opponents, both of who are also facing their first fight. 

Slater is already looking ahead in his career, hoping to have more Muay Thai fights and eventually start competing in mixed martial arts after more training.  Throughout his training at Titan Fitness, he’s said he has had great experience with both Bruce Lombard, martial arts director, and Paul Zelinka, who created lifting and conditioning routines for Slater, as well as being knowledgeable with nutrition.

While training in Muay Thai, Katz is also in Titan Fitness’ Elite Training and said being a part of Titan Fitness has been a great experience and recommends it to anyone interested in martial arts.

When he’s not training, Slater enjoys watching successful fighters John Wayne Parr in Muay Thai fights and Sean Sherk in mixed martial arts events.

Kevin Chan, a member of Titan Fitness, recently had the opportunity to travel to Phuket, Thailand to spend a month training at a Thai Boxing camp. Chan is from Queens, N.Y. and is a recent graduate of Penn State University and majored in accounting.  Chan said the experience of being exposed to a different culture has made him more open minded.

Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, is a form of martial arts commonly practiced in Southeast Asia and is Thailand’s national sport. Muay Thai is different compared to other forms of martial arts and boxing, because more points of contact are permitted. Use of the hands, elbows, knees and shins are allowed, making eight points of contact for fighters to try to take advantage of.

Titan Fitness recently asked Chan, 21, to share his experiences with readers. In this excerpt, he talks about his time training in Thailand.

Titan Fitness: How you got involved with Thai boxing?
Kevin: Since I had been boxing for a while, I wanted to try something different and decided to learn Muay Thai in the country where it originated from.

TF: What is your experience with martial arts?
K: I have been boxing at Titan for a little over a year. I have never fought, but I would like to in the near future.

TF: What has your experience been like belonging to Titan Fitness?
K: I decided to join Titan in the summer of 2008 and instantly discovered that it is a great gym. The gym atmosphere is vibrant and friendly. The instructors have a lot of experience and are very helpful. I also met a lot of other Penn State students and became friends with many of them. It’s the best gym I have been to, and I would still be training there if I was at State College.

TF: How did you get the opportunity to go to Thailand?  Did you have any hesitations about going?
K: I had just graduated and wanted to travel during the summer before I started working. Even though I didn’t travel alone, I definitely still had some hesitations about traveling to Thailand because of the political climate, and because I never had gone to a Muay Thai camp before. All my hesitations went away when I arrived, and I had a great experience.

Kevin Chan, right, with trainer Namsaknoi, who's considered one of the best Muay Thai fighters in Thailand.

TF: Where did you stay while in Thailand?
K: I stayed at a resort that was close to the Muay Thai camp, which was extremely comfortable and convenient.

TF: What did you do on a typical day in Thailand?
K: We trained twice a day from Monday to Saturday. The first session was in the morning and the other was in the afternoon. Each session lasted for about two hours. I also had plenty of time to explore and visit many different beaches and tourist sites within the island.

TF: How important is Thai boxing to their culture?
K: Thai boxing is the national sport of Thailand and plays a big part in Thai culture from what I observed. The Wai Khru is a great example of it. It is a traditional dance that the fighters must perform before they fight to show respect.

TF: Overall, how would you rate the experience?  Do you plan to continue to train here in the U.S.?
K: It was a really great experience for me, as I met a lot of nice people and had a great time. I definitely plan to return to the same camp in the future. I will also continue to train in boxing and Muay Thai here in the U.S.

This past Saturday, five Titan Fitness Thai Boxing students successfully passed their tests and achieved ranks in the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. (TBA).  Emma Vautour, Jordan Katz, and Shawn Slater received their level one rank while Nicole Weatherholtz and Sandi Richter earned their level two rank.  The test was administered by Thai Boxing certified instructor, Jerry Matthews.

In the TBA, a student can receive the rank of apprentice instructor by passing a third test conducted by the founder of the organization, Ajarn Surachai Sirisute at one of his seminars.  The TBA is the oldest and largest Muay Thai organization with an international following.

We at Titan Fitness would like to congratulate these five students on their fine achievement.

As reported on April 20, Allison Glenny won her Thai Boxing debut at a U.S.K.A. event in Hamburg, PA.  Enjoy Allison’s dominating performance.

As reported in an April 20 blog post, Kristen Althouse competed in a U.S.K.A. sanctioned Thai Boxing event in Hamburg, PA.  Her fight was one of the most exciting of the night and was judged a draw.  Enjoy the great effort put up by Kristen.