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 adegree 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 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.
Jeet Kune Do was founded by the legendary Bruce Lee. The art teaches all ranges of empty hand martial arts including, kicking, punching, close quarter (trapping), and ground self defense with a strong emphasis on practicality, street awareness, and application. This art and its techniques are then linked with the child safety component of the art to round out your child’s martial arts education. We feel a strong responsibility to teach our youth students how to use these techniques if a defense situation were to arise. However, we stress the importance of using martial arts as self-defense ONLY. Though it is important to be aware of any situation, we instruct students to always exercise proper discipline.
The Benefits
In our experience of teaching children, we have seen significant results ranging from increased self-esteem and better grades in school to improved behavior at home. Martial arts training enhances many areas of a child’s life both physically and mentally. Here are just a few of each:
Mental: respect for self and others, concentration, self-esteem, self-control, self-confidence, positive outlook, sense of well being, goal setting and achievement
Class Schedule
Tuesday & Thursday 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM (All Levels)
Beginners
Call (814) 235-1015 or email us at info@titanfitness.com to schedule your child’s free introductory lesson.
Membership Fees
The cost for the Youth Jeet Kune Do program is $75/month. This includes two hours per week of instruction.
Youth Martial Arts & Culture Summer Camps
Titan Fitness & Martial Arts and CRPR are proud to have partnered in offering our Youth Martial Arts & Culture Camp every summer since 2005.
The camps give area children an introduction to the martial arts that we teach and some history from the countries of origin of these exciting martial arts. The martial arts include Jeet Kune Do from China, Kali from the Philippines, and Muay Thai from Thailand.
Each camp meets from a Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 11 AM at a cost of only $60 for residents and $90 for non-residents during various weeks of the summer to accommodate different summer schedules. This summer’s camps take place at our new location, 127 Sowers Street (Lionheart Fitness). For more information on registration through CRPR for the Summer 2011 camps, go to the following link:
