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The first professional kickboxing show in Ontario. There was money floating in the air! Stacks of cash being exchanged over and under the table. Michael Fitzpatrick (the promoter) came in with five bodyguards carrying suitcases chained to their wrists. Godfather left with two of those! He took the bodyguards too. It was crazy! Ok, let’s get serious now. It definitely was a crazy night. A lot of effort went into bringing professional kickboxing to our local community, so I had

Sorry… I tried… short blogs are just impossible! At RepreZent, Muay Thai Ontario (MTO) said, “SURPRISE!!!! C class is now kickboxing!! Clinch is only 5 seconds.” WAKO said, “What now??!! Do we have to sanction this??!” And Clinch Culture… they’re just avoiding eye contact! I also attended the first day of the MTO Officials Seminar that weekend. The session was immensely informative! Kru Laura opened the information session for referees by saying that “the best referee is the

I swore I would write shorter blogs, knowing you’re all lazy readers, but this event, organized by Southside Muay Thai and Pound 4 Pound MMA, really stood out for me with respect to the stories I heard from the fighters and the support it received from the community. I had never seen a banquet hall get so packed, wall to wall, from the first bell right to the last! You want to read this, trust me! Before I get deep into it all, here is a random fact, and don’t ask me how I kn

Once again, the community came together at M‑Town to celebrate our developing athletes (myself included). It was heart‑melting to watch some of our most elite fighters corner the tiniest ninjas. Godfather gave away his microphone to Hamzah Moin (Hamzahmoin. photos). I think Godfather either decided to challenge his vocal cords or he just forgot to order a second microphone. Clinch Culture showed up this time, but they checked their culture at the door, stopping every clinch i

What a horrible night!! They all lost… all my favorites… YES, I HAVE FAVORITES!! Simon Marcus, Bilal Nasari, Mike Imperato, Alex Sosa. So, the first three fights were a big yawn… no kidding! Who wants to see an MMA fight won on points? Nobody! Not even me, and I start squinting as soon as there is a nosebleed! I can’t be sure about this, but I think the issue with the first few very quiet fights was that the fighters were mainly strikers. So there were very few takedown attem

I think we have to let the phrase “holy shi##” rank up in status or I’d be very embarrassed about how I handled myself at Lunar New Year Fight Night. With one shin snapping in the ring, and several bloody faces, our MTO doctor, Dr. Ayah, was busier than a UFC cut-man that evening. For the record, despite what I say in my blogs and how I train five days a week, I’m very much against violence, as “Violence is never the answer.” I wasn’t sure if I could make it to Lunar New Year

What a great day! Honestly, it was the most fun I’ve had at any event because everyone was invited to take part! It was originally arranged that I develop four times that day, but I think two of my sparring partners overdeveloped and left early! With some of the prominent members and coaches from Team Canada and our community present and acting as government, M-Town was a democratic state for the day. I should mention, the Godfather looked great holding a microphone all day l

So you know how the Ocean’s 11 movie came out and all the cool celebrities were in it? George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, etc. Diamond Capital fight card was the Ocean’s 11 of Muay Thai Ontario fight cards with almost all the cool fighters on this card, and I say “almost” because I wasn’t on it. Let’s get right into those fights as these celebrities are waiting for no one! Caleb Tomines from Pound4Pound, cornered by his father, Kru Herb, fought Daniel Deda from Etobico

So I followed our Simon Marcus all the way to Unified MMA #63 , and I’m glad I did! What a night it was. I should start by saying that the professional fighting scene is a completely different ball game. I saw quite a few familiar faces among the spectators, but they also looked very different when they were drunk. The scene was also very mysterious. The commissioners said they weren’t allowed to talk to the media! I told them I’m only a blogger for fun and in the business o

I’m a few weeks late posting this blog. My apologies to the community, but I’m sure you all understand how we can have off weeks sometimes. Better late than never! Get comfortable, as this is going to be a longer read! Held on National Indigenous Peoples Day, this was a fight night like no other. Organized by Ajarn Khan Phady and Phady’s Muay Thai, fighters had been invited from Laos and Mexico to fight Canadian fighters, with A-Class fights covering more than half of the fig

I first heard about the Canadian Muay Thai Open (CMTO) at the Muay Thai Ontario (MTO) Championships in 2024. I wasn’t fighting at the MTO Championships. I attended as a volunteer, pretending to be a very important blogger ( read previous blog) ! During the Gym Owners’ meeting (yes, I attended that too), there was a lot of talk about CMTO and how it was the biggest Canadian Muay Thai tournament, so athletes didn’t have to travel all the way to Iowa for TBA. I happened to be si

I’ve been dragging my feet, and my heart was really not in writing this blog, as Ontario lost the National 75 kg title. So I wrote it with a heavy heart, while wiping my tears… with Champion Wipes. If you’re expecting a funny read… Don’t! It was the night we had all been waiting for, for some time. One of the best fight cards I’ve seen. The organizer, Kru Rommel from M-Town (Milton Muay Thai), had been working day and night to put this event together. During the fighters’ m

It was nice to be back at the holy church in the name of NAKA! The event started slowly, with many empty seats for the first couple of hours. But by intermission, the church was packed and no one was praying! Ajahn Amnat welcomed the guests I think…and said something to the fighters… Am I the only one who’s always so distracted by Ajahn Amnat’s theatrics that I forget to actually listen? Several MTO officials were still in Antalya for IFMA, so Kru Daryl had to step up and wea

The vibe and energy at this event reminded everyone of the true spirit of the Muay Thai community. The organizers, Kru Maria and Kru Alin, truly humbled everyone with their generosity. With so many first-timers, along with their families, friends, and teammates showing up in support, this event became more a celebration of courage and heart before it was another fight night. Quite a few fighters, their Krus, and Muay Thai Ontario officials are in Turkey on an approved absence

So, I finally made it to one of the community sparring events Kru Ramuel holds at 10th Planet Etobicoke Martial Arts during long weekends, coincidentally, always when I can’t find a sitter. This time I did, and it was a fantastic session! I truly felt the community vibe, as all the gentlemen I sparred with held perfectly still for me to execute my combos. Thank you! The ladies from Triumph Martial Arts, however… ate me for breakfast, with three eggs added on top! I’m licking

Hello Kickboxing! I had been to one other WAKO event before (Coach vs Student blog) , but at that time, I was focused on just one particular fight. In preparing for this event, I had mixed feelings. It almost felt like I was cheating on Muay Thai. I kept thinking, maybe I can get the two to understand I like them both… I have to say, I was very impressed by the organizers, Kru Gerald Ching (known as King G) and Kru Eric Rocha. The event was very well organized and they had fo

There’s something homey about Black Tiger Gym. I don’t know if it’s the sight of supper cooking on the stove as you come through the door, or that Kru Mom greets you holding a mop and a bucket. It was my second time at Black Tiger, and I had mixed feelings returning. My first experience was when our Lexi got in the ring for the first time ( previous blog : link ). There were nine fights on the card that evening, featuring mostly youth and surprisingly, none were from Black Ti

It was my second time at Budo Canada, as we had been there just a month ago for the Provincial Tournament. April Duels was organized by the legendary Simon Marcus at Budo Canada. At this event, all the VIP tables had sold out, which wasn’t good news for me, as I usually sneak into one of those seats for my blogging purposes. I interviewed Bardh Kadriu from Sette Muay Thai. Well, I tried to interview Bardh! I asked Bardh how he felt, and he responded, “Not a single thing on my

What an exciting weekend! It was actually my first time at a MT Tournament, but I’m glad I registered as a Class B/-45 kg Blogger! After this blog, I think I can negotiate moving to Class A. The first day, when I looked at the schedules, I was a little disappointed that there were no Class A fights, but I have to admit, those Class C fighters really stepped up. I had a chance to have a quick chat with Samantha Skinner (Class A, TKMT). Sam mentioned that Class A fighters are h

Dave Reeves, the owner of Rise Combat, was matched to fight his student, Johnathan Monk! Dave turned 50 in December of 2024 and has been training and teaching taekwondo and kickboxing for 30 years. Dave had to drop over 20 lbs for this fight! Early last year (2024), Dave was actually battling cancer! Having defeated cancer, he continued coaching his students, including Johnathan, and never stopped training himself. When I spoke with Dave, he said, “Johnathan has been trying t