Hello All!
Happiest of New Years!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break. I truly do miss when the gym is buzzing with energy, but alas, we all need a break sometimes.
I missed everyone and am feeling so appreciative and grateful to have another year of teaching, competing, and hanging out ahead of us.
It’s the moments and memories that truly make it all worth it, so thank you all for being a part of TBI, and I hope you have a wonderful, healthy, and prosperous 2024.
Re: TBI X-Mas Party
Thank you all for coming through! I hope you had a great time.
Re: New Merch
We surprise released a limited edition print—only 25 made—that won’t be printed again, the TBI ‘The Art of Striking’ Tee.
It was our second take on TBI/band-inspired merchandise.
Designed by Joey Ginaldi, who designs band merchandise along with some of his own inspired bootleg concepts,.
We basically sold out on its debut but have a few smalls and XL’s left.
Printed on a white unisex ‘Port & Company’ triblend tee: front-only design featuring two boxers in a distressed pseudo-Xerox designed with ‘The Thai Boxing Institute’ on the left-hand top corner and ‘The Art of Striking’ on the bottom right-hand corner.
Sizes: S and XL
Price: $25
Link for reference:
https://the-thai-boxing-institute.gymdesk.com/product/tbi-%27the-art-of-striking%27/37436
Thank you for your support! We will be releasing another design in March.
Member Appreciation Day:
MEMBER APPRECIATION DAY/PICTURE DAY
Join us on Saturday, February 3rd, at 11 a.m. (no training that day) for a light lunch and a class group picture, along with your separate picture with the coaches.
Just a way to say thank you and commemorate our experiences with each other.
We will provide lunch and beverages, and you just have to bring yourself. 🙂
Attire: Wear your favorite Muay Thai shorts and TBI shorts.
Thanks!!
Coach Erin on Deck:
First fight of the year!
On Saturday, February 17th, in Oakland, California, Coach Erin is set to compete for the 142-pound Legends Promotions Championship.
Who else is down to go and support? Let us know; we will have tickets available for the event!
2024 Vision, Core Values, and TBI as a Community.
Ok, bear with me because what I am about to share is going to be pretty dense.
Recently, there was a time when we didn’t have TBI. When our space and practice were suddenly taken from us. We were locked down, and the gym shuttered.
I don’t want to speak for anyone but myself. During this time, I spent the days in regret and a lack of gratitude for what I had, for what I was able to provide, and for the position I was in.
Eventually, society opened up… My feelings and sentiments were echoed by our returning members.
I vowed to never take these moments for granted. To always be as present as possible.
The 2021 competition resumes across the nation. Because we were still in the middle of the pandemic, we had a lot of time on our hands as the gym wasn’t so busy.
So we competed. A lot.
It was a prosperous time, and resources were abundant. There was a real emphasis on community, accountability, and service.
Great things were accomplished.
Eventually, life moved on, and society fully opened up.
We outgrew our little 1100-square-foot home and found ourselves with a much bigger space.
What I didn’t account for was the rapidity of the growth of our community.
I’m flattered.
With the expansion of the gym and our new-found growth in member size, I felt a change happen. And as such, these changes have also been pointed out to me by others in our community.
These things occur and can be explained through I/O and social psychology.
It happens.
What I’ve been dreaming for us in the last two years was the stage where we found ourselves in 2021.
It’s what I call stage 4.
A few years ago, I read Phil Jackson’s autobiography, and he kept referring to a book called ‘Tribal Leadership’.
If a great coach like Phil Jackson spoke highly of this book, then it surely was worth the read.
And it was. This book gave such incredible insight into how large groups of people operate. And how one can leverage these groups in order to produce extraorindary events.
It reminded me of TBI and the other gyms, communities, and spaces I have been a part of.
It also reminded me of my first Muay Thai gym and my experience with starting the sport.
That gym was what the book calls a ‘Stage One (All Life Sucks)’ group.
If you are curious about my experience, I posted a collection of blog entries from 2018 that detailed it. You can check it out with the links below:
In 2021, TBI found itself in what the book calls ‘Stage 4 (We’re Great)’.
What a time it was for us!
And although we are not what is considered ‘a fight gym’, we were able to accomplish some very impressive statistics that year that made our little gym in Mar Vista, CA, known throughout the nation.
In mid-2022 and forward, we regressed into what the book calls ‘Stage 3 (I’m Great, and You’re Not)’.
Still, better than Groups 1 and 2, but we are definitely nowhere near Stage 4. Which is where I believe our community is capable of getting to and staying at!
recently, The biggest thing I started to notice about our community is ‘Cliquiness’.
If you read my 2018 blog entries, then you can probably gather that I am a huge opponent of cliques and the sort of behavior that comes with them.
Cliques and the associated behavior are opposite of what TBI stands for and are opposite of one of our major goals as a space and community, which is inclusion.
So here we are:
I would love to introduce y’all to TBI’s core values.
The coaches all got together and wrote these out. We will be hanging a copy of this at the gym near the back entrance.
These will be our leading principles and a guide to achieving next year’s goals.
I want to start, though, with our mission statement.
This has been our mission statement for at least the last half decade and is on the front page of our website.
‘We aim to provide a safe and welcoming community where members can learn effective Thai boxing techniques for self-defense, a healthy lifestyle, and to improve self-confidence.’
Notice that nowhere does it state anything about fighting or competition. But I will touch on that a little bit later.
Ok, here are our core values:
“GHAP”
Gratitude: appreciative of the privilege to practice Thai boxing with others within our community.
Humility is an attitude of spiritual modesty and respect for the worth of the individual that comes from understanding our place in the larger order of things.
Abundance: A positive growth mindset with a goal towards achieving teamwork success and contributing to the community.
Passion: All members within the community train and teach with a sense of intention, purpose, and fulfillment, along with a commitment to high standards and a strong work ethic.
“Life is great.”
Ok, so now what?
This is where all the competition comes in.
In 2021, we had a 95% success rate out of 23 bouts, and in 2022, we had a 58% success rate out of 19 bouts. The bright side of that is that we challenged ourselves and fought in a much higher-skilled experience class. Even fighting internationally. Same thing as last year, although our success rate dropped to 52% out of 19 bouts.
This year, I want to hit the same number of bouts, if not more, with at least a 75% success rate. I wholeheartedly believe we can do this.
And although competing isn’t a part of our mission statement, it is a part of the sport.
Competition provides a lot of benefits to the gym’s culture and skill level. Competing helps elevate the overall skill level of the gym. It has a trickle-down effect. It’s also the best way for a coach to test their technique and training methods, perhaps making adjustments and changes so that the training never feels stagnant or redundant.
Finally, when one of our athletes wins, we all win.
That is because it takes the whole gym to help train them. To help support them. Competition creates camaraderie and builds community.
Also, we are looking to align ourselves with charitable causes and organizations, so if you are involved in these things and feel like TBI can contribute, please get in touch with me.
What can you do to help?
I think the biggest starting point is to be kind, smile, and say hi to anyone you don’t know. Maybe ask them what their name is!
Be open to working out with a new partner. In open pairings, sparring, and drilling classes.
Just remember that all of us, including myself, were beginners at one point.
What can you do as a new member?
Be proactive! Talk; don’t be shy; say hi. Volunteer and get involved.
Say hi to me, ask me questions, and talk to me. Or any of the other coaches. We are all very approachable.
Our natrual demeanor may say otherwise, but that’s because we’ve been punched so much that our face just looks like that now.
Lastly, I can only do so much to engage the community.
Whether you are new or have been here, you have to come to class to learn the sport and how to be a good partner. You get what you put in.
If you are signing up for Comp Team, you have to stick to your word and be here for the team whether you have a fight booked or not.
This is an institution of learning and a community of service.
Simple as that.
That’s all I have to say about that. For further reference, I recommend looking at the blog post relating to this newsletter. You can find that by clicking the link below:
[insert here]
*(You can find comp stats at the end of the post.)
2024 Competitions:
PKB’s, MDL’s USMTO, and TBA’s.
What do these all mean?
We will be holding a team meeting at the end of January to sort everything out and answer all questions. If you are interested in competing, please attend this meeting. If you are curious about competing, click the link below:
2024 Competition Calendar:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/2/d/1hDX56mIWdzAPDv1ZiUcLDoRXh7uoDxsSmzH6TNivq2c/htmlview
[shout out to coach Erin for the comp list]
January Curriculum
1/1-1/6: Combining Two Different Boxing Defenses
1/8–1/13: Intro to Clinch
1/15-1/20: Doubling Up on Strikes
1/22-1/27: Push Kicks
*Comp stats for reference:
2023 Competition Statistics:
19 fights
55 rounds were fought.
10 wins (3 TKOS)
9 loss
52% win
2 championship titles, 1 World Championship bronze medal
We competed in two different states and two different countries.
2022 Competition Statistics:
19 total bouts
72 rounds were fought.
11 wins, 8 losses
58% success rate
Four championship titles were won.
LESS BOUTS, MORE RING TIME
Though the team had fewer match-ups overall, due to the number of international rounds and title fights, the overall ring time was actually higher than the previous year, with 143 minutes fought in total.
2022 TBI Competition Team Accolades:
WORLD GAMES BRONZE MEDALIST
#1 NATIONALLY RANKED 64KG
#3 NATIONALLY RANKED 48KG
USMTO A-CLASS 105-LB CHAMP
VICTORIAM SEKAI 140 LB CHAMP
CALI 105 LB CHAMP
2021 Competition Statistics:
23 total bouts
67 rounds were fought.
21 wins, 2 losses, and 2 (T)KO’s
95% success rate
9 championship titles won
2021 TBI Competition Team Accolades:
C.A.L.I. Strawweight Champion
USMTO National Champions
2021 Women’s Welterweight Novice
2021 Women’s Strawweight Intermediate
2021 Women’s Pinweight Intermediate
2021 Women’s Atomweight Novice
2021 Men’s Welterweight Novice
Thai Boxing Association World Expo Champions
2021 Women’s Atomweight Novice
2021 Women’s Pinweight Class B
2021 Women’s Light Welterweight Class B
2021 Men’s Flyweight Novice