Meet our team!
Coach Victor Acosta
Coach Victor began his martial arts career 20 years ago at the Muay Thai Academy of North Hollywood, California trained by his coach and co-owner of Muay Thai America Gym Kru Santi Sakkomkai along with having the privilege of being trained by Owner of Muay Thai Academy Kru Puk and multiple time world champion Malaipet Sasiprapa.
A huge advocate for learning and knowledge, Coach Victor has traveled across the United States and the world in order to expand his Muay Thai knowledge as well as improve his coaching techniques always striving to grow as a person and as a coach in order to be able to provide the best he can for the members of The Thai Boxing Institute.
A competition and training resume consist of 8 years fight experience with a combined sanctioned/unsanctioned Muay Thai record of 20 wins 6 loses and 2 draws (20-6-2).
Along with competitive Muay Thai experience, Coach Victor has always sought out challenges in other martial arts disciplines with competition experience in Boxing and Brazilian Jiujitsu.
6 years experience of Brazilian Jiujitsu ranked blue belt under jiujitsu legend Eddie Bravo, along with several years of Judo, Wrestling, and Mixed Martial Arts training and a decades worth Western Boxing training.
Since beginning his coaching career, an emphasis in education in training modalities to include all other aspects of fitness including nutrition, strength and conditioning and plyometric training as been added to his coaching repertoire in order to be able to maximize training potential and use of member’s time.
Over a decades worth of experience teaching kids and adults in group and private settings, from a range of casual sport enthusiasts to competitive amateur athletes and has given countless hours of his time volunteering in public events to promote the art and culture of Muay Thai.
When Coach Victor isn’t training or working on the gym he enjoys taking community college courses at SMC in subjects such as business and music, along with writing music, playing guitar and participating in community service.
Coach Nate Delong
Coach Nate is a lifelong martial artist, first training as a child in self-defense classes taught by his mother. He has been fighting and coaching Muay Thai for 17 years, First at Wai Kru MMA, then at Hard Knocks Muay Thai in Boston.
After capturing a pro title belt, Nate was invited to fight with Team USA at The 2014 World Muay Thai Federation Championships in Thailand, where he won the 91kg Pro/Am Division. This afforded Nate an opportunity to train with the Polish National K-1 Kickboxing team in Warsaw.
Along with Muay Thai, he also holds a Pro/Am K-1 Kickboxing title. After five years at TBI, Coach Nate has a passion not only for strategy, technique, and winning, but the depth of the art of Muay Thai. Watching fighters achieve what they thought was impossible, and develop character along the way is what drives him to continue training and coaching.
Coach Jeannie Nguyen
Coach Jeannie is our very first homegrown athlete-turned-coach!
With 8 years of Muay Thai experience, Coach Jeannie has fought locally and at the national level earning a 13 – 3 competition record with 4 TKO’s. Some of her accolades include the USMTO West Atomweight division Champion in both B and A-Class, TBA Pinweight A-Class champion, local Cali Atomweight champion, and gold at the USA Grand Nationals in 2023.
A former software engineer, Coach Jeannie is now pursuing a degree in dietetics and nutrition while teaching classes. She is particularly passionate about empowering women and kids to find mental health and confidence in themselves through the sport. You can find her at the gym geeking out over technique, taking naps in the ring, or blasting 90s/2000s throwbacks.
On the rare occasion she’s not in the gym, you’ll find her doing one of her millions of hobbies (like knitting or learning a new language) with her cats and dog. She loves food, art, a good coffeeshop, and buying way too many books.
Coach Erin Clayton
In 2015 Coach Erin started her Muay Thai journey really just looking for a good workout but as time went on, fell in love with the sport and eventually started fighting.
A participant in in 15+ fights, a member of Team USA 2022 and 2023 competing in Abu Dhabi and Thailand. with a bronze medal in the 2022 World Games and another bronze in the IFMA 2023 World Championship amongst several other tournament and promotional titles. In this journey, she has been incredibly lucky to have had wonderful coaches to learn from that inspired me to become a coach as well – Coach Victor Acosta (at TBI) and Coach Tyson Mendes (at Paragon in Santa Barbara).
‘My passion for Muay Thai drives me to continuously learn, test my skills, and refine my coaching techniques, ensuring that I can provide the best guidance to students.‘
Coach Greego Landicho
Hi! I’m Coach Greego. I started my muay thai journey in Long Beach in 2016. When I moved to Mar Vista in 2017, I was drawn to the story of how the community at Thai Boxing Institute gathered to rebuild after the fire at the Centinela location. I walked in one afternoon, took a class, and immediately signed up for the unlimited membership.
What I appreciate about muay thai at TBI is how it fills all of my self-care buckets. The physical and social parts are obvious, but the intellectual game of the sport, the spiritual practice of muay thai, and the emotional bonds at the gym is what I enjoy most (and what I hope to bring to my classes).
My muay thai stats: my favorite weapon is my right kick; I’m told I’m pretty quick; my muay thai record is 3 in 5; and my go-to move is lead-uppercut to low kick. When I’m not at the gym, you can find me at my 9-5 job as a school psychologist, eating baked goods, running (for leisure and exercise), or running (literally) to my airport gate because being on time is difficult.
Coach Lee Cabacungan
Coach Lee spent much of his life training Karate before making the switch to Muay Thai in 2014. In 2016, he joined TBI after moving to Los Angeles. Coach Lee competed with TBI until 2018 and was part of the first team TBI took to USMTO in Arizona.
Outside of the gym, Coach Lee is an avid runner and takes part in road races of all distances and has completed the LA marathon multiple times. He is also an experienced musician playing both drums and taiko.
Coach Warsame Ahmed
Coach Warsame is another one of our homegrown athletes turned coach with over 5 yrs experience in Muay Thai under the guidance of Coach Vic.
Coach Warsame bolsters a 4-1 competition experience and with the highlight of securing the USMTO Men’s C Class championship at 148 lbs in 2021. Alongside his Muay Thai journey, coach Warsame is also a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Gerson Sanginitto.
When not immersed in the world of Muay Thai and martial arts, coach Warsame could be found on soccer fields on Sundays, passionately cheering and following the ups and downs of his beloved Arsenal, and enjoying hikes.
Coach Tony Shen
Originally from Chicago Illinois, Coach Tony has been training in Muay Thai since 2015 and joined the Thai Boxing Institute in 2020 as a member. Having competed for WMO in the Midwest and USMTO on the West Coast, Coach Tony currently sports a 1-1 record out of TBI.
Having been a coach since June of 2023, Coach Tony welcomes and loves to train people of all levels! Whether if it’s working with newcomers, training for fitness, or looking to get to the next level for competitions, Coach Tony firmly believes that Muay Thai is for everyone and is passionate about teaching all the different aspects of Muay Thai.
Outside of the gym Coach Tony is a software engineer and loves to nerd out about Warhammer or practice his culinary skills as an amateur chef.