As a coach and owner of 2 gyms in Mississauga, I often get approached by students telling me that they are interested in fighting. Our Muay Thai gym has over 100 members. Let's be honest, not every member will get an opportunity to compete and represent their club. There is a lot of time and resources that goes into preparing someone for battle, and it’s just not feasible nor practical to have the entire club fighting. Extra pad rounds with coaches, putting together your workout plan, finding cornermen (2 person) to accompany you for the day of the fight, prospecting for an opponent, organizing and planning for the event, and other behind-the-scenes work are some examples of extra duties required by the club to prepare for you to compete.

“Being skillful isn’t enough.”

At our Mississauga Muay Thai gym, we don’t just look at skill to determine who makes the cut. Likewise, you could be the hardest-working Joe out there, but if your skill doesn’t measure up, then keep training.

So how does a club determine who gets to be on the fight roster? I can tell you how Legacy decides.

How to Join the Legacy Fight Team (in no particular order)

1. Work ethic
   Training hard and pushing yourself each class.

2. Attendance
   You must be attending classes regularly (minimum 3 classes a week while also doing fight-related training at home or elsewhere for a total of 5 training sessions a week).

3. Time in as part of the team
   If you just joined our Muay Thai club in Mississauga, understand that it may take some time for all of us to get to know each other before we can work together.

4. Drive and passion for the sport
   Are you fighting for the right reasons? To get girls, to beat up on people, or to show off on social media that you are a fighter aren’t good reasons. We want fighters who love Muay Thai and the spirit of martial arts.

5. Skill
   You don’t necessarily have to have the highest skill at the club, but you must prove that you understand the fundamentals, can bring home the victory, and can protect yourself in that ring. Only through hard sparring at our Mississauga Muay Thai gym can you show this.

6. Attitude and character
   Douches, arrogant, and egotistical people are not representing our club. Luckily for Legacy, we don’t have this problem as we don’t draw in those types of people anyways.

7. Ability to listen, learn, and follow direction
   Self-explanatory.

When you first join, it’s perfectly fine to let the coach know that you are interested in competing. You can go a step further and ask how the club determines who gets to fight and what the requirements are. Just understand that competing and representing your club in Muay Thai tournaments near Mississauga is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT. You get chosen based on set criteria, and unfortunately, not everyone will get chosen. There is usually already a waitlist of students patiently waiting for their turn, so if you are a newcomer interested, you will have to be patient.

So you got chosen to join the fight team? Well, with great power comes great responsibilities. This is what teamLEGACY in Mississauga expects from our fighters:

Specific Requirements and Expectations for Our Fighters

1. Go to the advanced classes at least twice a week for 3 months before your scheduled fight. One of those classes has to be the sparring classes (currently on Tuesdays).
2. Train hard - don’t skimp out on hard work, challenge yourself by sparring with tough partners, give 100%, 100% of the time.
3. Be a good teammate and contribute to the club in some ways. What value do you add to the team or club?
4. We expect that shortly after your fight, you are back on the floor helping your teammates prepare for theirs through sparring and pad work. Long extended breaks after receiving your fight are unacceptable. If this happens, then you can expect that we will not be finding you another fight.
5. You are also training and doing your homework outside the club times. Road work, cross-training at other gyms, working solo on the heavy bag at home, studying fight videos, etc.

Do you have what it takes?

Are you drinking enough water? If you answered no, you are not alone as more than half of North Americans are not getting the amount of water they need in a day. If you suffer from headaches, constipation, tiredness, muscle cramps, dull, dry skin, or if your urine is a dark yellow colour, this is a sign that you are not drinking enough. 

Water is pretty boring. It is colourless and tasteless with no caloric value, but it is the most important element of your diet because it is involved in every function in the body. 

The average recommendation for water per day is 2 litres for women and 3 litres for men. This number will change depending on the climate and if you are exercising. Right now I am on an island in Sicily for the summer (I know, poor me right?!) and the temperature here is above 30 degrees celsius every day so I am trying to focus on drinking more to replace what I have lost in sweat. I do this by having one litre of lemon water as soon as I wake up and bring a water bottle with me wherever I go. We have also put up a heavy bag here and when we workout, I make sure that I am drinking an additional litre of fluid after we finish exercising.

When training you need to be in an optimal state of hydration for both your endurance and performance. During exercise, you lose electrolytes which are made up of sodium and potassium. Sodium maintains the fluid in our body, keeping it hydrated while helping muscles to relax. Potassium has a similar function and also aids in the storage of carbohydrates to fuel the muscles. If you sweat a lot during a workout, or train for long periods of time, it is a good idea to add electrolytes to your drink (plus they make your water taste so good!). Sport drinks are what people gravitate to because they contain carbohydrates and electrolytes needed for hydration and energy, but I find that they have a lot of unnecessary ingredients and colouring. Instead, I like electrolyte tablets (I am using them in Italy right now). You can get them at any health food store and most grocery stores and you can throw them in your gym bag to use whenever you need them. Nuun hydration is a great brand and has a variety of flavours as well as specific tablets for sports, immune support, and some with added caffeine. My favourite is Strawberry Lemonade.

Another great drink is coconut water. It is a natural source of electrolytes and what many Muay Thai fighters drink in Thailand because of the extremely hot temperatures. You can also make your own sport drink by using a few simple ingredients.

Maple-Lemon Electrolyte Water Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water, filtered
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from about 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a glass and stir until the salt is dissolved.

If you want to up your hydration and improve your performance try the following recommendations:

• ensure you are well hydrated before you exercise - this means drinking water throughout the day
• replace 80% of the sweat lost during exercise 
• drink fluids that have electrolytes if exercise is high intensity, more than 1.5 hours, or in hot a hot climate
• drink at least ½  a litre immediately after exercise
• add fruit juice, electrolytes, or BCAA’s to make your water taste good and to add carbohydrates, sodium and potassium
• continue to drink fluid after exercise until at least 1 litre is consumed

The most important thing to remember is to drink before you feel thirsty and ensure that most of what you drink in a day is water.

Man do I hate it when people make the excuse of “being too old” to start something.  I guess at some point you can become too old, but more often than not this phrase gets thrown around unwarranted.  I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) 4 years ago at the mature age of 33.  I am now 37 and do not for a minute regret starting in my 30s.  My BJJ journey is primarily about personal development and becoming better than my yesterday self, therefore the age that I start at is of little concern to me.  I do not compete for fame, glory, or medals.  I compete because competition presents me with adversity and challenges, inevitably forcing me to become the best that I can be.  

Whether it’s BJJ or muay thai, before you  tell yourself lies such as, “it’s too late to start,”  give it some real thought.  Maybe it’s just your perspective that needs to change.

Here are my top 5 favorite BJJ videos.  I hope they inspire you like they did me:

1. ROLL:  Jiu Jitsu in SoCal

They call California the new Mecca of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I was lucky enough to have travelled to California in 2019 and trained at 3 different schools (a couple of which are mentioned in this documentary).  The crew of Eat Films travels to Southern California to give us a glimpse into the lives of some of the best gyms and practioners of the sport.

2. Jiu-Jitsu VS the World

A great documentary about what makes Brazilian jiu-jitsu great.  BJJ is not just a sport or martial art, it's a lifestyle.  Grab some popcorn and enjoy.

3. Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Exam

Peter undergoes testing for his black belt.  A rigorous process that will push him physically and mentally.  Will he succeed?

4. Pure Roling | Jiu Jitsu Explained

A collection of rolls, narrated by Roy Dean.  I have watched this video over 4 times throughout the years and still learn something new each time.  It is beautifully put together with great music and camera work.  The narration and slow motion cuts really helped me learn.

5. Grappling God - Marcelo Garcia Highlight

The Michael Jordan of BJJ.  If you don't know him then watch this!

Food for thought:  A little step forward each day adds up to BIG gains over the course of a year, 2 years, 5 years.  It is better to make little forward strides while staying consistent over the long haul rather than go apesh** in your training for a short period then take an extended break. 

Short term gains are for chumps and you aren’t a chump.  Always play the long game on the mats, in the ring, or in life.

Oss, Sawadeekhrap

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 You can reach high level at any skill in just 5 years.  Watch below:

Most of the time we are so focused on fitness goals that we forget about how important exercise is for our mental and emotional wellness. With the stressful pace of everyday life and now a world pandemic, it is so important that we find strategies to support our mental health. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act and determines how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Physical activity is a very important way to maintain this balance. Getting sweaty at least five times a week has been proven to boost mood, improve brain function, improve sleep, reduce cortisol, and help manage anxiety and stress.

For a long time, the main purpose of my going to the gym was to be physically fit. Now, I realize that activities which challenge me such as training for a half marathon and participating in Tough Mudders, inspires self-discipline and helps me build a strong mindset which I carry into my everyday life. This is why I love training in Muay Thai as Martial arts is known to promote physical and mental control. Each week, when I show up at Legacy, I love that my body is getting stronger and my kicks more powerful, but I also find that when I am in need of a break, or want to give up on something that seems impossible to master, I have the mental focus to help me dig deeper to find that extra push.

Remember, going to the gym is not always about having a six pack. The social benefits of working out with other people is a great recipe for maintaining mental wellness. Being part of a team or club provides you with a sense of community that is working towards a common goal. This mix of exercise and social activity will surely boost your mood when you are feeling down.

If you are not one to join a big box gym or don’t have enough time to workout, remember that any kind of physical activity is healthy for your body and mind. Find something you like to do or have wanted to try and schedule it into your calendar to find time for your own well-being.