The TEEP THIS mission is to bring more attention to the sport and culture of Muay Thai kickboxing by showcasing it’s amazing fights, intense training and colorful people through the art of photography, while chronicling my own journey into the ring. My name is Charles Little II and I started this website in April 2016 after training Muay Thai for about one year. I fell in love with Muay Thai and started this site so that I could share what I love. I hope that the content here can help inspire others as Muay Thai has inspired me. Through the offerings at this website, the conversations and contributions generated here and the continued practice of Muay Thai,  I hope to connect with other like-minded Muay Thai practitioners, advocates and veterans, visit as many gyms and training facilities as I can, workout with trainers and fighters of all levels and experiences and share what I learn along the way. I hope that my Muay Thai journey chronicled here and the stories, images and videos that are shared here on TeepThis.com can be an inspiration to others as Muay Thai has been to me.  An inspiration to regularly take self-inventory, to transcend excuses and avoid blame; to constantly challenge myself and continually strive to create the best version of ME that I can each and every day. Train hard, live well, love much, laugh often.  Sawaddee Kap.

Following Muay Thai blogs and Muay Thai fighters has been an integral part of my Muay Thai journey since I was first introduced to The Art of 8 Limbs in the spring of 2015.  A few of the names that I follow regularly include The Muay Thai Guys Sean Fagen and Paul Banasiak, Kru Ricardo Perez from Team-Toro Muay Thai in Chicago, my favorite fighters like Buakaw, Malaipet, The Great Saenchai, Gaston Belaños, Julio “The Don” Pena, WCK Full Rules Mauy Thai and the very first nak muay that I ever met online and to whom I have the utmost of respect and reverence the mighty Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu.  Her youtube videos with Master K were what I found when I first began searching for clues as to how to execute a round-kick with maximum power and minimal effort after my Krav Maga instructor kicked me across the room whilst still in mid-sentence.  Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning.

I began training Krav Maga in February of 2015.  This was actually my second time visiting the Krav Maga self-defense system.  I’m not sure what was different about this time around. It’s not like I made myself any new promises or declared any resolutions as I re-approached the training, I just got tired of sucking in my gut and fantasizing about living a healthier lifestyle and found myself walking into the Krav Maga Worldwide training center in West Los Angeles all over again. Krav Maga is a fucking great fight system and the way that they teach it at KMW makes so much sense and makes the training accessible to anyone and everyone.  Whatever your physical condition, whether you’re a man or woman, hefty or petite, it doesn’t matter; Krav will work for you!  The physicality of Level 1 Krav Maga, yes sure it’s demanding especially when you’re first walking in off the street, but you’ll survive it.  It’s not like Muay Thai where you could actually end up throwing up in your own mouth or tearing a muscle or something on your first day and just never come back.  Krav is doable for anyone and that’s important when it comes to finding the confidence or motivation within yourself to not just quit and go back to the training day after day until you actually find yourself in good enough shape to start really enjoying yourself!  Which is precisely what happened in my case.  I trained Krav Maga monday through friday every morning at 7am and often times in the evenings as well; bringing my training frequency to 5-10 times per week.  It may sound excessive when you read it but its not.  Of the 16 hours that we have each day to live our lives (less the 8 hours we spend sleeping), I’ve decided to devote 1-2 hours a day to taking care of ME first.  Before my family whom I love, my friends whom I adore and my work to which I am devoted.  That leaves 14-15 hours per day to cater to everyone and everything else in the world.  When you think of it like that, it doesn’t make sense not to devote 1-2 hours to yourself per day!  It’s all just a matter of perspective.  Now, where was I?  Oh yes, Krav Maga.
 
About 3 months into Krav Maga training I was in class with instructor Jay Denton who upon introducing the “roundhouse” or “round kick” or “shin kick” to the class proceeded to invite me to the front of the room to aid in his demonstration.  The 6’3” 200-plus pounder was explaining the technique while positioning the kick-shield over my left ribcage.  Then he ever so effortlessly sent a round kick at the pad that I was holding firmly against my body.  It felt like I had just been hit with a baseball bat and all the while the intonation in his voice never fluttered.  Not a single bit.  After class I cornered him and inquired about the kick and what it would take for me to possess such a skill one day?  “It’s all in the hips Charles…” he told me.  So as soon as I had a chance I went perusing around the internet searching “roundkick” and “how to round kick”.  I found this youtube video “The secret of Muay Thai is in the Hips and Standing Leg” . I’ve been hooked on Muay Thai ever since!
TeepThis.com is open to receive submissions and contributions from other Muay Thai or combat sports enthusiasts.  This site is about living life as much as it is about fight sports and as humans we are communal creatures, social beings, meant to live in community not in solitude.  So if any of the articles here spark a notion, a thought, an idea or hit a nerve with you good or bad, please don’t hesitate to respond, comment and of course please share, share, share.  I plan on starting a podcast just as soon as I can find a partner with whom to split the responsibility.  So if you’re interested in that sort of thing then please shoot an email to yo@teepthis.com and let’s chat about starting a chat about Muay Thai.  Sawadee Kap.

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