We are nearing the ‘post Quarantine age’ globally, but more so here In the UK, as the lockdown loosens, and we find ourselves coming to terms with life outside, the body may find overexposure to all the stimulus, a bit of a shock to the system. It is so important to keep on working out keeping the mind positively busy so that the transition to life outside, will be one of ease, and what better way to transition then to try Muay Thai Kickboxing, even if it is for the first time. Keeping something consistent to focus on for two weeks, will allow you to feel empowered, focused, and disciplined.
Safari MMA is here, to alleviate that worry off of your shoulders, offering 12 women in any part of the UK the opportunity to train with us for 2 weeks FOR FREE. We want to give back, and what better way than to give you time with some of our most skilled trainers, to interact, seek advice, and learn from. No Gym membership required, no scam, no strings, just straight training. You decide thereafter, how you’re feeling, our guess, is that with how good it will feel, you will want to keep training with us. But we will leave that to you! We hope you enjoy this gift, our community has built us up in so many ways, look out for more surprises we have planned over the next few months!
https://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Untitled-design.jpg14402560adminhttps://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo-239x300.pngadmin2020-06-17 10:31:512020-06-18 10:05:48An Open Letter to Our Community: We want you to be well
Thai boxing is the national sport and cultural martial art of Thailand. A lot of us, by now, are familiar with the sport, due to its popularity, it has popped up across the social media landscape, over the span of the last decade with mainstream athletes, and fighters training publicly. But the Martial Art we see today, wasn’t always what it appears to be. Muay Thai, was developed over several hundred years ago, the close combat nature of it, utilized the entire body as a weapon in war, hence why it is called the ‘the art of eight limbs’ due to the direct contact between each body part. Several scholars say the true nature of Muay Thai’s history was lost when the Burmese ransacked Ayudhaya, Siam’s capital city in Thailand, during the 14th century.
The way the body is used in Muay Thai, explains the ritualistic nature, you will see trailing into fights that occur in present-day clubs.
To scan the entire body, the hand becomes the ‘sword and dagger’, the shin and forearms are conditioned till they are hard, to act as armour. The elbows to be used on opponents like a heavy hammer if pivoted correctly, the legs and knees, likened to an axe and staff.
The relationship between each body part in combat is so closely interwoven and at one, that the fighter uses each, any, and every part as a way into any opening to defeat the opponent. It is both poetic and deadly.
The great history of Muay Thai dates back to the first army in which employed the combat, the 1238 Sukhothai Era, (the Buddhist years). This is where the first Thai army was formed in order to protect the capital within the city and its surrounding villages, against neighbouring kingdoms and tribes. Soldiers were taught how to use weapons, but also, how to use their bodies as weapons as they used every limb to fight, this was where Muay Thai was born alongside Krabi Krabong. As a result, Muay Thai became heavily interwoven into the fabric of the culture for the early Siamese people, because of being under constant threat of war. The first Muay Thai camps were formed as training centres, where men would train to fight, but also use it as a means to focus, gain discipline, and ongoing exercise. Soon, monks were instructed to teach the combative training, and the wisdom tied to it in Buddhist Temples, so that every generation would be equipped with the power of this knowledge.
This was never an elitist sport, because, anyone could use their body as a weapon if trained correctly. As more of the poor had access to Muay Thai, it then became a requirement for the elite, high class, and royalty to be well trained in the combat, as they believed this would lead to powerful future leaders, with the philosophy that a great who would be able to protect their country if it came to it.
Several generations later, this deeply poetic, philosophy and combative practice, has become a national sport, and form of self-defence for many across the world. In the early days of Thai training in Thailand, fighters didn’t always have boxing bags and resources readily available, therefore they had to get creative, using banana and coconut trees, rivers, streams, and manual labour as skills to get better at the sport.
A well- known training method was kicking and kneeing Banana trees, because of their soft porous nature.
There was something deliciously poetic, and meaningful about the roots of this addictive sport. There is a timelessness to the beauty of not needing anything, or anyone but yourself in combat, equipment, or weapons. Although we don’t endorse violence, we do encourage our students to use their body, as a powerful tool, to sharpen, and discipline the mind. Knowing that when it comes to fight or flight, when you are in the throes of fear, when we have been faced with a global problem that has forced us all indoors, feeling immobile, that all you need is yourself to get you out. We train you, so that you may learn how to use the tools you already have to battle your own wars. Knowledge is power.
https://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/joshua-rawson-harris-S4ZkQykkeRs-unsplash-scaled.jpg25602048adminhttps://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo-239x300.pngadmin2020-06-08 10:00:462020-06-15 10:05:00Muay Thai used to be a weapon of war: How can we use it to combat our mind?
After almost 11 weeks in Lockdown, the mind, and body are still going through the motions, it is definitely still an adjustment period for many of us, one that is ever-evolving. There is no shame in still feeling trapped or a little suffocated by the routine, or even still holding on to remnants of our former lives. Having to swap work clothes for sweats, back to back Zoom call meetings, staying indoors, and feeling like we have missed out on the millions of Instagram Yoga lives, and Zoom boxing classes. It is overwhelming, and contradictory to actually serve our wellbeing, and allowing it free flow and thrive, at a time like this. Our depth for mobility is limited, and our minds over-saturated. Now more than ever, a little extra push is needed to get the blood flowing around the body, to ensure, the mind, body, and spirit, are taken care of.
With this in mind, Safari MMA has launched our biggest project to date, from 1st – 7th June 2020, we will be hosting a Global Workout Summit comprising of the most elite instructors of their fields. In bringing YOU multiple classes in one place, over a period of 7 days. We will be joined by women specialising in Ballet, Yoga, Muay Thai, Jui Jitsu, Pilates, Gymnastics, and Wellbeing, to coach you through this difficult time, without the heavy price tag. With many, many classes to choose from, your week of wellbeing workouts will be covered.
Here are some of the amazing instructors you will get to meet:
Joanna Ziobronowicz, BJJ Black belt, World, European, and Grand Slam champion and full-time Brazilian Jitsu professor.
Becky Miller, qualified in 8+ styles of Yoga, and 800+ hours of teacher training, she teaches a wide variety of styles including, Vinyasa, dynamic flow, freedom flow, Yin restorative.
https://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/100721516_280235743379046_5338870993775284950_n-2.jpg772640adminhttps://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo-239x300.pngadmin2020-05-28 14:44:292020-05-28 14:44:29A Week of Wellness with Elite Trainers in our Global Workout Summit This June
The uncomfortable grips of Ramadan burn out, have hit, we have almost reached the middle of this month, it feels like it is swimming by, and at times exhausting. It is very easy to feel motivated when something is new and fresh, but what about when it starts to become a habit? We often start the month with an almost supernatural burning fire to carry out all the spiritual tasks we have set for ourselves! What about when we have been carrying out those tasks to reach our daily spiritual goals, again, and again, and again, day, after day, after day for 15 days? How do we maintain consistency when all we want to do is sleep it off for the next week? Keeping up with daily tasks, especially when they become an obligation, feels demotivating and draining. The last thing we want is for our deeds not to be accepted because the intention wasn’t there. If you look into all the gurus, business, athletes, and finance managers, the thing they seem to always reference is setting the intention. Intention, how does that manifest? What does that look or feel like for us?
“Our intention creates our reality” Wayne Ryer
“an inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention”- Dr Steve Maroboli.
We have set up a few tips for you to steer your Ramadan back on course. First, take a large inhale in and exhale out…How do you feel?
1) Mobility
Body mobility is a fantastic way to rediscover your purpose and vitality. Keeping your body, supple, and your blood flowing is a tip you hear often when you want to find optimum motivation whilst studying. A 10-minute yoga session is far more effective than a large cup of coffee in the morning. Research shows it combats stress, In 2013, researchers looked at studies spanning 619 participants who struggled with depression. They found moderate evidence that yoga was effective for providing a short-term boost. Research also suggests it reduces anxiety and combats inflammation in the body.
More than this, the feeling of inspiration normally hits when you’re feeling your best, your senses heightened, your muscles suppler and less tense, therefore welcoming of free-flowing thoughts. Logging in to just 1 session of Muay Thai can be a great way to get you back on track with your Juz a day! We often don’t even see taking care of our bodies, as a good deed, and something that will be rewarded, as a healthy body is a healthy believer. A healthy body is a revitalised mind, and even though you may have told yourself that movement in Ramadan is a no go. It is time to try this out!
2) Breathe
One of the most underrated components when it comes to the mind is breathe work, guided mediation, and breathing exercises have been proven to sharpen senses, making us more aware of the world, colours, tastes, and sounds around us. It brings us to the present, therefore, slowing down racing thoughts, and enables us to take on larger tasks. Breathing isn’t just about letting the space between your lungs fill with the air from outside, it requires focus and discipline. This leads to mindfulness, and mindfulness actually helps us to understand our thoughts and feelings more, by detaching ourselves from them, and understanding them from afar, instead of allowing them to engulf and overwhelm us. Breathing with mindfulness allows us to anchor our thoughts and breathe, and use this as a technique when negative thinking can override us.
A lot of us don’t even know, that we have lost the ability to ‘breathe properly’. As we have gotten older, we were exposed to more stress and anxiety causing us to go into fight or flight with our breathing, we started taking shorter, sharper breaths to get by. The very fact that we are taking short, sharp breaths indicates that we are only using the top third of our lungs. It means that we are no longer using our abdomen to breathe. This can make us feel as though we are hyperventilating, the sharp breaths, therefore, leading to a poor exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) in our bloodstream, deprives the body of these vital gasses. That major lack of Oxygen can rob our organs and muscles of proper blood flow, and the reduction in CO2 can lead to dizziness, fatigue and even insomnia.
A great guided breathing guru on Youtube to work with is Wim Hoff, his methods, although known to be quite extreme, at times, actually bring about an extreme response In the body, and a radical feeling of rejuvenation. He always mentions the importance of finding assistance when trying breathing exercises like his. Here is a mini starter pack into Wim Hoff breathing.
3) Change your environment
We know what you’re thinking, that’s pretty hard to do, when we are stuck in Quarantine. Going back to our intention is a great starting point to pulling us out of this mind standstill. Relearning your reasoning as to why you set the goal and intention, to begin with, will bring some tingling of inspiration back. But sometimes, when we get settled into a routine, it can feel like we are stuck in the mud. Nothing changes or moves especially when the intention is spiritually connected. The feeling you want to achieve perhaps has taken its time to reach you, perhaps you were looking for spiritual awakening, contentment, revitalisation, a burning motivation to read the Quran with more zeal. When these feelings don’t hit us, we feel like it never will, our brains start to play tricks on us, and tells us half-truths about our current situation. Especially when it comes to our connection with Allah (swt) matters of the heart are very sensitive, a change in its condition, therefore, won’t occur as we plan it to, or think it will. That part is up to Allah (swt), all we can do, is our part, do the work, whatever that looks like for you, it can be daily affirmations, dhikr, a page of Quran, a spiritual video, a yoga session. The work is all you can control, the inspiration comes from Allah (swt) and know and trust that even that being delayed has some wisdom in it. Don’t let it stop you from doing the work.
Often when we feel uninspired, we take ourselves out from the place that is making us feel dull. This can look like a walk In the park and a marvel at nature. Spring is in full bloom and there is so much to look at. It can be stumbling upon new artists, or poems that elicit a new emotion, or reading new literature. When we learn something new, we are giving space in our minds for more thoughts, which reduces stagnancy and gives a boost of motivation. If you can’t physically change your environment by stepping out of it, why not change it by moving it around. Room renovation, even changing your sheets, or moving your cupboard, painting the walls, buying plants are all great ways to rediscover the love of the space you’re in. When you’re in a happy, calm, serene, environment your thoughts will free flow into positivity and inspiration will hit, you just have to be patient.
https://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/kendal-TW2bfT_tWDI-unsplash-scaled.jpg25601707adminhttps://www.safarikickboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/logo-239x300.pngadmin2020-05-08 12:01:232020-05-08 12:01:233 Top tips to Combat Ramadan Burn Out
