Muay Thai is not just a sport; it's a way of life
First, let's clear up a misunderstanding. Muay Thai does not make children aggressive. In Europe they think that a child becomes a fighter when he is trained in Muay Thai. It's not like that at all. Anyone who trains well knows that he can injure someone and that he should never fight outside the gym. That's one of the first things children are taught.'
This is what Stefania Picelli (26) says, model, Muay Thai boxer but above all organizer of Muay Thai competitions since 2008, both in Italy and Thailand. The best known is Muay Thai Combat Mania, a great success in both countries, and organized in December last year in Pattaya.
Because I'm young and pretty, people don't always take me seriously
Stefania is, as it is called in English, a head-turner (a woman you turn your head for) and she is more than aware of this. "Because I'm young and pretty, people don't always take me seriously." She spent most of her childhood in Italy with regular visits to Thailand. At the age of 8 she started with Muay Thai and at the age of 13 she did her first modeling job.
What started as a hobby, Muay Thai, became a business. 'Being half Thai and Italian I thought I could be a connection between those two worlds. I know how things work in Europe and I also understand the Thai world.'
So she hit the road in Thailand, looking for Muay Thai fighters. But it didn't go smoothly in the beginning despite her handsome appearance. It was not easy as a young woman to enter the Muay Thai world. The fighters hesitated. But she didn't give up and now everyone, she thinks, has a different idea of her.
Muay Thai requires a lot of dedication and discipline
For Stefania, Muay Thai is not just a sport, but a way of life. She has watched the fighters, often trained from the age of five or six, grow up with a deep respect for Muay Thai and their trainers.
Stefania: 'You need a lot of dedication and discipline. Training hard every morning and then going to school, just like all the other kids. Muay Thai training makes one mature, and in the right direction. By that I mean that a child learns to respect people. You don't have to grow up to be a fighter. If you only know what you want: that already makes you a better person.'
Stefania's company is now up and running and she has employees, because organizing a competition is a big job that takes six months. Moreover, she tries to make something different every time, so that the audience gets to see something new. Her modeling work falls short. She would like to spend more time on that. But Muay Thai remains in first place.
(Source: Muse, Bangkok Post, February 16, 2013)