Table Of Content

• Aim of the project.

• What is Muay Thai (Thai boxing) and the history of it.

• How Muay Thai (Thai boxing) in Singapore evolved over the years.

• Reasons why Muay Thai is getting more and more recognized & popular in Singapore.

• The background of Asfitness.

• SWOT analysis.

• Conclusion.

• Recommendation.

Aim of the project

The objective of the report is to learn more about how Muay Thai (Thai-boxing) in Singapore has evolved over the past few years. Starting with only one single gym in eastern Singapore that provides lessons on Thai boxing, now there are at least 10 gyms all over Singapore that provides lessons on this particular sport. A renowned gym, Alvin Seet Fitness (ASF) had been in this industry for the past 10 years .We will see how ASF have overcome several difficulties and strong competitions to become one of Singapore’s well known gym.

Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) and its history

Muay Thai is a combat sport that originated from Thailand. It is a stand up sport that requires striking of hits and it consists of various clinching techniques which takes some time to learn. Muay Thai is also known as the "Art of Eight Limbs" or the "Science Of Eight Limbs" because it uses the eight points of contact - the fists, knees , shins and elbows strikes to execute the different moves.

The history of Muay Thai marks all the way back to a few hundred years ago when war was fought using the limbs of their body to mimic weapons use in battlefields. Soldiers were taught with defensive and offensive techniques and tactics to protect themselves from enemies. Each strike and movement have to deliver a strong and powerful blow so as to allow the fighters to fight other enemies quickly without leaving himself exposed to other attacks .

How Muay Thai (Thai boxing) in Singapore evolved over the years.

Muay Thai in Singapore is about 12 years old. It started out with a small organization that now consists of 10 gyms all under the Amateur Muaythai Association of Singapore (AMAS), a member of the World Muaythai Council (WMC) and the International Federation of Muaythai Amateurs (IFMA).

Under stringent rules and regulation, gyms in Singapore work closely together for the development of Muay Thai both locally and internationally.

Reasons why Muay Thai is getting more and more recognized & popular in Singapore

In the olden days of Singapore, many people regard Muay Thai as a dangerous combat sport because it executes the strikes using the dangerous part of the body.

But with new media and reality shows shown in television like “The Contender Asia”, more and more people are aware that Muaythai is one of the safe combat sport one could learn. Movies shown in movies theatres like “Ong Bak”have also made youth grow interest in this tradition sports

The Amateur Muaythai Association of Singapore have also send singapore fighters to take part in world competitions and have been winning medals for singapore .

Also, Muaythai is a sport that requires a strong body and mind. Many blue collar workers and office ladies join to keep fit or to lose weight. The workout for muay thai training will speed up the metabolism and burn off excessive fats. The workout also requires cardiovascular training which trains your stamina.

Muay thai fighters are mostly require to pack with a muscular body to prevent them from having injuries during fights and to have a higher tolerance of pain. Many people join muay thai hoping to have a lean and cut body. Having muscles not only provide with strength but also agility.

The daily constant drilling of techniques and training teach of the trainer enable the mind and body to adapt faster. When drills are done constantly, the muscle will “remember” the moves and can effectively and instantly react to attacks.

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ASF background

Alvin Seet Fitness is started and run by Alvin Seet in 2002.At a young age of 16 , the owner of ASF has grown interest in this sport.He started training at Muaythai at the one and only gym in singapore .Alvin would dedicate his time to only training hoping to be one of the first singaporeans to represent singapore for this sport.

At the age of 18,after his national service, he moved to Thailand to pursue a professional fight career for 2 months. He then competed in the Asia Open Championships, Muay Thai World Cup, and the Prince's Cup winning several regional titles against Thai opponents before coming back to singapore to work as a trainer before he started his own gym in the year of 2002.

Over the past few years,ASF have moved from places to places because of the limited capital , he also conduct Muaythai classes at community centres to bring convenience to the students that are staying at the different part of Singapore under the name of ASF.There are a few experienced instructor such as Kenji and Jeffrey that teaches at some of the community centre were his student. They were there to help him as he progress throughout this career.

ASF had produced many elite fighters which gain many achievements at a young age.To name a few, they are Wang yu, Amir Khan, Antti and more. Wang yu at the age of 18 is one of the youngest Singapore fighter to fight in Thailand on professional level,he is also a famous fighter in the muay thai society in Singapore because of skills and technique .Wang yu together with Kenji and a few others fighter from other gym have also represented Singapore to fight against other country national fighters at world games.

This boy , Amir Khan started learning muaythai in the age of 14.Thru his hard work and determination ,Amir "The golden boy" khan became the youngest fighter in ASF to fight on a professional level basis in Thailand and won by KO in the first round in year 2009. He have also won a championship fight against an experience thai fighter and a side bet of large sum amount of 50,000 baht prize money and a title belt of the stadium on the 30th December 2009.

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All this achievements from the great fighters attracts many working adults and student to join the gym. The achievement of the fighters in ASF made many believe that the trainers from this gym are from the best in Singapore as the students in ASF gain so many achievements at such a young age.

Although the ASF welcome people of all walks of life that are interested to learn Muay Thai, there will still be times when Alvin does not want to teach a particular student because of the student attitude. This mindset of Alvin allows the gym to produce only quality fighter with the right attitude which a sportsman should always always have.

Currently,ASF is located at Hong Kong street 33D a 5 mins walk from Clark Quay MRT with is directly opposite the street.With a big number of students that is interested to learn more about muay thai from the experience and dedicated trainer.

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With the increasing number of students joining ASF.Alvin Seet Fitness profit have been increasing year by year.The reason why ASF student is increasing is because of the spreading of his teaching by the current students to their friends and family , this lead to more student wanting to try out this adrenaline rush sports.Alvin Seet do not believe in advertisement to help him to have more student as he believes in his own capability.

Alvin Seet Fitness also earn some extra money from selling of beverages like sports drink in the gym.Alvin seet understand that the cost of muaythai equipment in Singapore is very expensive so he also import muay thai equipment like the shin guards, boxing gloves, handwraps and gum shield etc to sell it at a lower price to his student .

In order to survive in the sports industry in Singapore especially combat sports,Alvin seet has done research and development on different kinds of combat sports.He knew that by just coaching muay thai , it will be insufficient as other gym has went on to teach other combat sports too.So Alvin went to join other gyms that teaches different combat sports to learn their skills and technique.By learning other combat sport,He can use it to improve his health and skill and can be beneficial to his gym as it will attract more students to learn different kinds of popular combat sports.

Teaching more than just one kind of sports in the gym attract more people including the more elderly .In the gym there are 50 over years old uncles and aunties that are practising combat sports as a kind of fitness to keep fit.Alvin and the trainers will push and train the students to their limit by not over their limit as injuries might occur.The intensity of the training depends on individual,trainers will judge each individual by their capability and experienced .This type of training style attracts student to stay on and not giving up halfway because the trainers do not push you too hard, they will instead guide and teach patiently to bring the students up to a higher level which not many of the gym practise.

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Swot Analysis

|Strengths |Weaknesses |
|Teaches self-defense and to help the students to become fit |There is not 100% injuries free |
| | |
|Drinks are sold for hydration and equipment are available at cheaper|Equipments and furniture are all worn-down |
|price for students | |
| |Does not provide lockers for students to keep their expensive |
|Passionate,helpful and full of experience trainers at the gym |belongings |
| | |
|Cubicles for shower after training |Limited trainers to guide and teach students |
| | |
|Personal training and different level of intensity class to suit |Unsold equipment is out of fashion and is hard to sell off |
|each group or individual | |
|. |There is no lift at the building and students have to climb a flight|
|Trainers will take push the trainees until their limit but not over |of stairs up to 4th storey. |
|their limit | |
|Opportunities |Threats |
|Build a proper ring and get new equipments for the student to train |A martial art gym just directly opposite the gym |
| | |
|Doing personal training at the person place instead of the gym to |This gym only teaches Muay thai which might lose out to other gyms |
|ease convenience for the person |that have more combat sports to learn from |
| | |
|Sell different brands of muayt thai product instead of sticking to |More gyms in Singapore with more facilities and newer equipment |
|one brand | |
| |With internet , to purchase muaythai products that are more cheap is|
|Introducing more combat sports to attract more people |easily available. |
| | |
|Organise fights once a month so that more people will know of the |Other gyms in Singapore that have thai trainers . |
|gym because of the banner and news | |
| | |
|Hiring authentic muaythai trainer from Thailand ,so that people will| |
|have the mindset that it is authentic muay thai | |

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Conclusion

In conclusion,with so many competitors around Singapore that teaches muaythai what make more people to join ASF and students that will still learn consistently is because that the trainers at the gym emphasize more on quality than on quantity.There is no way students at the gym can be national fighters without good trainers by the side to push them and encourage them.Even though the gym does is not air-conditioned ,there will still be people wanting to learn from Alvin seet because his experienced and humbleness.The trainer at the gym treat everyone equally without biased,the trainer will not favour a fighter at the gym to a new learner.

At the same time, Alvin seet have bought new equipment for the students to train and bringing in more muay thai products to increase his revenue.Where by in the past , there is only one brand to choose from and a limited choice of design and size of gloves and shorts. Now, students can look at different design of the product through a catalogue and place an order with Alvin. Alvin will than order for them directly from thailand. There are also many muaythai accessories sold at the gym like key chains , print on badges and tee shirt.

Recommendation

I recommend ASF gym to conduct more Muay Thai classes at many communities centres to allow more people around Singapore to be able to learn muay thai with Alvin and to lessen the travelling time. The main branch that is situated at Clarke quay can be better by giving the place a more newer look to attract more students and to change the equipments like the punching bags and weights. The equipment to carry weights like that dumbbell and barbell has already gone rusty and the punching bags have gone out of shape,there are also a few bags with the leather peeling off.

It would be good if Alvin could hired one or two experienced thai trainers to help out as the class is packed during most of the days.With the help of more trainers,the trainers will be able to spot the student mistake immediately as currently there are only limited trainer to teach a big number of student in the class. Lastly,it would be beneficial to the students to build a standard boxing ring in the gym to allow students to get use to the size of it.Those students that wants to fight for the gym could get use to the size of it and could practise their technique that they want to use on the competition .Most importantly, the quality of how the training is done is more important then the facilities or the equipment because even with the best facilities and equipment ,without a good trainer and a good training method, the students will not able to practise authentic muaythai.In order for one to achieve a higher level of muaythai , trainers and training places a big role.This is what make ASF different from other gym.Trainers believe that quality training and hard work is what mould a fighter strong.

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

http://www.thaiboxingclub.co.uk/BenefitsofMuayThai.aspx

http://www.asfitness.com/

http://www.bxgfitness.com/muaythai.html