JAI Wellington celebrates 11 years today! What began as a pipe dream in Singapore, bounced around Thailand a fair bit and than found its way to our Capital is still a reality today thanks to you.

Whether you've just joined us, or are with us for the long haul - live down the road, or cheer for us from the other side of the globe, know that you've made a difference to us.

Words of encouragement, constructive feedback, sharing your wisdom and simply showing up to class are what get us out of bed excited to provide the best training experience for you.

It has been a challenging year for all of us, but the highs have definitely made up for the lows. Who knows, we may even have come out of this a little stronger and wiser!

Team JAI, we've got this!

From journalist to Muay Thai fighter and gym owner. JAI founder Su-Lin interviewed a Muay Thai fighter for CLEO Magazine, and swapped her pen for gloves. The NZ Herald interviewed her about what it’s like being a fighter and running two Muay Thai gyms.

Ahhh new gloves (aka non smelly gloves). There’s nothing like slipping on a pair of new gloves. The fresh scent of new leather. The way the soft, protective insides fit snugly around your hands. And the fact your hands don’t smell like sweaty feet after training.
There are a special breed of Thai Boxers out there, who manage to recreate a similar feeling every time they slip on their gloves. Even when their gloves are six months old.
Read on for tips on how to join the No Smelly Club.

Tell someone you're eating salad for lunch and they'll usually think - bland diet food. But this salad - with creamy peanut butter, spicy noodles and a burst of crisp fresh vegetables may be healthy - but it certainly isn't bland.
What’s more, compared to pasta, it’s lower in calories and carbs, higher in protein and can be made vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free.

Exercise? Even getting changed into workout gear requires a supreme effort. Morning turns into mid-day. Afternoon is a blur. Before you know it, it’s dinner time – the day is gone and you still haven’t worked out… again.
Wait. We’re not judging you if you’re reading this after 12, from your couch, still dressed in your PJs. Before you beat yourself up, let us remind you - you’re still a bad-ass Muay Thai warrior. You’re just taking time to adjust to a set-back in training. Let’s get you back on track.

How do you know that you sweat a lot? When the buddy that you’ve been clinching with for a few rounds, has prunes for fingers.
True story, but it brings us to today’s topic of discussion. Sweat. To be more precise, excessive sweat, and Body Odour (BO).

*warning This post is going to talk about personal hygiene and bodily fluids and as such may have a slight “ick” factor. This doesn’t mean that you can’t avoid reading this if you train with us. But we will divide this topic into parts, so we don’t gross you out… too much.

This post has totally been endorsed by Bruce Lee. OK, that's not entirely accurate (don't sue us please!). But a lot of what we learned has been echoed by him, and learned the hard way - through blood, sweat and tears. We're not promising you a shortcut to get good at Muay Thai fast... but we may just save you some time (and body fluids). Read on... cos what Bruce has to say is worth listening to.

We recently had a conversation with one potential fighter we'll call "X" that went like this:

JAI: You've got some great speed and quick reflexes unusual for someone your size (He's wears XXXXL)

X: Yes. I just get tired so fast. I don't want to be the 30-second fighter.

JAI: What do you eat?

X: I eat McDonald's three times a day and have snacks like coke, chips and pies in between because that doesn't fill me up.

JAI: Do you get any fiber into your diet - that can help to fill you up.

X: Fibre. What's that?

JAI: It's found in vegetables - you can eat them with rice when you stir-fry them or raw in salads if you prefer.

X: You know what. I don't actually like McDonald's. it's just easy to eat with my colleagues, but it makes me feel so sleepy and tired after eating it.

What we were amazed at was how well X performed on this diet of fast and junk food. If he was good now, imagine how much athletic potential he would have if he improved his diet!

We recently bumped into an ex-student of ours at a nearby food court. James (not his real name) trained with us on and off for about six months over a year ago. When he was on, he was at the gym almost every day, often for a couple of hours. If he wasn’t training, he’d be asking people about their day or practicing his technique on the bag.He was open about the fact he lived at an infamous hostel which was known to be habited by people with substance abuse, psychological issues and criminal records, and was frequented by the police.

He never spoke of his problems in details, but it was obvious that he had his demons to battle.Despite this, James was always pleasant and cheerful. He would greet everyone he met at the gym with a fist bump and a cheery “Hey brother!”

“You! Today you die,” my trainer barks as I pull on my gloves and climb into the ring, giving him a glare which I hope matches his bite. I dodge a high kick and block one to my shins, only to receive a tap to the face that leaves me disoriented. And then it’s all downhill. For the next 12 minutes, I proceed to get owned – jabs to the face, kicks to the thigh, foot tips to the stomach. In fact, the only time I can take a breather is after I’ve been dropped in a most unglamorous manner and crash to the floor. My trainer’s grin never leaves his face, even as he shouts encouraging words of abuse, a reminder that I’m in still in the Land of Smiles. Despite the beating I take, when I limp out of the ring I “Wai” him – bowing my head with my hands together in a symbol of respect and gratitude – for making me feel alive.