It's been a week now since the International Muay Thai community rallied together in support so that we could put on Isaan's only second ever all-female fight card. There were 21 fights in total, and all the girls proudly hailed from Isaan. People from all walks of life got to go to work for the day – something you cannot overlook in Isaan.
When we initially decided to put on the show, we had prepared to fund it ourselves. We reached out to a few of our supporters to see what they could do, but wherein no way anticipating to achieve this level of success. In total, we raised over 150,000 baht for the event. The wonderful people at Team Pinky Muay Thai in Australia were responsible for raising more than half of this.
The day started at 4 a.m. We took all the kids who weren't fighting to participate in a local charity run. Boom placed first overall, while Bpaet came in third. Nungning placed in the top ten and won 500 baht for placing third in the woman's category. As some of you may know, Boom is an avid runner. These events are an excellent way for us to network and an even better way for our kids to showcase their skills. Everyone did amazing! As can be expected, things like these don't come for free. Big thanks to our corporate sponsor, North Florida Muay Thai, for covering the registration fees for all of our kids.
In Loving Memory of Christine Ashton
After running a few errands, we headed to the temple to make a merit of our dear friend and fierce supporter, Christine Ashton. This May, Christine left this world unexpectedly, and though it took us some time, we were finally able to honour the legacy of a woman of her calibre. She's been a champion in our corner from the very beginning and was one of our first monthly donors. Christine has always shown her full support for our gym, and her presence will be missed greatly.
Without all the many ways the supported us in the early days, we might not have been here. The gym was started because the kids wanted it, and Boom and I were merely there to fill the void. But it stayed running because Christine assured us we were on the right path. Christine was full of hope and someone I confided in. She was also the first person to sponsor UFC fighter Loma Lookboonmee back when she made her pro debut with INVICTA.
In Loving Memory of Christine Ashton 19 September 19 1971 - 10 May 10 2020
All Female Fight Card Made Possible by All of Our Donors
The event cost around 92,000 baht. This includes the cost for referees, permits, ring rental, announcers, health volunteers, and a whopping total of 55,400 baht that was directly paid to our fierce fighters.
Due to the ongoing effects of COVID, fighters are only getting between 30% to 50% of what they used to get – but we were able to pay them what they were making before COVID, plus a little extra too.
We spent 38,400 baht creating individualized care packages for each of our 42 young athletes. Another 9,000 baht went towards our education-focused care packages.
Lastly, we spent 11,000 baht hiring local vendors to distribute snacks to all of the children and their families. We were giving out free hot dogs, ice cream, cotton candy, grilled squid, takoyaki, hot chocolate, and coffee all day long. It helped provide the fighters and their families with a nice treat. COVID has greatly impacted these travelling vendors. When you're living a hand to mouth existence, even just the slightest bump in the road can have huge magnifications; there are no safety nets in Thailand.
YOKKAO donated 48 pairs of shorts, making sure that every girl felt valued and confident in shorts that fit them! Some of the girls competing on the card didn't even have competition shorts, to begin with. Getting to see the look on these girls faces when they received their shorts made all the hard work worth it!
Awards of the Night
The fights were all a massive success. The girls were fierce, focused, healthy, and safe. All of that magic female energy together from all corners of Isaan created a special atmosphere that just can't be topped. The Muay Thai community in Isaan is hoping that we make it an annual event. From the beginning, my goal was to give these young girls a sense of purpose, but this event did so much more. The ripples felt throughout the community and the memories shared will go on for a long time.
With that being said, I wanted to share the special highlights of the night with all of you. All winners were given an extra 1000 baht.
Fighter of the night, Nong Champ Lookboomee:
Riina winner of Wai kru and a beautiful gifted Mongkol from Thepnimit’s Mongkols:
Fight of the night, Prangthip Petchnongki vs Petchnamwan Chor. Chokchai:
A Big Thanks to Everyone
I would like to thank my dear friend Abigail McCullough for all of her hard work behind the scenes. From fundraising to packing up the care packages, keeping things organized, and doing the laundry – she did all of this and so much more. I don't think I would have been able to do this event without her support. Thank you, Abigail. We all love you so much!
I'd also like to take this time to take all of our sponsors. It truly is amazing what we can achieve if we work together! Thank you, Team Pink Muay Thai and Arthur Konstad, for all of your funding-raising efforts that went on to provide care packages for all of the girls, as well as significantly helping cover event costs. Thank you to our dear friend Rosie Lee for sponsoring the main event and giving these girls the paycheque they truly deserved. Thank you to Melinda Chapple & Warunee Sonnon from The 8 Warriors Women for sponsoring both the ring and referees. Thank you to Carly Irwin for making the trip out to share this special moment with us and providing six deserving children with scholarships. Thank you, Muay Thai 4 Orphans, for feeding everyone all day long! Thank you to Diane Hinkley, Darren Lun, Robert Kham, Josh Ghen, Anna Eisner, Danial White, Brady Weeks, Yuka O Li, Claire Gosteli, Vasin Chulewatanaphong, Arno Nabuurs, Natch Anan, Dave Marker, Jennana Johnson, Pichitchai Muay Thai Gym, and to Darren Reece of Muaythai Australia- Western Australia for all of your donations. Also, thank you to Alex Munro and Jenny Han for their contributions, fundraising efforts, as well as coming to help out during the event – I definitely put them to work! We could not have done this without all of your support. Lastly, thank you to Julius Foo for making the trek from Ubon Ratchathani to come and take photos for us!
The Kids of Wor. Watthana
Last but most certainly not least, the kids of Wor. Watthana. I can't tell you how proud I am of all of them. From waking up to run at 4 am to run, then coming straight over to our house to finish with the final touches. They helped run the event from set-up until clean up, making sure things ran smoothly. They cornered our girls, helped out the other gyms, handed out the care packages, and held the ropes for all of our guests. At the end of a very long day, they even picked up all the garage before calling it a day.
Although I wasn't able to appreciate it at the time, it's very gratifying to look back and see how accomplished and independent our kids are becoming.
If you'd like to make this an annual event, let us know! Together we can!
