Tristan Jigo S. Abitona
PE – D
Sir Paul Andre A. Puertollano
The Beauty of Martial Arts Long have we forgotten our individual culture’s basic traditions and ways of thinking. Through the years we humans have greatly evolved, changing our responsibilities from ploughing fields to paying for electricity. But even in this world run by electricity and technology, one human aspect still hasn’t changed: Fighting. It doesn’t matter what kind of fighting. Be it physical, mental, psychological, etc. Just to live properly at this age, means that we have to fight. Whether we fight for our pay checks, against time if we’re late, or against other cars wanting to take that one last parking space next to your favourite venue, it is still fighting. Watching this documentary about the art of Muay Thai has once again made me realize that Muay Thai (or any martial art for that matter) is hugely taken for granted. People do not realise that practicing an ancient form of art and disciplining yourself, with whatever personal reason, not only makes you into a better person but also brings forth a multitude of positive feelings and side effects. Gong-Prai Sorjintana, the 13-year-old boy from the town of Ayutthay, because of his current predicament, fights in the ring for a better future. One can argue that boys at such a young age should be doing other things like studying and playing. But our harsh reality has left Gon-Prai no other coice but to stop studying for a while and train daily to earn money for his university. When I watched him train, I thought that I was lucky I was doing that to earn money for my school. But then I thought I was also unlucky because I didn’t know how it felt to work that hard for something so important such as school. Up next was Sam Sheridan, a Hardvard University graduate who has travelled all the way to Thailand to learn the art of Muay Thai. He was living his dream. After graduating Harvard, he could do anything, but he chose to something a lot of people would not: He chose to live. And then there was Boon-Term Kitmuti, a mother with a husband and two children. Her reason to fight is the one I like the most: It was her dream. There’s just something about a person wanting to fulfil his/her dream that’s so captivatingly beautiful it makes you observe in awe. The fact that she made many sacrifices, including leaving her two children with her husband, makes it even more praiseworthy. I was also a little bit of jealous of them because he had access to 24/7 training and equipment, a rather useful predicament in that sort of field of expertise. Somehow, deep down inside me, I felt that I wanted to be in their shoes, each day facing another challenge, and at such a young age too. They are fighting. But it isn’t just that. They’re fighting to live. But I also know that if others would rather be in my position, a rather relaxed (but stressed) and, if I might say so because of the support my parents have given, lucky state. Because of these thoughts, I once again remembered that whatever culture, society, or age we come from; we all have our individual fights we need conquer for a brighter future.