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(One, two, three) this is the last sound in my memory at bed time. Let me introduce myself, I am Sebastian Garcia Muay Boran Practitioner at IMBA Colombia, and I radically put my normal life in pause to accomplish my dream and to follow my heart. Without speaking Italian and with a short budget I decided along with my Instructor Juan Carlos Duran, to take the trip towards Italy to meet one of so many heroes I used to follow by pictures and books, one person who exists between words like someone mythical and the most important, someone who has helped and helps to build one of the most happiest spaces in my everyday life (The Muay Boran Practice), The Grand Master Marco de Cesaris. I still remember the expectation I felt during the flight, some fear and an excitement so strong that took away my sleep every single mile of the path. After 14 hours I put my feet in Italy and without noticing I was already running in the training room hearing the Master Marco’s voice (One, two Three).
It is said that is not good to know too many at your heroes, because in many cases they tend to be just a shiny helium inflated balloon, but it was surprising to discover that my hero jumped out of the frame and he resulted to be stronger than the stories told, and much more, I met other great People who along with Master Marco surprised me with the quality of their movements and the living example of the most sharped weapons like Master Maria Grazia Vallone and every one of my partners of IMBA Italy.

I decided to stay for one month to train together with this great people and to get a better understanding of Muay Boran. The first training day was intense, a series of exercises designated to speed your heart and to measure the strength of your mind; Repetitions that after some minutes seems like infinite and making every muscle hurts leaving an echo in your head screaming “no more”; at the end of the day I felt physically exhausted but with an indelible smile in my face and this feeling of wanting to wake the next day to train again. I am not going to lie at this point saying this was easy, the next training days were more and more intense, and with this the pain and physical exhaustion, but for me the training is the most happiest time in my life, when you run all problems are left behind, the noise of the world seems to lose between exhalations, the sadness falls apart with every strike to the paos, and the thoughts are organized under the cadence of Ram Muay.

(One, two, three) I’m still running, after the shadow. In the Camp at Costacciaro I discovered we move chasing a shadow, there is always someone who inspire us and we try to replicate his movements; this is not bad because to chase a shadow is to try to understand its essence, but not to become other person. We just want to take for ourselves this that we admire so much of our heroes. In this path I am, trying to improve myself between movements and repetitions, understanding the essence of the shadow; I run behind them because I want to catch them some day and to run at their side.
Muay Boran has taught me three important things that I apply in every aspect of my life, the first one is never to surrender, no matter the circumstances I keep going forward and finish my fights; The second one is, my will is strong because behind each impulse I have my family, my classmates and my Masters; and the third one is, there is not a walking path that reaches a final destination; when you believe you understand a concept, you realize this is just the base of a big mountain, and just like in life, in Muay Boran the possibilities are endless, you just have to apply the two “rules” previously mentioned to achieve anything (one, two, three).

I have achieved many important things in my life, but this is the first time I feel like I am doing something really important, IMBA’s work is not just about the spread of Combat Muay Boran, but it is about the construction of a honorable family; I have discovered at IMBA’s House regardless of the country you get to feel with your family, all united for the same passion, an honest smile and one single voice.
Luis Sebastián García Merchán.