I have been a practitioner for about 14 years, time what I have used to search for Muay Thai, and the realistic and martial style of fighting. Fortunately, I found my first Mentor who gave me a clear and mature Idea of the difference between sports and martial arts practice. Eventually, I had the opportunity to meet in person with His Master who created Imba, the Academy who I am proudly part today. I am talking about Master Gustavo Pérez from Mexico and Great Master Marco de Cesaris from Italy; These years I have been close to them and the whole organism that is Imba.
This past April in Mexico I had again the chance to be with both my Masters, but the big news was, Master Marco is celebrating 40 years of career and for the occasion, He formally launched his own Style of Fighting named now as Combat Muay Boran, in Latin America.
But what is Combat Muay Boran? You could say everything was already invented, and how can a foreigner claim that he developed a formal style based on the traditions and values of Muay? Well, I can say with full security and critic mind that Master Marco has restored a lot of technical development that has been forgotten in the same house of Muay.
Combat Muay Boran is not new; Master Marco has been working for years in putting structure and order the correct way of embracing the Muay as a living organism that has been changing with the time. There is a lot of ancient Styles (Muay Chaiya, Muay Thasao, Muay Korat, etc.) and the name Muay Boran is a way to give a general description of all these schools, but they don’t have the same structure, methodology or even philosophy in spite of belonging to the same geographic area.
Master Marco has been putting to the test, every technique he has learned over the years, and organizing theses in a working plan, that can be comprehended by a neophyte or an experienced teacher.
Combat Muay Boran, is a system that masterfully blends the different styles of fighting studying their principles objectives, with the modern way of training and fighting. The ground is, of course, Thai based, we train following the Thai traditions, as the Sam Krab (Three prostrations) the development of the energy for fighting for battle, different from the muscle development, and the study of the aesthetic of the movement, looking for the perfection. We also study from the modern perspective of the Fighting that has evolved a lot during the past century.
Well, Mexico was a witness of how the system is articulated step by step, from its first syllabus as the development of the natural body weapons, the right way of moving for the fighting, the principles of defense, and how to build a strong body, beyond the muscle.
During the seminar for instructors we (Colombia), worked together with teachers from, Brazil, France, Peru, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and the host, Mexico; The journeys where masterfully directed by Master Marco, and Maria Grazia Vallone His second, who has been with Him during years, been a great Pillar to Imba.
On Saturday we had a general seminar, when Master Marco presented again his style to a universal and wider public, some already part of the Academy, and others interested in joining us.
In total, we had 22 hours of intensive technical training, and Master Marco set the strategies and working plan for the current and the coming year, where we are going to promote and show His approach to the systems of Fighting of the Ancient Siam. For more info, you can go to https://www.muaythai.it/combat-muay-boran/