Julie Kitchen will fight again, on one condition

Julie Kitchen has signed a contract to appear on Awakening’s first all-female Muay Thai show. The event which is set for summer 2015, will be hosted in the UK and streamed around the world. Awakening are making a bold move in the way in which they are organising the event, as it all rests on the success of the female fight community getting behind a Kickstarter campaign which starts on the 3rd of November. If the campaign doesn’t generate enough pre-sales, then we won’t get to see the Queen of Muay Thai fight one last time.

Awakening appeared on the scene just two years ago with their unique athlete database, and promotion of female fighters offering female athletes around the world another platform of exposure. Awakening is now looking to take another step forward and start hosting Muay Thai events.

“Thankyou to Awakening and I wish them success with the kickstarter, I hope each fan will make a donation to help contribute to Awakenings first show ever, there is only a 30 day window to make this happen, and all support is needed. x” Julie Kitchen

“I hope there is enough support to make this event happen and set my destiny to step in the ring again. If you are unable to make the event you can pre order your stream viewing very soon to support the campaign. X” Julie Kitchen

“It really is a novel approach to securing the funding to put on such an event. The event will be fan funded with a kick-starter campaign from you the fans by pre-ordering the live stream. Women’s fighting has always faced so many uphill struggles and now you, the fan, can make a real impact. I can not even begin to put into words how excited I am to be a part of such an event! Julie and I have very different styles and I am so excited to test myself against a legend.” Lindsay Haycraft

“We’ve always wanted to host Awakening events.The emphasis will always be on treating athletes with the respect they deserve, paying what they are worth, and not tying them down to multi-fight deals that might limit the progression of their career. You might be wondering… why Muay Thai? We feel that WMMA would be a much harder scene to slot into, but Muay Thai has a huge gap waiting for us.” Rew Mitchell / CEO of Awakening

“We get a lot of positive feedback from female fighters everywhere, and we’ve been asked quite a few times why we aren’t putting on shows. The only reason we haven’t done so yet is funding. A Kickstarter campaign puts the power into the hands of the community… if they believe in us, and want a show, then it’ll happen.” Andy Wilmot / Director of Awakening

The kickstarter campaign will need to raise around $48,000 of the $87,000 total that Awakening will need to host the event. Awakening aim to raise the rest through sponsorship deals if the campaign is successful.A more detailed breakdown of the costs will be available on the campaign’s kickstarter page when it is launched in a few days.

Fight fans will be able to pay for a pre-order stream and tickets at a discounted price, among other items. For the campaign to be a success Awakening only needs to achieve around 4,000 pre sales between Nov 3rd and Dec 2nd.

Chantal Ughi talks her return to Muay Thai, the difficulties of being a female in the sport and more

Chantal Ughi recently returned to action after recovering from a knee injury. Muay Thai Authority caught up with here this past week as she prepared to step in the ring. Chantal won her fight and as of today (March 23rd), Chantal has won 3 fights in one week. Chantal is now the WMF, WMA and WPMF world champion. Of her 3 fights in one week Chantal said the following: “It was an amazing week and the best thing was to be part of a team! Thank you WMF Team de France and the friends that helped and supported...!”

MTA: You have been living in Thailand for four years, what prompted the move to Thailand?

Miriam Nakamoto talks her return to Muay Thai, PLUS pictures of her training

Miriam Nakamoto is one of the best female fighters in the world, but she hasn’t competed in over a year. She had knee surgery last year and is now returning to training. Muay Thai Authority was able to catch up with her to talk about her regarding her plans. Scott Hirano was also on hand to take pictures of Miriam as she begins her training again.

MTA: You are back in training after recovering form knee surgery. How is the knee feeling now that you are back in the gym?

Miriam: It feels really good. I am fortunate to have fantastic physical therapy sponsorship from Jacon Chun out of ESPT in Fremont, CA. He has made exceptional progress with me during the rehabilitation process. I couldn't be happier. It feels wonderful to be strong and mobile again.

Coaching the Kitchen Clan

by Flip English

Being Nathan Kitchen requires a steady set of nerves. When game time comes and he plays his role of coach there is extra strain on his mind. The fighters he corners are his wife and two daughters so the pressure to win is unique. In this scenario if his fighters lose a match then the defeat is the worst of wounds, cutting deeper into flesh and closer to the heart because he is more than just their coach. As father and husband a loss is an amplified pain. It can feel like a failure to protect, an obligation that comes with being the man of the house. It’s not a stress most trainers endure since they don’t go home with their work, but Nathan bears it well turning his worries into focus:“I train all three very hard and put in a lot of extra time so I don’t have to watch them get hurt in the ring.”

Because his fighters are his family it strengthens the incentive to care for kin, and probably the reason why the Kitchens thrive in the sport. But to be a serious trainer Nathan must commit to strict demands, one of which involving a separation of minds. Mentally he divides the roles of family man and coach, coldly detaching the two so that their camp doesn’t soften.