The Keys to Improving QUICKLY!!!

The Keys to Improving QUICKLY!!!

Here are a few key things that you can do to MAXIMIZE your improvement in a short period of time:

1) Be consistent. If you come 2-3 times a week on a regular basis, you will improve quickly without even realizing it. Of course, the more you come, the better. At a minimum, if you come 2-3 times a week, you will see fantastic improvement over a course of months. If you are inconsistent, it is harder to see gains in your learning of martial arts.

2) Have fun. When something is fun, it can easily become addicting. So it is important that you have fun when training! Our instructors at Evolve are very much focused on giving you a great, FUN workout with real life skills.

3) Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition might be boring sometimes, but it is how your body "memorizes" movements and makes them automatic. So in your off time, try to drill what you learned in class.  Just for perspective, World Champions like Yoddecha Sityodtong and Nuengpichit Sityodtong have easily thrown over 1,000,000 kicks each in their life time of training.  Yes, we actually all sat down and calculated how many kicks they threw.  

4) Sleep well, eat well. Your body needs to recover (especially after a class at Evolve!) If you eat well and sleep well, your body will recover and show improvement in terms of muscle tone and fitness over time. It will also keep you alert and hungry for class the next day.

5) Ask lots of questions. At Evolve, our instructors are here for YOU. Please ask them questions - and nothing is too silly. They will be happy to show you moves over or answer any other type of question. The Evolve Instructor Team has over 300 years of elite fighting, teaching, and training experience. Make use of their knowledge!

6) Make friends. As you all know, Evolve is a super friendly place where students, instructors, and staff are all friends. We can all learn from each other - not just martial arts, but life as well! So make an effort and reach out to people at Evolve. Ask questions, show them a technique, and exchange knowledge. Everyone benefits!

7) Set goals for yourself. Where do you want to be in 1 month? In 3 months? In a year? Do you want a leaner, more toned body? Do you want to lose fat? Do you want to drop a few pounds in weight? Do you want to learn how to protect yourself? Do you want to learn how to execute an armbar or roundhouse kick effectively? Set goals for yourself and achieve them! You will have all the support at Evolve from the instructors, staff, and students.

8) Achieve Greatness Within. Martial arts is about continuous self-improvement - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It is not about being better or worse than someone else. It is not about how quickly you can get somewhere. It is about the journey of self discovery. How good can you get physically? How tough mentally can you become? How much emotional discipline can you achieve? How much more confident have you become? How much energy do you have now? How happy are you? How does all of the benefits of martial arts translate into success in other areas of life? At Evolve, we want everyone to Achieve Greatness Within!

Until next time,
Team Evolve

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts, Singapore's top MMA Gym!

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts, Singapore's top MMA Gym!

Check out Evolve MMA on YouTube for some demos by our World Champions! Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is fortunate to have brought in Champions from Brazil, Thailand, Japan, and the US. We have World Champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, and more.

As one of Asia's top MMA gyms, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (www.evolve-mma.com) and our World Champions have been featured in the Straits Times, ESPN, Star Sports, ChannelnewsAsia, Mens Health, August Man, Her World, Shape, Elle, TimeOut, 8 Days, Today, and much more.

We wanted to bring the world's best to Singapore so that everyone can benefit. Not only are they accomplished fighters, but they are phenomenal instructors. Their love for the game and their students is what sets them apart. For the Evolve Instructor Team, our greatest joy is to see our students improve and develop. Our goal is to see our students evolve along all dimensions - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. At Evolve, you will develop real self-defense skills, get very fit, increase your self-confidence, inherit discipline, and much more!

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts. Achieve Greatness Within.

The Importance of Culture at Evolve

The Importance of Culture at Evolve

At Evolve, we are a family.  We strongly believe in our culture of friendship and fun.  Evolve is not just a place to get a great workout.  Yes, you will get a great workout.  Yes, you will learn real self-defense.  But it is more than that to all of us.  It is a place where we can forget the stresses and worries of life.  It is a place where we can learn and grow from each other.  It is a place where we can have fun and make lifetime friendships.  It is a place where you can be yourself and where everyone is rooting for you to succeed.  Evolve is our second home.    

All of our Instructors come from the world's top academies such as Sityodtong Gym in Thailand and the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York.  To carry on the spirit of excellence, our fearless leaders have instilled this special culture because they saw it work in their respective academies.  Yes, we have World Champions as Instructors.  Yes, we have professional fighters as our leaders.  And yes, we have the best instructor team in Asia.  But the most important thing is that we all enjoy the journey together!  At Evolve, we want everyone to experience the benefits of martial arts - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually - in a safe, fun, and supportive environment.  

At Evolve, we are all one - instructors, students, and staff.  Here is to a lifetime of continuous self-improvement, friendship, and fun!  Here is to EVOLVING!!!  

The Secret Little Rules of Muay Thai

The Secret Little Rules of Muay Thai

Hi Everyone - its Chatri doing the blog today. Hope everyone had a restful weekend. I didn't really know what to write. So I just thought back to my childhood days at the Sityodtong Gym in Pattaya, Thailand.

At the Sityodtong Gym in Thailand, we were taught many secret little rules about how to succeed in Muay Thai. Kru Yodtong Senanan grilled them into our memories like an oven bakes clay into porcelain. They are not really secrets and they are not really rules. They are more like general rules of thumbs. But they really do work! Most of the time that is. Here is one of them. It is a classic saying to help you neutralize an attack or an opponent.

SECRET LITTLE RULE #1: Punches beat kicks. Knees beat punches. Elbows beat knees. Kicks beat elbows.

It is almost the same analogy as the "rocks, paper, scissors" game that we have all played as children. Rocks beat scissors by smashing them into bits. Paper beats rocks by smothering them. And Scissors beat paper by cutting it.

We could write a whole book on this simple rule. It would take forever to explain what Kru Yodtong grilled into us. For brevity's sake, we will just leave our explanation to those of you who ask us in person. If you would like a detailed explanation of this SECRET LITTLE RULE, then please ask any of the Evolve Muay Thai Instructors. The details and logic will actually surprise you. We will happily walk you through a few real life examples to demonstrate the the SECRET LITTLE RULE #1 actually works! Again, it works most of the time and not all of the time. So follow it with a grain of salt.

For those of you in Muay Thai Level II at Evolve, try to follow this rule in your sparring sessions and watch the magic right in front of your eyes! For those of you in Muay Thai Level I, we will leave it for you to test out when you graduate to Muay Thai Level II. Save this rule somewhere because it will come in handy one day!

Cheers
Chatri

What does it take to be a true fighter?

What does it take to be a true fighter?

Can you throw a punch? Can you do a double leg takedown? Can you slap on an armbar faster than the blink of an eye? Check, check, and check. The reality is not that simple though. To be a fighter, it takes a lot more than checking a box of techniques.

After interviews with some members of the Evolve Instructor Team (specifically, Nuengpichit, Yoddecha, Chatri, Daorung, Brodinho, and Braga) on the topic of what it takes to be a true fighter. Here are some of their answers:

"Easy question. It takes 4 things to be a true fighter: belief, cardio, heart, and technique. If you are missing 1 of the 4, then it is almost impossible to be a fighter. And even if you have all 4, it does not guarantee success as a fighter. The 4 things are simply prerequisites. To win, you need to believe that you will win. Without true inner belief in your game, you will crumble with each shot to your face. Without cardio, you will not last a full fight without getting knocked out. Without heart, you will not be able to overcome adversity. Without technique, you will not be able to defend yourself."
-Chatri Sityodtong, Founder of Evolve Mixed Martial Arts

"Cardio is the most important thing in the world. If you have the best engine, you can run the fastest for longest. Cardio gives confidence. My best fights came when I did my homework and my confidence was super high because I knew that I was fit and unstoppable."
-Yoddecha Sityodtong, Muay Thai World Champion and Evolve Instructor

"Experience is the most important thing. Unless you have been in a war with another human being who has trained for 8 weeks to destroy you, you do not know what it takes to fight. A fight at a bar is nothing. Most people are drunk, get hurt easily, and do not have formal training. Alcohol is liquid courage. Real fighters do not need alcohol to face their fears. Anyone can fight anyone if they are drunk. But can you fight someone who you know has trained day and night to threaten your physical being? A true fighter can you tell you about it because he will have done it. The rest of bar brawlers and stuff - thats all nonsense for people who lack real courage and skill. So in my mind, a real fighter is someone who has faces his own fears by stepping into the ring."
-Daorung Sityodtong, Muay Thai Champion with over 100 ring fights and 200 street fights.

"Heart, cardio, and technique. The man who believes in himself is always the winner. The heart grows and shrinks with each strike. Cardio gives that heart life. Technique makes everything perfect. A fighter's life is hard, man. You gotta love it."
-Nuengpichit Sityodtong, Muay Thai World Champion

"For me, I think it is mental toughness, cardio, and everything else. Technique is the least important. I have seen so many people with amazing technique get destroyed by lesser opponents only because they ran out of gas or they lost the will to fight due to pain. A fist in the face is the great equalizer. Some people get knocked out when they get hit hard. Some people cry when they get hit hard. Most people run when they get hit hard. Only a few people smile when they get hit hard. Which one are you?"
-Brodinho Da Silva, BJJ Black Belt and Professional MMA Fighter

"Heart, conditioning, and technique. You need to have heart. People have to train their hearts. People have to train their minds. People have to train their bodies. Fighting is a complete art. You need to transcend your whole being. A fighter is someone who can train heart, body, and mind to become one. This is the essence. This is the real fighter. The journey is never complete."
-Braga Neto, BJJ Black Belt World Champion and Professional MMA Fighter.

As the saying goes, "it is not the size of the dog that matters in a fight. It is the size of the fight in the dog that matters. "


Evolve Mixed Martial Arts, the #1 gym in Singapore for Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Another win for the Evolve Fight Team!

Another win for the Evolve Fight Team!

Mitch Chilson, an official member of the Evolve Fight Team, scored a sensational 2nd round knockout at the Theprasit Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand. Displaying brilliant Muay Thai, Mitch was too much for his Thai opponent. His Thai opponent was prepared for battle with over 200 professional Muay Thai fights. He came out quite aggressively and it did not look to be an easy fight. However, Mitch was personally trained by World Champion Yoddecha Sityodtong for this fight with a focus on improving his overall power game. Yoddecha says, "Mitch's power has increased quite dramatically in the last few months that all of us have been training and teaching him here at Evolve. His skills have improved at least 100% in every area of his game." In the end, Mitch won by a KO with a kick to the head. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you read it), Kru Yodtong was not thoroughly pleased with Mitch's performance. He believes Mitch is destined for much bigger things and would like to see him perform at a higher and more pure Muay Thai level. Here is to Muay Thai at Evolve Mixed Martial Arts!

In related news, Yoddecha Sityodtong completed his knee surgery at the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok the day after Mitch's fight. Chatri Sityodtong was also at the hospital with Yoddecha. Ironically, the 2 friends were both admitted into the hospital on the same day for different reasons, leaving BJJ World Champion Brodinho Da Silva to fend for himself on the aggressive streets of Bangkok!