A Special Thanks to the Dojos

Bunkherd Faphimal shows me a thing or two about Muay Thai kickboxing.

On the occasion of Christmas, I extend a thank you to some of the people who helped make 2009 active and memorable. Specifically, I’d like to acknowledge the dojos who offered their time and expertise for “Fighting to Keep Fit,” a story I wrote in the current issue of Men’s Journal.

Word counts are tight in magazines these days, and Men’s Journal didn’t have the space to acknowledge all of the gyms and masters who offered their time and facilities for this story.

Without further ado, I give the following dojos a respectful nod.

Krav Maga: special thanks to Idaho ATA Martial Arts in Boise, where I sweated through front kicks to a soundtrack of Metallica, and to the Academy of Self Defense in Santa Clara, CA, where Woody Mosqueda taught me how to defend against an attack with a bottle, and Everest Pepper showed me the fundamentals of stripping a man of his gun.

Woody Mosqueda winds up to clock me with a bottle.

Tae Kwon Do: A heartfelt thanks goes to Master Kim’s Martial Arts Academy in Sunnyvale, CA, and to Master Kim himself, whose most effective instruction was making me sit in his office for more than an hour as he explained, with great passion, how discipline and honor lie at the heart of martial arts.

Muay Thai Kickboxing: Thanks to Fairtex in San Francisco, where I learned to move on my toes, and to Fight and Fitness, also in San Francisco, where I enjoyed talking about the sport with Rocky at the front desk, and where Bunkherd Faphimal taught me a mean roundhouse kick though I couldn’t understand a word he said.

Karate: Thanks to Prodigy Martial Arts in Los Altos, CA, and especially to Dragon Bushido Dojo in Boise, ID, where Renshi Pon Inthathirath led me through my first kata and where I barked out one of those karate yells the way one is supposed to, from the diaphragm.

Mixed Martial Arts: The most eloquent, thoughtful explanation I ever got of mixed martial arts came from Alan Pagle at Modern Combatives in Berkeley, CA. Thanks also to Nakapan Phungepham at Beta Academy in Washington, D.C., for allowing me a week’s access to his classes in the church basement.

Eduardo Fraga squeezes me in a Mata Leon ("kill the lion"), cutting off the blood supply to my brain.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Eduardo Fraga at Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Berkeley, CA explained and also demonstrated some of the geometrically challenging moves that make BJJ such a ruthlessly effective art, and also complied with my odd journalists’ request for three Mata Leon in a row. I think I’ve recovered by now, Eduardo!