Articles by Rick Faye
Drills >>
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A Brief Biography: Guro Dan Inosanto >>
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The MKG Menu and Jeet Kune Do: >>

Articles by Jon Baklund
Private lessons >>
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Having fun while training. >>
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Physical, Mental, & Spiritual income from the martial arts. >>

Articles by Paul Boyajian
Accelerating Toward Your Goals: Learning in the Martial Arts Studio >>

Articles by Bob Carver
Giving Back >>

Articles by Roy Harris
What Makes a Good Instructor? >>

Articles by Sarah Kennedy
Training With Your Significant Other >>
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Curing Depression With Muay Thai >>

Articles by Peter Kwong
It's All In The Detail >>

Articles by Roy Liang
Teaching and Training Young (4 to ~7 yrs) Kids in the martial arts. >>

Articles by Tim Mousel
The Thaiboxing Workout: A Scientific Approach >>
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The Making of a True Martial Arts Master >>

Articles by Diana Rathborne
Self Defense Self Assessment for the Martial Arts Instructor >>
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Personal Safety For Women >>
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Mind Over Matter >>
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Competing With Your Instructor >>
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Basic Truths >>
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Muay Thai in Minneapolis, Minnesota with Kuhn Kru Rick Faye >>
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Be Safe - Be strong: Simple self defense tips >>

Articles by Rudy Rogers
Warriors and the Weed >>
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Progressive P.C.T. >>
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Ram Muay: Thai Boxing's Calm Before the Storm >>
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Martial Arts and Your Health: An Interview with Scott Schmaltz >>

Articles by Scott Schmaltz
Overcoming Fitness Plateaus >>
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Genetically Modified Foods >>
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Misconceptions of IBS >>
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Toxins In Meat >>

Articles by Anthony Sell
Building rapport with your students - 5 Sure-fire ways to improve your teaching skills >>
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Infusion-based Learning - Making the most out of your seminar experiences >>
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Lessons from NAGA - Why competition is an Important Experience. >>
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The Wisconsin Martial Arts Camp Experience >>
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Growth and Expectation in the Martial Arts >>

I came into the martial arts at the age of 20, at perhaps one of the lowest points in my life. I started smoking, drinking, and doing drugs at a very young age, and by age sixteen, I had fallen into a very serious state of depression. I spent about five years there, feeling horrible and hating myself. I had no idea how to go about healing. The doctors I saw pushed antidepressants, and these made me edgy and numb...a state I was all too accustomed to already. Then, by an amazing twist of fate, I met my current husband (Trevor Kennedy), and he suggested that I try the Kali Group. It took great courage for me to come to the MKG...but the first time I hit a thai pad, I was hooked for good. It took me years to get any consistency in my training. I’d go to phase class regularly for six months, then disappear for nine. As long as I kept showing up, putting in my time on the thai pads or heavy bag, my mood stayed even and positive. If I got upset about something, I would express my feelings in a coherent manner, ask for what I needed, and move on. This was quite uncharacteristic of my pre-martial arts self, a passive-aggressive, unstable person who reemerged every time I lapsed on my training. In retrospect, I can see that martial arts did for me what years of drug treatment and psychotherapy could not: it connected my body and mind in the healing process. I realize now that what was missing in my earlier attempts to heal was a physical aspect. What I truly needed was to work my body and mind to exhaustion at the same time, to sweat so hard that my brain couldn’t think about anything but that leg hitting the pad. Whatever issues I walked into the gym with, they were set aside during class, forgotten. After a few years, they began to dwindle altogether. I attribute my recovery from depression to Muay Thai for a number of reasons:

1. Muay Thai works the body to an exhaustive state, producing a euphoria in which none of your history or future matters: you can focus entirely on the present moment. This is akin to the ancient arts of meditation, and is the closest thing to nirvana I’ve ever experienced.

2. The martial arts environment, especially the MKG approach, fosters positive relationships with healthy, interesting people. Showing up to the gym regularly creates a close bond with those you train with...and gives you something fun to talk about!

3. Making the body stronger makes the mind stronger. I’ve found that through Muay Thai training methods, my resiliency to all kinds of physical and emotional pain has increased.

4. Especially in the early stages of Muay Thai, it is easy to see rapid improvement in one’s skills. This creates a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. The 1-hour, 10-round, 5-round, and Chai tests are a great way to perpetuate this constant sense of achievement.

5. While antidepressants may treat the symptoms of depression, Muay Thai training treats the cause -- lack of exercise, unhealthy relationships, and low self-esteem. Perhaps best of all, if you are training regularly, it becomes very difficult to eat unhealthy food or indulge in alcohol or drugs. I don’t mean to say this is impossible, but rounds are lot less fun with a hangover or after a cheeseburger and a coke!

6. Most of all, Muay Thai is FUN...it’s a silly, sweaty, grunting, balls-out kind of fun. The people you share it with become lifelong friends, and they tend to have a sick and crazy sense of humor. They’re the kind of people who won’t let you get away with anything for long -- but once they’ve seen your true colors, they won’t ever let you down.

I believe people struggling with depression need these things: vigorous physical exercise, a healthy social environment, mental challenge, and a sense of belonging and achievement. The martial arts provides all this and more. Muay Thai is especially good in the recovery of depression because of the intense physical exertion. There is no better way to dissolve the ego, that constant, haunting critic, than to push the body’s exertion beyond its limits. I hope as an instructor, I can find a way to bring this art to people struggling with depression and drug or alcohol abuse. I am a living example that it works!