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Kicking Their Way To DC

Coffee house hosts fundraiser to send junior fighters to upcoming tournament

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Winston Niles is one of the promising Muay Thai fighters scheduled to partake in an upcoming tournament in Washington D.C. Photo by Ralph Mancini

A varied assortment of cakes, muffins and other treats were on sale at a Sunday, Feb. 18 event at Rockaway Roasters to send two 14-year-old competitors to an American Muay Thai League (AMTL) tournament next weekend.

The athletes in question are Marcus Laureano and Winston Niles, who were chosen from a group of adolescent fighters that regularly train at Crom Physical Culture in Rockaway Beach.

Niles’ mother, Althea Blackburn, and sister, Aaliyah, were on hand to raise money for the three-day trip along with one of his coaches, Sarah Romulo, who along with her husband, Chris, owns and operates Crom.

The young hopeful came to Romulo’s gym through the Muay Thai Preservation Project (MTPP), a scholarship that enables underprivileged youths to train free of charge.

The budding novice has noticeably matured over the past year and a half, according to Blackburn.

“I always wanted to get my son involved in some activities because he was diagnosed with hyperactiveness. So, I needed something to get all of the energy out of him,” disclosed Blackburn, when describing her son who attends the Academy of Medical Technology on the Far Rockaway High School campus.

In addition to becoming a self-motivated and dedicated martial arts enthusiast, Niles has also improved as a student and developed into a more assertive young man who no longer avoids interacting with others.

Developing positive character traits is a key component of Muay Thai, informed Romulo, who recommends the combat sport as a way to boost one’s self esteem and teach people how to respect each other.

The fighting aspect of it, in fact, almost becomes secondary to helping youngsters develop as quality human beings.

“It’s in general a very humble sport where competitors are very respectful to each other,” added Romulo. “You want to teach them that humility and respect when they’re learning the martial arts and not cockiness or brashness.”

Muay Thai, also known as the art of the eight limbs, is the oldest form of kick boxing in that it consists of a combination of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes.

“You’ll often find opponents hugging each other after a fight. The competitors pay respects to their coaches and their family before the fight,” she said while also mentioning the Wai Kru ritual that sees combatants engage in a traditional pre-match dance.

In Niles’ case, the Arverne-based teen has proven to be a quick study and has already passed his first test by winning his match in a US Muay Thai Open (USMTO) competition in November.

And while most youths start out by training three times per week, the 14-year-old has made Muay Thai a central part of his life, who now harbors aspirations to take it to the level as a US Olympian.

Muay Thai hasn’t yet been approved as an Olympic event, Romulo confirmed, but talks are taking place to include it in the 2022 Games or shortly thereafter.

When asked what it would take for an ambitious beginner to possibly use his or her Muay Thai skills as a UFC fighter or in a similar professional realm, she advised everyone to follow Niles’ lead.

“That type of kid needs to come in just like Winston did and show up six days a week and really get serious with their training. They need to put in the maximum effort and trust their coach in their training sessions,” stated Romulo.

“It’s not just something where somebody will jump right into it. We make sure that they are 200-percent prepared before they put themselves in that scenario.”

Niles’ trip to the nation’s capital involves both him and Laureano taking on two other juniors from the Philadelphia area who are similarly skilled and in the same weight class.

The Saturday, March 3 event is being billed as AMTL’s Tri State versus DMV showdown in which various local fighters of all levels will square off against competitors from the surrounding DC areas of Maryland and northeast Virginia.

Fellow 14-year-old combatant Marcus Laureano will be joining Niles in next week’s competition.

 

 

 

 

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