YOUNGSTERS AT LEEDS AND HEERLEN (part 2)
..........................................................

n Youngsters at Leeds and Heerlen (part one) I wrote about Bad Company's Leeds promotion on December 1st. Since it's widely accepted that the UK and the Netherlands are the leading European nations for Muay Thai, it seemed a good idea to compare it to Sportlife and Spirit's show in Heerlen on December 15th. This was described as being for 'young kids and more experienced fighters', with the town's position in the south east of the country making it fairly easy to arrange a bill of German and Belgian, as well as Dutch, fighters.

he Sportlife show had more of a carnival atmosphere than the Leeds promotion. The yard in front of the Sportlife gym was set up with food and drink stalls and inside a very decent pop/country trio played and a stall sold (or, so far as I could see, failed to sell) novelties and Muay Thai kit. The internal decor of the gym - inexplicably, mock-medieval castle - added to the fun. However, the boxing seemed to be only part of the Saturday afternoon out for a crowd far bigger than the 100-plus seats suggested. The posters said ..

Contest number 15...

At 2.45 the band finished its set, to be followed by piped music and, an hour later, by the first bout! When the 18th bout finished 3 1/2 hours later, the band started up again. With a long interval looming and other arrangements made for the evening, I left and missed the last 8 fights - a pity, since we were moving on to the older and more experienced boxers and, probably, a better standard.

nlike at Leeds, most fights were very short, the majority of the first half contests being 2-rounders, with the fighters protected by head-guards. Astonishingly, 7 of the first 18 finished in the 1st round, a couple of them because of glorious attacking boxing, but many the result of underprepared boxers who were out of their depth - the tiny loser of the first bout had difficulty sorting out which way to face!

here were some fine, well-matched contests and at least one classic, a thrilling three-rounder which ended with the dramatic knock-out of the boy who had dominated throughout - the lack of programmes, my almost non-existent Dutch and the use of forenames only for the fighters make this a report without names! In this thrilling contest, Number 15 on the bill, two mid-teens proved that Muay Thai is all about surprises. For 2 1/2 rounds a really talented youth paraded all his techniques and his tall opponent, clumsy by comparison, was constantly on the canvas from throws and low kicks. But he was tough, if limited, and kept trying to put pressure on. In the last half minute he finally got through to the body and his opponent crumpled in his own corner - a stunning knock-out in the closing seconds!

Contest number 15...

hat was the undoubted highlight of the first half, but there was plenty more to enjoy: after the non-event of the first contest, for instance, the little lads in the second fight really looked the part and the only girls' contest proved a lively affair that got a huge response from the audience.

However, several of the boys looked out of condition and I felt sorry for some of the boys who clearly didn't know what they were getting into, especially, the youth in bout 17 who was kept waiting by one of the local favourites for some 10 minutes, then finished off in 10 seconds of actual boxing, the towel fluttering in as he went down for a second count.

he female referee who acted with great speed to give him a standing count in the first five seconds of the fight, proved the star of the show. Brisk, sensible and considerate, she took 18 fights in rapid succession with great concentration, looked after the helpless with kindness and took a firm line with those fans and photographers who crowded the ring. After my recent conversation with Tony Myers, I now look with interest at the actions of referees - and she was excellent!

I guess that many of the boxers on show would have been making their way at interclubs in the UK, not taking part in public shows until they were better able to look after themselves. But, given a sympathetic crowd (as this one generally was), is the Dutch system more harmful to their confidence? Probably not.

I would really like to take another look at Muay Thai in the Netherlands. Next time I'll stick to the following rules: check the start time, relax and enjoy the entertainment and don't book anything for the evening - even if it appears to be a lunch-time start!

..........................................................................................................................................................................
[HOME] | [PART 1] | [PART 2]
..........................................................................................................................................................................
Read Movement of Muay Thai News here... http://www.billionmore.com/