The 12-year-old from Bolesławiec, Martyna Czuchraj, a competitor at the “Gladiator” Combat Sports Club, has been training in Thai boxing for several years. In 2015, she won a silver medal at the Polish Children’s and Cadets’ Cup in Żary. 2017 was a string of successes for the young fighter: she won the 7th Warsaw Muaythai Tournament for the Ursus Cup, took gold and the Polish champion’s title in Kalisz, and won gold at the Polish Cup in Żary.
The World Championships will be held in early September in Bangkok, the birthplace of muay thai. Martyna can take part in them. The problem is that, as istotne.pl Grzegorz Nazar, the athlete’s coach, explains, the sports ministry subsidizes only international trips for juniors and seniors. Children and cadets have to pay for them out of their own pockets. A trip to Thailand lasting several days costs PLN 7,000—and that is for one person. And, of course, the gladiator will not fly there alone. (It was decided that her father would go with her.)
Neither Martyna’s parents nor the club can afford such an expense, so they are trying to raise money for this purpose. Anyone who would like to support the young gladiator’s sporting career is asked to call 883 164 914 or 600 322 295.
When we publish information about children’s successes in combat sports, comments often appear along the lines of: “How can a child engage in such a brutal sport?” We asked the coach about it. “Children fight under different rules,” explains G. Nazar. “In my opinion, muay thai may seem like a brutal sport to outsiders who are not involved in martial arts. But it is a martial art that teaches respect for the club, the coach and other competitors. Children’s fights in amateur muay thai are conducted with divisions by age and weight. There is no situation in which a younger child fights someone much older, or a lighter child fights someone much heavier.
Furthermore, the coach emphasizes, young competitors fight in full protective gear: a helmet on the head and a torso protector. There are also protectors for the elbows, knees, shins and feet, as well as mouthguards, groin protection and boxing gloves.
Moreover, in fights in the younger children’s category, attacking the head is not allowed. Older children may do so, but they still cannot use their elbows or knees. In addition to attacks, coaches teach competitors defense. “We do not put an untrained competitor into a fight,” emphasizes the coach from Gladiator. He adds that one can get injured in any sport. How often do footballers or skiers suffer leg injuries? “Surprisingly, we do not have such injuries,” notes G. Nazar. “During my coaching career, I have not encountered a fracture or a serious sprain.