Tag: fightingcovid19

FIGHTING COVID-19: Gabriel Bascara

Gabriel Incleto Bascara is a San Francisco, California native. As a child, he took taekwondo lessons until he reached orange belt. Recently, he started training in Muay Thai and finds it extremely fun to have a new challenge. He’s 26 years old. and with three years of experience in the medical field, he currently works as an EMT and aspires to be a physician assistant. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 doesn’t seem to be improving much where he is in northern California, making it an even stressful time for people like him who are on the front-lines fighting this virus. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying via Patreon “I receive notifications almost everyday of reports of new cases in the Bay Area,” Gabriel begins. “The county I live in, Solano, has 169 [confirmed] cases and two deaths due to coronavirus. In Contra Costa County, where I am based in as an EMT, there are 707 cases and 22 deaths. In the whole Bay Area, there are more than 6490 cases and more than 200 deaths.” The city of San Francisco was ordered to “shelter in place” from March 16, and the order recently extended to last until at least May 3. First responders like Gabriel […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, emt, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 27, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

Fighting COVID-19: Chompu Sriyotee

You may have seen videos of her teaching phrases in Thai on Facebook. Or you may have seen some of her shadowboxing clips on Instagram. Chompu Sriyotee is a business owner, teaching English to locals and Thai to foreigners. She’s also competed before, winning the IFMA German Amateur Championships in March 2019 while studying abroad for her master’s. Currently based in Bangkok, she’s been paying close attention to how locals are responding to COVID-19. “At first, most people thought it would only affect old people,” says Chompu. “Then reports showed that most patients are not that old. After that, Thai people became more aware.” To date (time of writing: April 25, 2020), Thailand has the fifth-most cases in Southeast Asia. There have been 2,854 confirmed cases of the virus in the country, with 2,490 recovered and 50 deaths. Measures have been put into place by the government mid-March to ban gatherings and sporting events (including Muay Thai), and to close certain types of businesses. You can see the timeline of events here. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying via Patreon Like in most other countries, it’s very difficult to find surgical and N95 masks, especially in stores available to […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fighting covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 24, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

FIGHTING COVID-19: Islay Erika Bomogao

Baguio City in the Philippines has been dubbed the “Role Model City” of the country when it comes to flattening the curve during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The city was able to report no new cases for 13 days straight in the month of April. This is thanks to the sense of urgency and ability to be prepared from public officials and the people. In this city lives IFMA medalist Islay Erika Bomogao. At just 19-years old, Islay is a member of the Philippine National Muaythai Team and a member of her local MMA fight team. She’s been training Muay Thai and MMA for four years, and she’s been in the National Team for more than two years. In 2017, she won gold at the World Jincheon Martial Arts Masterships in Korea and in 2018, she also got gold at the IFMA World Youth Muaythai Championships in Bangkok. In 2019, she won silver at both the Southeast Asian Games and East Asian Muaythai Championships. In her province, she was awarded the “Most Outstanding Student”. Aside from these amateur tournaments, she has three professional bouts in Thailand, and in pro MMA rules, she has two. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 22, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

FIGHTING COVID-19: Jackie Hom

Since starting Muay Thai 17 years ago, Jackie Hom has amassed quite a few life achievements. Despite taking an eight-year break from the sport, she has nine amateur fights, two kids, and a gym. She also works as registered nurse and has been one for the last 12 years. As someone who seems to be juggling it all, she’s been fighting something else as of late that’s entirely new to her and the world: the COVID-19 epidemic. “I work in the Bay Area of California [of San Francisco], primarily in Santa Clara county. This was one of the first counties, after New York, to be hit the hardest with coronavirus cases,” Jackie informs. “This was also one of the first three counties in the U.S. to enforce shelter-in-place.” In Santa Clara county, there are currently 1,793 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 65 deaths (time of writing: April 16, 2020). The city of San Francisco was ordered to “shelter in place” from March 16, and the order recently extended to last until at least May 3. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying via Patreon Because Jackie works in a county hospital, she is a mandated disaster worker. “That means I have to report to duty […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 16, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

Fighting COVID-19: JJ Chan

JJ Chan has been in the Muay Thai scene for almost 20 years. Starting off at The Wat under Phil Nurse, she competed at an amateur level. After taking a break to focus on other aspects of her life, she came back to the scene, training at Renzo Gracie Fight Academy in Brooklyn. Although she no longer competes, she trains consistently for fitness, stress relief, and camaraderie. Now, JJ is using the skills she has developed from her occupation of 10 years as a set designer and prop stylist to help with the mass PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) shortage in New York City. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying via Patreon “As a stylist,” JJ begins, “I work a lot with my hands. I often have to pick up skills quickly for work. I decided to sew masks to give out to friends and service workers.” There was a bit of luck involved when it came to having the right tools for the job. “I just happened to get a sewing machine two weeks before the city shut down,” JJ says. “I had to custom-make a pillow in the shape of the United States.” Just before the weekend […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 12, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

FIGHTING COVID-19: Vinz Low

Vinz Low has quite an impressive resume. In the 10 years he’s been teaching, he’s amassed numerous credentials,

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 8, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

FIGHTING COVID-19: Sandra Godvik

WMC European Champion, 3x Swedish Muay Thai champion, and WAKO Pro Nordic K1 Champion. Sandra Godvik is no stranger to the Muay Thai scene. With seven years of training experience, 37 fights and currently living in Thailand (namely Phuket), she takes her profession very seriously. Please support the continuation of content on Muay Ying via Patreon However, COVID-19 has caused a lot of things to close all over Thailand. In Phuket, it’s eerily quiet. The island usually bustling with tourists, but tourist arrivals in Thailand dropped by 44.3% in the month of February alone, and this is an estimated lost of 1.5 trillion Baht in tourism revenue. The locals are spending a majority of their time inside at home. “Everything is closed except for food and convenience stores like 7-Eleven. Many people have lost their jobs, or are not able to work. They’re struggling,” says Sandra. Being unable to train, Sandra is one of the many Muay Thai fighters who have found themselves without purpose. “Both parks and Muay Thai gyms are closed. I miss running and training so much!” Sandra exclaims. However, instead of sitting around waiting for this pandemic to be over, she’s helping the locals in Phuket. “At first, I was trying […]

In Fighting COVID-19Tags covid19, fightingcovid19, spotlightApril 7, 2020Leave a comment

Angela Chang

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Tag: fightingcovid19

FIGHTING COVID-19: Gabriel Bascara

Fighting COVID-19: Chompu Sriyotee

FIGHTING COVID-19: Islay Erika Bomogao

FIGHTING COVID-19: Jackie Hom

Fighting COVID-19: JJ Chan

FIGHTING COVID-19: Vinz Low

FIGHTING COVID-19: Sandra Godvik

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