Why SPH's Anthony Tan is hooked on Muay Thai

I HAVE been practising Muay Thai for about seven years now. Going for class seven days a week means many hours of kicks, elbows, knees and clinching is pretty much locked into my schedule these days.

My love affair with the sport started serendipitously. A drama series on cable where the male protagonist was a Muay Thai exponent caught my attention. I told my wife the sport looked interesting and I might take it up. She broke into loud laughter, saying that I would not last a week. A Google search for Muay Thai classes ensued, and here I am, seven years later.

On weekdays, I do a 6.30am class, hit the showers by 7.30am and am ready for work by 8.30am after grabbing the requisite triple-shot iced black. On weekends, I do later classes to give myself somesleep-in time. When time allows, I also do private training sessions with my Kru (teacher in Thai) to improve upon my techniques and stamina.

My family and friends marvel at my persistence, given that I was never an athletic person from young.

The health benefits of a good workout are well documented - I feel relaxed and optimistic before I start work for the day. Many colleagues prefer to have meetings with me first thing in the morning, claiming that I am more cheery, and less prone to ask difficult questions after my workout.

More importantly, Muay Thai has allowed me to establish a schedule which provides a sense of control over my daily life. The enforced break during class from my mobile phone insulates me from the barrage of information we normally experience, allowing my mind to focus on the task at hand.

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I have learnt to apply such discipline and order into my professional life. It is something many of us ignore as we assume heavier responsibilities at work. More often than not, we lapse into the mode of trying to do too many things at the same time. It is far more effective for us to be able to focus on what is important and essential and complete these tasks well, rather than trying to tick off all boxes in a to-do list.

Being active in a sport also helps build up personal and professional networks. Muay Thai to me is what golf is to many of my colleagues and friends. I meet people from various professions in my gym and through interactions with them, have also built up good personal, as well as business, relationships over time. I have closed several business deals with people that I have gotten to know in the gym!

I am fortunate to be part of a gym where most of my krus are or were world champions in the sport. Listening to their stories about how they overcame poverty in childhood, trained relentlessly to become who they are today has been very inspirational for my own personal growth.

As Bruce Lee once said: "I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times." This is a constant reminder to myself that no amount of talent can make up for the need for hard work on the road to success.

Did the pandemic change my routine? Definitely. It interrupted physical classes last year, as the recent closure of gyms in view of the increased community cases has done now. Thankfully, I have a boxing bag at home and Zoom classes are keeping me active. I also do some running and HIIT work to vary my routine these days. I am now looking forward to the day cross-border travel resumes, and I can travel to Thailand for holiday training.

Anthony Tan, 48, is deputy CEO, Singapore Press Holdings